CHARITIES (fn. 1)

York appears always to have possessed a relatively large number of charitable endowments, if not, as has been asserted, a greater number than any other provincial town of comparable size. (fn. 2) Between 1820 and 1828 the Brougham Commission examined and reported on about 200 York charities (fn. 3) worth annually more than £5,000. The largest proportion of this income, approximately £2,000, was appropriated to the support of almshouses and the pensions connected with them. Endowments for the poor yielded approximately £1,500, and those for the support of ministers or the fabric of churches about £650; the balance, about £1,130, was devoted mainly to the support of education or apprenticing children. (fn. 4) This pattern changed little in the 19th and 20th centuries. York was said to benefit in 1897 from 297 endowments, excluding those shared with other places, with a gross income of approximately £8,721. Of this, £2,213 was appropriated to the upkeep of almshouses and their pensions, £1,679 to the relief of the poor, £1,382 to the support of ministers and the fabric of churches, and £3,280 to educational and apprenticing uses. St. Peter's and Archbishop Holgate's schools alone received £1,885, more than half of the educational and apprenticing portion. (fn. 5) Another survey of 1907, which included shared endowments, gave the gross income available for almshouses, pensions, and the relief of the poor as £6,379, compared with £12,846 expended by voluntary charities for similar purposes and £7,526 given in poor-law out-relief. (fn. 6) In 1939 the income of endowed charities of the same type was estimated to have risen to about £9,500. (fn. 7) In the same survey the administration of the York Charities was considered as divided between parochial trustees, who controlled about 26 per cent. of the income, independent trustees, who controlled about 65 per cent., and the York Charity Trustees, administering the municipal charities, who controlled about 9 per cent. The parochial charities were generally vested in trustees consisting of the minister, the churchwardens, overseers of the poor and elected or co-opted feoffees, in various combinations. It was calculated that in 1897 50 per cent. of York endowments had an annual value of less than £5, (fn. 8) and the greater number of such endowments were parochial. There were, however, some valuable parish estates, among them the York properties of All Saints', North Street, St. Crux, and St. Martin's, Coney Street, and in 1910 53 per cent. of parish charity income was drawn from land or house property and 47 per cent. from stock. By contrast the municipal and independent charities drew respectively only 12 per cent. and 18 per cent. of their income from lands. The enhancement of York property values in the 20th century contributed to an estimated rise in the income of the parish charities of 37 per cent. in the period from 1912 to 1939, while that of the independent endowments rose by only 11 per cent., and that of the municipal endowments fell by 2 per cent. (fn. 9)

The independent charities are those administered by ad hoc trustees, for the most part co-optative, and comprise endowments available for the city as a whole and for specified parts of it. They include several of the larger almshouses and several charities such as the Micklegate Strays, and the York Dispensary Sick Poor Fund, with annual incomes of more than £1,000.

In 1956 the York Charity Trustees were administering municipal charities with assets valued at £118,906, and an annual income of £3,422. The charities originally comprised in the trust were those described by the Brougham Commission in 1825 as 'under the direction of the Mayor and Commonalty'. (fn. 10) In 1835 the Commission on Municipal Corporations listed 38 such charities with a combined annual income from stock, loan interest, land and rent-charges of £511. In addition the corporation held loan funds in cash to the value of £930. (fn. 11) After the passing of the Municipal Reform Act these charities were removed by Chancery decree from the corporation's control and placed, in 1837, under the administration of thirteen York Charity Trustees. The complement of trustees was made up in 1856, 1873, and 1886 without dispute and was said, in 1898, to have been 'remarkably free from the taint of political and sectarian bias and commanding the general confidence of the city'. In that year, however, the number of surviving trustees had fallen to five, of whom the three active members were all nonconformists, and a political and religious quarrel hindered the appointment of new trustees. While the corporation and trustees proposed a joint list of nine nonconformists and four churchmen, the Church party, prominent amongst whom was the Dean of York, A. P. Purey-Cust, submitted a counter-list, with a similar majority of churchmen, on the grounds that the charities were largely Anglican in origin. In 1899 the Charity Commissioners compromised by appointing all the persons recommended, and raising the number of trustees to 18, so that no party secured advantage. In 1902 the commissioners sanctioned a scheme which reduced the trustee body again to 13, and introduced a representative element by providing for the appointment of five members of the corporation. There were then 45 endowments in the hands of the Municipal Trustees.

A large proportion of parish charities and many independent and municipal charities were found, in 1907, to benefit only the old central parishes of York. Thus while 32 per cent. of the population inhabiting a number of inner parishes shared 82 per cent. of the total income from endowments, only 18 per cent. was available for the 68 per cent. inhabiting the outer parishes. (fn. 12) As the 20th century progressed this contrast was aggravated by slum clearances. Thus in 1939 the population of St. Mary's, Castlegate, parish had fallen to fewer than 400, and it proved impossible to find more than four candidates entitled to benefit under Gould's charity for ten poor widows. Similarly in 1943 the Vicar of St. Sampson's wrote to the Charity Commissioners of his difficulties in finding deserving cases in a parish whose population had fallen by half since 1931 to less than 370, and was still falling. In 1954 the united parishes of St. Martin's, Coney Street, and St. Helen's, Stonegate, received an income from charities of more than £6 for each parishioner. A royal commission that reported in 1909 on the poor law and relief of distress in York and eleven other places recommended that the income of all the eleemosynary charities should be pooled and made available for the use of the city as a whole. (fn. 13) In 1910 the Charity Commissioners accordingly drew up an amalgamation Bill to consolidate appropriate endowments with a combined annual income of about £4,000. The Bill was the most ambitious feature of a general movement towards rationalizing the York charities that had begun with the promulgation of the Municipal Charities scheme in 1902. Between 1902 and 1909 consolidation schemes were effected for parish charities in Holy Trinity, King's Court, St. Martin-cum-Gregory, St. Mary's, Bishophill, Junior, St. Wilfrid's, All Saints', North Street, and St. John's, Ouse Bridge End parishes. A public inquiry in 1911, however, revealed strong opposition to the Commissioners' project from many groups of trustees, and particularly from those of the municipal charities. Those who attacked the Bill objected to the proposal to introduce representative trustees, appointed by the corporation, and to any diversion of charities from a formal interpretation of the objects contemplated by their founders. They also argued that the 'ruthless' way in which it was proposed to set aside founders' intentions had lost the city charitable bequests worth £5,000, and would result in the future loss of other sums. Some Conservatives also attacked the Bill as an unwarranted interference of the 'Asquith-Lloyd George government' in local affairs, and the intervention of the York Trades Council and Independent Labour Party branch, both of which strongly supported the commissioners' proposals, helped to consolidate opposition on these political grounds. In 1912 the York City Council finally declared against the Bill, and it was dropped. (fn. 14) The only permanent result of this attempt at unification was the opening by the Board of Guardians of a York charities register in which were entered the names of people aided by poor relief or charity. By this it was hoped to systematize relief and avoid duplication. The register was kept from 1911 to 1940 but was not very effective, as trustees of charities were not obliged to co-operate. (fn. 15) In 1956 an Act was secured to confirm a scheme consolidating most of the municipal charities, and making them available for the city as a whole, (fn. 16) but the parochial and independent charities remained outside the scheme.

It is possible to distinguish certain general changes in the use of charitable funds since the early 19th century. Among these the virtual ending of payments for apprenticeship, and the extinction or diversion to other uses of loan funds, many of which had already been lost before 1820, are prominent. It seems to be common for charities originally more general in application to become exclusive to old women, and particularly to old widows. In the 20th century there has been a marked tendency to replace occasional money doles by regular pensions or by gifts in kind. Relief in kind, with the bread doles which at one time formed its major constituent, has itself tended to be replaced or supplemented by services secured to the objects of the charities by subscriptions to provident and other institutions such as nursing homes, convalescent homes, and hospitals. Charitable trusts have been more liberally interpreted, and, in the most recent period, there has been a conscious attempt to direct charity towards complementing rather than competing with the welfare services.

In the following accounts of the several charities, dates in parenthesis referring to the foundation of charities are those of the signing of the founders' wills, except where a different indication is given.

Schemes for varying charitable trusts, the creation of trusts, or the appointment of new trustees may be made by the Minister of Education, the courts of law, and the Charity Commissioners. 'Schemes' referred to below are invariably those of the Charity Commissioners. By the Charitable Trusts Act, 1860, 23 and 24 Vic., c. 136, ss. 2-6, such schemes were given a legal force comparable to that of an order of court. In practice the commissioners may regulate at will charities with a gross annual income of less than £50, but the written application of a majority of administering trustees must precede the making of a Scheme for larger charities.

Schemes of which the provisions are the subject of controversy are normally made by the courts. In certain cases the varying of trusts requires ratification by Act of Parliament.

Almshouses

In 1946 there were, in York, 20 groups of almshouses, with accommodation for 177 old people, and 4 foundations, formerly connected with almshouses, which paid regular out-pensions. Although the oldest building then occupied, Ingram's Hospital, dates only from the 17th century, several foundations are considerably more ancient. Perhaps the oldest is a group of three, St. Catherine's, St. Thomas's, and Trinity Hospitals, founded as religious houses in the Middle Ages. (fn. 17)

ST. CATHERINE'S HOSPITAL, which stood on The Mount outside Micklegate Bar, was in use in 1333 as a leper house for inmates of both sexes, and is said to have escaped suppression 'as one of the charities of the city'. (fn. 18) There were 6 poor in the hospital in 1602, of both sexes. (fn. 19) After being rebuilt in 1652 on or near the old site off Nunnery Lane, it was used by the corporation to house poor widows, whose number was fixed in 1709 at 4. The Brougham Commission found the same number in residence in 1820. (fn. 20) Although it remained customary to appoint widows, single women were implicitly made eligible by a scheme of 1862, which also fixed the annual stipend of the inmates at £18. In 1835 the old building was pulled down, and a new brick and stone almshouse, comprising four dwellings, opened in Holgate Lane.

In 1820 the foundation received a rent of £14 (fn. 21) from adjacent lands; these lands were sold in 1861 and their investment in stock is said to have increased the annual income from £56 to £100. In 1788 Charles Yates left an endowment of £100, and in 1792 Henry Myers £500 in stock. Additional bequests totalling £1,650, shared with St. Thomas's Hospital, were left by John Hartley in 1788 and James Luntley in 1791, and £3,000 in stock, shared with three other almshouses, by Lady Conyngham in 1814. In 1820 these endowments produced an annual income of £30 9s. 5d. (fn. 22) In 1876 a bequest of £46 12s. 8d. was received under the terms of the will of Green Simpson. From 1837 the hospital was administered by the York Charity Trustees.

ST. THOMAS'S HOSPITAL, which also stood outside Micklegate Bar, was founded before 1391 for the maintenance of the poor and for hospitality to travellers. In 1478 it was transferred to the guild of Corpus Christi on condition that the master and brethren kept seven alms beds. (fn. 23) In 1546 the Chantry Commissioners found that the guild kept 10 poor persons, allowing each 6s. 8d. yearly, and also maintained 8 beds for poor strangers. (fn. 24) After the dissolution of the guild in 1547 the hospital and its lands came under the control of the mayor and aldermen, who continued to maintain the beds; (fn. 25) in 1553 there were reported to be 'many poor folks and little to find them with'. (fn. 26) In 1574 the corporation decided to settle 18 poor, including 3 children, in the hospital, and to pay 6 out-pensions, (fn. 27) and two years later there were 13 inmates 'at the least'. (fn. 28) The old two-story stone building (see plate facing p. 520) appears to have continued in use until the 19th century, and in 1820 it contained 12 apartments, occupied by the same number of poor widows, appointed by the lord mayor. (fn. 29) In 1860 it was reported in good repair but 'low, damp, the lower rooms especially, ill-ventilated and dark, with brick floors', and three years later it was replaced by a new two-story yellow-brick building, situated, like the old, on Nunnery Lane and beneath the rampart of the city wall. The new building continued to provide accommodation for 12 women, (fn. 30) and in 1906 the 11 inmates shared stipends totalling £80. St. Thomas's almshouses, like St. Catherine's, received a share of the 18th-century bequests of Hartley and Luntley, and of Lady Conyngham's benefaction, together producing, in 1820, approximately £75 a year. In 1806 and 1809 George and Robert Townend gave £260 stock for the equal benefit of St. Thomas's and Middleton's Hospitals, the income from which had not yet become available in 1820. (fn. 31) In 1843 Stephen Beckwith left £2,000 (net £1,800) which was invested in stock, and in 1876 £93 5s. 4d. stock was received from the executors of Green Simpson. The hospital was administered from 1837 by the York Charity Trustees.

TRINITY HOSPITAL, in Fossgate, was built between 1371 and 1373, and after reconstruction in 1411 housed 30 sick poor. The hospital is said to have come into the possession of the York Merchant Adventurers in 1422 or 1423, (fn. 32) and it was certainly used by the company as a place of assembly from the 16th century. In 1576 the corporation settled 18 poor, including 3 children, in the building, (fn. 33) and in 1587 it was still said to contain a 'great many impotent persons', (fn. 34) without further qualification. An endowment of 1644 was directed, however, like many subsequent gifts, to the relief of the 'poor widows' of Trinity Hospital. The hospital comprised in 1820 two large rooms in the undercroft of the company's hall, divided off so as to accommodate 5 men and 5 women, nominated by the members (fn. 35) who administered the charity. In 1879 there were 10 pensioners who each received 9s. a month and certain annual gifts. Only 4 of these, including the hall-keeper and his wife, were resident, and most of the rooms were let. They were described at this date as 'in a state of dilapidation and decay', and in 1905 were said to have 'of late years fallen into disuse'. (fn. 36) The charity subsequently became a pension charity, and in 1931 there were 8 pensioners who received 10s. a month.

In 1820 the hospital held numerous small endowments worth £27 yearly. The benefactors were Thomas Herbert (bequest, 1644), Jane Stainton (bequest, 1692), Michael Barstow (deed, 1694), Sarah Bawtry (bequest, effective 1694), William Garforth (bequest, 1722), (fn. 37) John Lucas (bequest, 1725), (fn. 38) Henry Myers (bequest, 1792), Ann Smith (gift, 1815), Thomas Harper (bequest, 1816), Hall and Healey, and Mrs. Mary Thistlethwaite (before 1820). (fn. 39) Thistlethwaite's gift was commuted in 1930 for £50 stock. In 1842 John Barker left £15 for bread and coals and £85 for money-gifts for the inmates, and by will proved in 1913 Lancelot Foster left £500, subsequently invested in stock, to provide a solatium fund for grants to disappointed applicants. In 1879 the interest on loan funds of £800 was said to be used by the Merchant Adventurers for the hospitallers. (fn. 40)

Three other pre-Reformation almshouses or maisons dieu are identifiable from a list of concealed lands compounded for by the corporation drawn up in 1587, which also mentions Trinity Hospital. (fn. 41)

THE CORDWAINERS' MAISON DIEU, which stood near Fishergate, was founded by a member of the company before 1436. In 1548 it contained 5 poor men who each received 1s. yearly. (fn. 42) The buildings were described in 1587 as 'four little tenements in which [the Cordwainers] keep impotent and poor people'. (fn. 43) The Cordwainers' Company was dissolved in 1808 or 1809 after its 26 surviving members had previously sold all the property, including the Cordwainers' Hall in Hungate and the maison dieu, to William Hornby for £377. The almshouses, which were ruinous, were rebuilt by the new proprietor on Piccadilly in 1811 as four two-story cottages. The occupants were at first charged a nominal rent, but in 1861 the owner was found to be treating the buildings as private property, and charging a full rent. When evidence was adduced for the existence of a charity, however, the maison dieu was given up to the York Charity Trustees, and a Scheme was established in 1862 which provided for future application for the benefit of shoemakers and their dependents. In 1912 3 old shoemakers and a shoemaker's widow were living in the almshouses. Although the buildings were described at this date as 'poor and . . . nearly worn out' with damp rooms on the ground floor, they were not pulled down until 1938, when a pension charity was created out of the endowment.

Mark Buller, by will proved in 1684, left the inmates a rent-charge of 20s. a year on lands without Monk Bar, which was redeemed in 1886 for £40 6s. 8d. stock. Francis Plummer, by will proved in 1891 left £20 to be used for repairs to the almshouse or the benefit of the inmates at the trustees' discretion. (fn. 44) In 1811 land near the maison dieu produced a yearly rent of £6 9s. 6d.; some of this was sold in 1909 and £637 of the proceeds were invested in stock. In 1955 the pension charity received a gross income from stock of £113 0s. 4d., (fn. 45) the greater part of which was drawn from the invested proceeds of the sale of the site, completed in 1941.

THE MERCHANT TAILORS' MAISON DIEU in Aldwark was built before 1415, when it was the hall of St. John the Baptist's confraternity, many of whose members were also members of the tailors' guild. It is first described in the company's minutes as a maison dieu in 1626, and is said to have stood very close to the Hall, and to have been one of the buildings round it that were pulled down in 1702-3. (fn. 46) A new single-story brick cottage with four rooms was built next to the Merchant Tailors' Hall in 1730, and this the Brougham Commission found in 1826 to be appropriated to 'four decayed brothers' or their widows. (fn. 47) In 1866 the charity maintained 1 almsman and 2 out-pensioners; the 3 other tenements were currently let at £7 16s. yearly. There were no aged residents in 1946 when the cottage was said to be customarily used by the caretaker of the Merchant Tailors' Hall. (fn. 48)

In 1669 John Straker left the maison dieu a rent charge of 10s. yearly out of lands in Holtby (N.R.), and in 1754 the company charged certain lands in and near York with an annual payment of £10 for its upkeep. (fn. 49) On the sale of this property in 1917 the charge was redeemed for £440 stock.

ST. ANTHONY'S HOSPITAL, PEASEHOLME, is described elsewhere. (fn. 50)

Eight almshouses were founded in the 17th century. The oldest, SIR ROBERT WATTER'S HOSPITAL, is mentioned in the will of its founder drawn up in 1609, and then comprised seven cottages under one roof in Nowtegate Lane (now lost, but near Chapel Row), with 12 poor occupants. (fn. 51) It is said to have been built as an assembly-hall for the Haberdashers' Company. (fn. 52) The buildings were repaired in 1627 and remained substantially unaltered into the 19th century. In 1823 the Brougham Commissioners noted that it had become customary to appoint only poor women. The old hospital was replaced in 1844 by a two-story brick building, containing seven dwellings, in Chapel Row, off Walmgate. (fn. 53) This was no longer standing in 1958, and was said to have been demolished in 1956.

In 1609 Sir Robert Watter left the hospital an annual charge of £21 on the lordship of Cundall (N.R.), and in 1819 £118 accumulated income was invested in stock. (fn. 54) The charge itself was redeemed in 1924 to become part of a total endowment of £1,046 stock. In 1934 a reversionary bequest of £190 was received under the terms of the will of Marion Bellerby, proved in 1898, and was invested in stock. The gross yearly income of the hospital in 1955 was £32. (fn. 55) From 1925 the charity was administered by the York Charity Trustees.

THOMAS AGAR'S HOSPITAL, comprising three cottages in Monkgate, was established by the founder's will, made in 1631, (fn. 56) for the use of 6 poor widows, and was administered by the Agar family. In 1873 it was remarked that, patronage being in the hands of a Roman Catholic member of the family, all the inmates were consequently Roman Catholics. By the mid-19th century the building, originally badly planned, had become extremely dilapidated, and was twice certified by the corporation Medical Officer as unfit for habitation before it was finally closed in 1879. It was replaced by a pension charity for 6 poor widows and in 1956 5 such pensioners each received £8.

Thomas Agar left a rent-charge of £20 on lands at Birdsall (E.R.), and in 1820 a close at the rear of the hospital had been let for £4 4s. (fn. 57) The sale of the building and site in 1879 produced £985, which was invested in stock, and the gross income of the charity in 1909 was £44 12s. 4d.

SIR ARTHUR INGRAM'S HOSPITAL, Bootham, was built shortly before 1640, when it was mentioned in the founder's will. (fn. 58) Built of red 'tudor' bricks with stone facings and a tiled roof, the hospital was dominated by a low central tower over a chapel and caretakers' rooms, on either side of which extended the wings of a two-story building, each containing five sets of rooms (see plate facing p. 160). Accommodation was provided for 10 poor widows. The decorative central doorway which is probably of about 1190 is said to have been brought from Holy Trinity Priory after the Dissolution. (fn. 59) In 1957 the York Charity Trustees agreed to let a private philanthropic concern, Ings Trust Ltd., take over the hospital in return for a gift of land on which a new hospital was to be built; the gift of land was accompanied by £165. Ings Trust intended to preserve the exterior appearance of the hospital and divide it into four flats. (fn. 60)

Sir Arthur Ingram directed that £50 should be paid yearly for the support of the charity, plus £6 13s. 4d. for the reading of prayers in the chapel, and the owners of the founder's estate at Temple Newsam (W.R.) customarily paid these sums. (fn. 61) A formal settlement, however, was not made until 1903, when a rent charge of £72 was created. This charge was redeemed in 1921 for £2,880 stock at the same time as the hospital was placed under the administration of the York Charity Trustees. Eva Atkinson, by will proved in 1923, left £313, the balance of which was represented in 1955 by £211 stock. The hospital's gross income was then £79 10s. 10d. (fn. 62)

ANNE MIDDLETON'S HOSPITAL, in Skeldergate, was built about 1659 for 20 widows of York freemen, and was a quadrangular building with 22 apartments, enclosing a small area. (fn. 63) It was rebuilt in 1828 as a two-storied building of brick and stone, with similar accommodation. In 1906 there were 19 occupants and in 1908 each received a pension of £6 yearly, and the use of one room. The hospital was modernized in 1939 to house 10 almspeople and a warden.

Endowments received before 1820 included £1,150, residue of a bequest by the founder in 1655, (fn. 64) on which the corporation paid £61 yearly; two-thirds of £500 stock bequeathed by Thomas Norfolk in 1780, shared with Sir Henry Thompson's Hospital; (fn. 65) a half of £260 stock given by George Townend in 1806 and 1809, shared with St. Thomas's Hospital; (fn. 66) and a share, producing £40 yearly, of Lady Conyngham's bequest to four York hospitals, made in 1814. (fn. 67) Bequests subsequently received included £200 from William Monckton in 1821, £2,000 from Stephen Beckwith in 1843, £250 from Mary W. Lambert in 1859, £93 from the executors of Green Simpson in 1876 (all invested in stock), and a total of £387 stock from Frances Pool in 1906. (fn. 68) In 1897 John Richard and Edward Hill gave £1,000 stock to the hospital.

ST. CRUX PARISH ALMSHOUSE was founded in 1663 by the will of Edith Darke, and in 1825 comprised two rooms off a yard in Fossgate, for the use of two poor widows of the parish, appointed by vestry meeting. (fn. 69) A new almshouse, in Piccadilly, is said to have been acquired c. 1895 by an exchange with St. Denys's parish; in 1907 the house was described as lying in St. Denys's parish, and housed two persons appointed by the churchwardens of St. Crux. (fn. 70) In 1825 the charity was endowed with houses in Fossgate, but in 1909 there were no endowments. The almshouse was compulsorily acquired by the corporation in 1935, in return for a payment of £60 which was invested and amalgamated with the parish estate endowment, and the building was demolished. The appointment of inmates was then said to have been in the hands of the rector 'for 70 years'.

ANN WRIGHT'S ALMSHOUSE, in the parish of St. Mary, Bishophill, Junior, was established by the founder's will, proved in 1670, and was for a freeman's widow or daughter. In 1768 the building was replaced, and in 1825 it was not used as an almshouse, but was let for £8 a year, which the Brougham Commissioners recommended the trustees to use for poor freemen's widows or daughters. (fn. 71) In 1907 this charity was consolidated with the other charities of the parish. (fn. 72)

SIR HENRY THOMPSON'S HOSPITAL, in Castlegate, erected in 1700, was a two-story building of brick and stone. (fn. 73) The charity was founded in 1692 for the benefit of 6 poor men, preferably of St. Mary's, Castlegate, parish. (fn. 74) A scheme of 1898 fixed the pensions of the inmates, each of whom had two rooms, at £20 yearly, with £30 for a caretaker's wage, and provision for additional out-pensions. In 1934 there were 6 out-pensioners with £13 each. The hospital was ordered to be demolished in 1937, and was finally closed in 1949 and reorganized as a pension charity.

The founder endowed the hospital with lands at Dewsbury (W.R.) which were exchanged in 1787 for property in Fulford (E.R.). (fn. 75) This was sold in 1876 and 1882, and the proceeds invested in £6,225 stock. Other bequests included a third of £500 stock left by Thomas Norfolk in 1780 and shared with Middleton's Hospital, and £200 left by John Girdler in 1786, invested in stock. (fn. 76) In 1955 the pension charity had a gross income from stock of £213. Thompson's Hospital was one of the old corporation charities and was administered from 1837 by the York Charity Trustees.

BARSTOW'S HOSPITAL in Blossom Street was described in 1856 as a building 'part brick and part wood and plaster, probably more than 200 years old'. In 1820 its origins were obscure, (fn. 77) the foundation grant having been allegedly destroyed by fire in 1809, but it is possible that it was established by Michael Barstow (fl. 1694), (fn. 78) or by one of his descendants. It provided apartments for 6 poor persons, and in 1856 was occupied by 5 widows. In 1859 the old building was replaced by a new brick hospital with four rooms, built on the corner of Caroline Street and Clement Street, off Nunnery Lane. There were 4 inmates in 1946, each of whom received 3s. 6d. a week and some benefits in kind. (fn. 79)

In 1820 the hospital was found to be endowed with contiguous property rented at £12 14s. (fn. 80) On the sale of the old and the building of the new hospital in 1859, a rent charge of £18 was retained on the old property and a small surplus of £125 invested in stock. The gross income of the charity in 1921 was £29 16s. 8d.

Of the six almshouses founded in the 18th century, the earliest was LADY HEWLEY'S HOSPITAL in Tanner Row, built in 1700 (fn. 81) for 9 poor widows or spinsters over 55, and a poor man to serve as chaplain. Preference was to be given to dissenters. In 1707 Dame Sarah Hewley made the trustees of a general trust which she had founded in 1704 responsible for maintaining the hospital, and for providing the inmates, each of whom had two rooms, with a yearly stipend of £6 each. In 1805 the stipend was raised to £18. (fn. 82) Further adjustments of the hospital's share were made as the income of the general charity increased. In 1881 it was fixed at a maximum of £250 for stipends, after the expenses of upkeep had been met, and in 1920 the trustees were empowered to pay each inmate up to £40 yearly in such a way that the recipient's total income from all sources should not exceed £46. In 1927 the amount allowed yearly for payments to inmates was fixed at £400, and in 1946 pensions of 10s. or 15s. weekly were given according to means.

The hospital was removed in 1839 to make way for the Old Railway Station and rebuilt the following year in St. Saviourgate, next to the church. In 1946 it comprised nine stone dwellings, a chapel 'in regular use', and a caretaker's house. (fn. 83) By will proved in May 1882 Eliza Margaret Taylor left an endowment of £90, which was invested in stock.

From about 1755 to 1833 the sub-trustees responsible for administering the hospital were, like those of Lady Hewley's general trust, in the majority Unitarian, and it was administered chiefly for the benefit of Unitarians. A protracted legal dispute over the control of the trust and its property, which lasted from 1833 to 1848, was finally resolved in 1848 in favour of the Baptist, Congregationalist, and Presbyterian Church in England denominations, from which the trustees were henceforth drawn in equal numbers. The inmates were subsequently generally members of the same denominations (fn. 84)

DOROTHY WILSON'S HOSPITAL at Foss Bridge End was established by the will of the founder, who died in 1717, and was for 10 poor women. It was rebuilt in 1765 (fn. 85) and again in 1812, the foundations of the building having been endangered by the action of the Foss. (fn. 86) The 19thcentury building was a three-story house of red brick, with 16 living rooms and a separate caretaker's house. In 1946 the residents shared an income of approximately £200. Preference was given to former domestic servants. (fn. 87) The accommodation was being converted in 1958 to two-room flats.

The hospital was endowed in 1717 with a share of the general income of Dorothy Wilson's charities drawn chiefly from lands at York, Nun Monkton (W.R.), Eastrington (E.R.), Portington (E.R.), and elsewhere, some of which were later exchanged for lands at Shipton (N.R.). In 1820 the charities drew an income of £734 from these, from lands at Skipwith (E.R.) and Riccal (E.R.), and from £8,800 stock. (fn. 88)

THOMAS AND MARY COLTON'S HOSPITAL, at the corner of Rougier Street and Tanner Row, was founded by gift of Thomas Colton in 1717, the deed to become effective on the death of Mary Colton, and comprised houses and a croft for 8 poor women. (fn. 89) In 1909 the buildings, described then as 'very old and dilapidated', were compulsorily acquired by the corporation for £2,500, most of which was spent on rebuilding the hospital in Shipton Street, off Burton Stone Lane. Eight one-story brick almshouses were built, to which four more were added in 1932. The Coltons were Presbyterian dissenters and preference is given to Unitarians in the selection of the 12 inmates.

The hospital was endowed by the founder in 1717 and 1729 with lands at Thorpe Willoughby (W.R.) and Cawood (W.R.) which produced £50 yearly in 1823. (fn. 90) This was sold in 1956, after which date the trustees held £1,794 stock, yielding £63, and received only £5 in rent. In the same year £70 was distributed amongst the inmates.

ROBERT WINTERSCALE'S HOSPITAL, in Walmgate, was built during or shortly before 1723, when it was mentioned in the founder's will, and contained six rooms for poor people of St. Margaret's parish. (fn. 91) In 1946 the rooms, only three of which were occupied, were said to be wet and unsuitable, (fn. 92) and in 1956 the hospital was closed and sold to the corporation for £1,540.

The almshouse was endowed at foundation with lands in Walmgate and Fishergate, which in 1820 produced an annual income of £85. (fn. 93) Some of the adjacent lands were sold in 1857 for £195, invested in stock, but in 1914 £34 rent was still received from this source, including £10 from the lease of a malt kiln. Between 1859 and 1874 the Fishergate property was sold in several lots for approximately £3,380, apparently represented, in 1914, by £3,740 stock producing £93 annually.

From 1914 the trustees included five representative members appointed by the corporation.

MARY WANDESFORD'S or the OLD MAIDS' HOSPITAL, in Bootham, was built in 1739 (fn. 94) and was a three-story brick building with twenty rooms and a chapel. It was originally founded simply as an Anglican community of 10 poor gentlewomen, but in 1737 a Chancery Order restricted entry to women over 50. (fn. 95) The building remained substantially unaltered until 1927, when the roof was replaced at a cost of £1,533. The chapel had ceased to be regularly used before 1946. (fn. 96)

The hospital was endowed on foundation with lands at Brompton-on-Swale (N.R.), a mortgage for £1,200, and £1,200 stock. In 1761 Ann Chantril bequeathed £300, in 1800 Elizabeth Gibson gave £289 to the endowment, and in 1810 an anonymous gift of £200 was received. Between 1769 and 1792 smaller bequests totalling £200 were made by Sarah Tancred, Mary Garnett, Elizabeth Monck, and Rachel Garnet, and in 1820 the hospital had an income of £127 from stock and £188 from rents. (fn. 97) Subsequent bequests included £500 from Selina Cressey in 1910, £25 from Elizabeth Munby in 1916, £100 from Ann Wilson in 1929, £500 from Ada Elliot in 1951, and £1,000 from Frederick Wright and £2,500 from Anna Maria Arminson in 1956. The land at Brompton was sold in 1949 and 1950, and in 1952 the hospital had a total income, drawn entirely from stock, of £339.

MARGARET MASON'S HOSPITAL, in Colliergate, was established by the founder's will, made in 1732, and was repaired about 1786. (fn. 98) It was a three-storied brick building, originally for 6 poor women, but converted by 1946 to five bedsitting-rooms. (fn. 99) In 1939 there were only 3 inmates, who each received a stipend of £10. The hospital was closed and derelict in 1958.

The hospital was endowed on foundation with houses and land in Fossgate worth, in 1820, £10 10s. yearly, and from 1814 also received £15 yearly out of Lady Conyngham's charity. (fn. 1) By will proved in 1898 Clara Wilson left a further endowment of £90. The Fossgate property was sold in 1904 for £600, which was invested in stock. In 1939 the trustees received an income of £64 yearly from £1,378 stock.

Of the six almshouses founded in the 19th century, the oldest was BRIGGS'S CHARITY established, by a deed of 1802, in 'Water Lane' (probably First Water Lane, now King Street). This originally consisted of a house and cellar for 2 poor inhabitants of St. Michael's, Spurriergate, parish and was administered by the parish feoffees. (fn. 2) In 1853 the house was taken down for street improvements, having been exchanged for another house which appears to have been that of T. J. Gaussen in Low Ousegate. (fn. 3) In 1868 4 aged persons occupied this house, but it is not mentioned as an almshouse in the surveys of 1907 or 1946.

The charity was endowed by the founder with £80, which produced £4 10s. yearly in 1825. (fn. 4) The exchange of houses in 1853 resulted in a profit of £195 which was at first appropriated to the general uses of the parish, and after 1868 to the use of the inmates. The charity was probably later merged with the parish estate.

ST. MARTIN'S COTTAGES, six apartments in St. Martin's churchyard, Coney Street, were said by the Brougham Commissioners in 1824 to have been 'long held by the overseers of the poor without rent for the public use of the parish'. Five were occupied by poor persons and the other let for £2 yearly. (fn. 5) Though not the subject of a specific trust, the cottages continued to be used virtually as almshouses. In 1912 they comprised a three-story brick building divided into two-room flats, which were customarily occupied by poor persons, generally widows, at a nominal rent of 6s. yearly. (fn. 6) In 1948 there were 2 aged residents who each paid 1s. a quarter. The cottages were sold in 1949.

ANN HARRISON'S HOSPITAL, in Penley's Grove Street, was built in 1845, and contained eight single-story tenements of brick and stone, with a central chapel. (fn. 7) The chapel ceased to be used for services before 1900. The charity was established by deeds of 1833 and 1839 for 8 poor Anglican women over 50. In 1946 the inmates each received a stipend of £2 a month.

The hospital was endowed on foundation with £6,479 stock, bought with the residue of an accumulating building fund given by the founder. Further bequests were made by G. J. Wolstenholme, by will proved in 1945, and Mary F. V. Chadwick, by will proved in 1947, and in 1956 the trustees received an income of £252 from £8,223 stock. Bertha Swift, by will proved in 1947, left £100, the capital and income to be distributed to the inmates at 5s. a month each, as long as the fund survived.

SISTERS WILSON'S HOME was founded by Mary Wilson in 1885 for 10 poor women over 60. It comprised a group of two adjoining brick dwelling houses and two cottages lying off East Parade, Heworth. In 1946 the inmates each received a pension of 4s. a week. There was then said to be dampness in some dwellings, and three of the rooms had been empty 'for a long time'. (fn. 8) The premises were placed under a demolition order in 1957, and were vacated in the course of the year. It was not proposed to rebuild them.

In 1886 the founder endowed the Home with £2,500 vested in a York Corporation loan, and in 1891 with two mortgages of £400 each on property in York and Middlesbrough. (fn. 9) The York property was sold in 1943 and the proceeds apparently invested in £586 stock. The charity had a gross income in 1955 of £150. (fn. 10) From foundation it was administered by the York Charity Trustees. (fn. 11)

ELLEN WILSON'S HOSPITAL, Lawrence Street, was built by John Sykes in 1894 and comprised a row of six single-story brick dwellings, each with main room, kitchen, and water closet. (fn. 12) It was intended for aged or infirm women born or resident in St. Lawrence's parish, selected without religious test, and a stipend of 8s. a week was secured to each inmate.

The hospital was endowed at foundation with £4,250 stock and by Sykes's will, proved in 1901, received a further £2,072, which was invested in stock.

THE TERRY MEMORIAL HOMES, in Skeldergate, at the front of Middleton's Hospital, were built in 1899 by public subscription in memory of Sir Joseph Terry (d. 1898) and comprised two brick-built bungalow-type dwellings, each intended for a married couple over 60. Of the balance of £1,020 subscribed, £200 was invested in stock (fn. 13) which yielded £6 in 1955. (fn. 14)

THE CHARLES CAMERON WALKER HOMES in Bishopthorpe Road, built in 1912, were the first to be opened in the 20th century. They comprised twelve three-room apartments in a twostoried building. (fn. 15) By a Chancery scheme of 1912 the homes were declared open to the poor of either sex living within 10 miles of York, but in 1946 there were 10 women residents and only 2 couples, the old and the current caretakers. (fn. 16) The inmates' stipends were fixed in 1912 at 5s. a week, and 8s. for married couples. In 1946 5s. 6d. was being paid. (fn. 17)

At foundation the charity was endowed with £6,250 stock, producing in 1932 £344 annually.

THE JOHN BURRILL ALMSHOUSES, in Water End, Clifton, were built in 1931 and comprised seven one-story brick dwellings, each with several rooms. (fn. 18) In his will, proved in 1924, the founder directed simply that homes should be made for aged persons over 60, but in 1946 all the 7 occupants were women. They received stipends of 10s. a week. (fn. 19) In 1931 the balance of the founder's bequest, £8,000, was invested in stock.

THE THOMAS FOTHERGILL HOMES in Avenue Road, Clifton, were built in 1935, and comprised ten brick single-story dwellings, each with four rooms. The charity was regulated by a scheme in 1936 which fixed the number of almspeople at 10 'poor working people of good character, ten years resident in York', 5 men and 5 women, each to receive stipends of not less than 5s. weekly. In 1946 10s. was being paid. (fn. 20)

Jessie Ashton, by will proved in 1932, left property, subsequently sold for £20,226, (fn. 21) to build and endow the homes and to lay out the James Ashton playing fields. (fn. 22) In 1936 the homes were endowed with £9,386 stock and held a residue of £1,900 cash. In 1955 the trustees drew an income of £437 from £13,968 stock. (fn. 23) From 1933 the charity has been administered by the York Charity Trustees.

Parish Charities (fn. 24)

In 1825 the All Saints', North Street, parish feoffee estate comprised property in York for which the earliest surviving deed was dated 1620, and which yielded £144 yearly. After payments of £20 to the rector and 5 guineas each to the parish clerk and sexton, the remaining income was devoted to the upkeep of All Saints' Church. By will proved in 1783 Elizabeth Harland left £200 to be invested for the parish poor. Sums of £100 each, the interest to be used for coal for the poor, were left by Ann Orfeur, by will proved in 1790, and by Dorothy Bowes in 1794. (fn. 25) In 1912 the parish became entitled to a third share of a bequest of £1,000 left for the poor by E. V. Walker. (fn. 26) Other benefactions for the poor included a rent-charge of 22s. yearly left by T. Atkinson in 1642, a charge of £4 yearly left by P. Middleton by will proved in 1652, and the interest on £25 given by a Mrs. Waid in 1730 and paid from 1762. (fn. 27) Between 1910 and 1927 parish lands in Tanner Row, Tanner Moat, and North Street were sold for a total of £7,250. which was invested in stock.

All the above charities except Walker's were consolidated in 1908 by a Scheme which apportioned five-eighths of the income to ecclesiastical uses, including the rector's stipend of £20, and threeeighths to non-ecclesiastical uses, including five pensions at a minimum of 5s. weekly. The remainder of the non-ecclesiastical income was to be used in various ways for the benefit of the poor and sick, including the support of provident clubs, and outfitting minors entering trade. A parish nurse is known to have been supported out of the feoffee estate in 1905. (fn. 28) The income of the consolidated charities in 1932 was £252.

A payment from a charity of Lady Hewley under a deed of 1709 was probably being made to a school in the parish in 1825. (fn. 29) In 1833 there were 36 boys and 14 girls in the school. (fn. 30) It was probably this school that in 1846 was receiving a grant from the National Society. (fn. 31)

All Saints', Pavement, and the united parishes of St. Crux, St. Saviour, and St. Peter-theLittle. In 1825 the All Saints' parish estate comprised lands at Skirpendale and Youlthorpe (E.R.), mentioned in a deed of 1513, and properties at Tadcaster (W.R.) and York, with a total annual rental of £211. The York estate, in Fishergate and St. Saviour's parish, was said to have originated in early 17th-century gifts by G. Watkinson, Susanna Marshall, and others. Marshall's gift was subject to a yearly charge of 20s. for the rector and £4 for bread for the poor. The rector also received a yearly £9 from the estate, and a total of £2 15s. from Stainton's, Lowcock's, Myers's, and Hindes's charities, described below. In 1812 Alderman T. Wilson gave £100 stock to provide coal for the poor of the parish. Eleanor Vause Walker, by will proved in 1912, left £1,000 of which the interest was to be divided equally between the rectors of All Saints', Pavement, All Saints', North Street, and St. Denys's, for the relief of the poor in winter. Other benefactions for the poor in money and kind, totalling £132 cash and £6 1s. yearly rent- and interest-charges, were made by Elizabeth Myers (1690), Jane Stainton (1692), William Redman (1728), Robert Darby (1729), (fn. 32) Mary Birbeck (1743), Eleazar Lowcock (1786), and at unknown dates by John Foster the elder and younger, Mary Foster, Mary Fothergill, Elizabeth Herbert, and Zachariah Hindes. (fn. 33) Mrs. Stainton also left £1 10s. a year from a house in Coppergate, for paying a schoolmistress to teach 6 poor girls to read, knit, and sew. In 1825 the money was being so applied, together with 5s. originally given by the same donor to provide a bread dole. (fn. 34)

In 1859 the rector established his sole right to the rents of a portion of the parish estate that was held to have been acquired by the parish before 1625. This comprised a block of cottages in Peaseholme Green, of which a part had been used in 1759 as a parish workhouse; it appears to have been represented in 1950 by a building at the end of Aldwark. The rent of this property, known as the 'rector's share' of the parish estate, was raised from £9 to £70 in 1859, and yielded £155 in 1931, when the total income of the parish from land and stock was £366. Between 1928 and 1950 parish lands in York, for the most part in Fishergate, were sold for £11,359, of which a part was invested in stock, and the remainder used to liquidate outstanding debts. The Tadcaster estate appears to have been sold in 1914 for £800, which was invested.

In 1825 the St. Crux parish estate comprised properties in York yielding £122 annually. The income was charged with the payment to the poor of the interest on £438, in consideration of endowments made at unknown dates by Marmaduke Rawden, Christopher Hewley, Ursula Carr, Mary Squire, James Barnard, Thomas Ward, and others. The sum of £1 12s. was also being paid annually to a schoolmistress for teaching 4 poor children to read, out of the charities of Ann Garnet and Metcalf Ingram (founded 1732). (fn. 35) In 1953 the feoffment estate had an income of £239 15s. from rents, rentcharges, and stock. By will proved in 1612 Sir Robert Watter left £120 for the minister, (fn. 36) and in 1618 William Weddall gave £100 for the poor of the parish, (fn. 37) In 1955 Watter's gift was represented by £127 stock, and Weddall's by £106 stock. (fn. 38) Christopher Hutton in 1723 left property in York, worth £9 16s. yearly in 1825, the income from which was to be divided equally between the Blue Coat School and the poor of St. Crux's parish. The property was sold in 1946 for £3,000, and the charity was represented in 1955 by £4,870 stock, yielding £121. (fn. 39) The non-educational part of the charity was placed in 1952 under the administration of the York Charity Trustees. By will proved in 1773 William Haughton left, among other bequests, £500 for 10 old women of St. Crux parish, £100 for bread for the parish poor, £1,300 to maintain a schoolmistress to teach 20 poor children of parishioners, and 2 guineas yearly to the minister. (fn. 40) Ann Spooner at an unknown date before 1825 gave £100 stock to be distributed among 10 poor families; in 1825 this was being received by 10 poor women. The parish also benefited at this date from joint rent-charges amounting to £6 10s. yearly for the minister and £8 12s. yearly for the poor, left or given by George Spence (1623), Beatrice Hudson (1634), Edith Darke (1663), John Straker (1669), John Tomlinson (1672), Robert Davye (1716), John Lucas (1725), Margaret Mason (1732), and George Stockton (n.d.). In 1727 John Whitehead left an annual charge of £1 for the poor. Other charities, represented by the interest on £30, given by Eleanor and Thomas Kighley and Priscilla Hebborne at unknown dates, were reported as lost in 1825, as was a loan fund of approximately £35, the sum of a number of 17th-century donations. (fn. 41)

By will proved in 1918 William Wright left £200 for the poor of St. Andrew's parish, to be administered by the York Charity Trustees. In 1955 this gift was represented by £291 stock yielding £8 14s. 10d. annually. (fn. 42)

In 1825 lands in York worth £22 were reported to be appropriated to the upkeep of St. Saviour's parish church. In 1710 Thomas Barker gave by deed lands in Clifton parish, to provide, out of the rents, £2 13s. yearly for bread for the poor of St. Saviour's, and the residue for apprenticing a boy or girl. From 1819 three-fifths of the income was given to the poor, and two-fifths used for apprenticing; £24 rent was thus divided in 1825. (fn. 43) By 1907 the income had risen to £50, of which £33 was expended in doles of bread, and £3 used for outfitting apprentices. (fn. 44) At an unknown date Mary Potter gave £20 to the parish poor, represented in 1825 by a rentcharge of 16s. A further yearly charge of 5s. was also received at this date. A gift by Mildred Foulis of £20 for the poor had been lost by 1825. (fn. 45) By will proved in 1866 Revd. Josiah Crofts gave £50 to the poor and £50 to the church. The money was subsequently applied to building a vestry, but its replacement had been ordered in 1896. (fn. 46)

In 1729 Robert Darby gave £40 to help maintain a schoolmistress teaching 8 poor children of the parish of St. Peter-the-Little. The mistress received £2 2s. in 1824, when the number of children benefiting had been reduced to six. It was not always possible to fill the post at such a small salary, but in 1854 a 'school dame' was appointed at 40s. yearly, to teach 8 poor children, and after her death in 1858 another appointment was made. After 1862 the income seems to have been used to support another school in the parish. (fn. 47) The principal was subsequently lent to the trustees of the All Saints', Pavement, parish estate, and is said to have become 'amalgamated with it', but in the year 1904 to 1905, £10 was expended on education out of the All Saints' parish estate. An annual charge of 6s. 8d. for the poor was received by the churchwardens of St. Peter-the-Little in 1825. (fn. 48)

Clifton township and the parish of St. Philip and St. James. In 1632 Peter Hill devised the township a rent-charge of £2 yearly. This was redeemed in 1932 for £45, which was invested in stock. In 1799 George Stephenson left £50 for the poor of Clifton township 'in the parish of St. Olave's, Marygate'. Stephenson's gift was invested in 1808 in £45 stock, which yielded £2 5s. 4d. in 1822. (fn. 49) In 1907 the trustees received an income of £1 3s. 8d. yearly, which was distributed in allowances of tea. (fn. 50) By will proved in 1875 John Roper left £500 to the incumbent and churchwardens of St. Philip and St. James's Church, to provide bread and coal for poor people of the congregation. In 1907 this gift yielded an annual £13 17s. 8d., which was distributed in coal and flour tickets. (fn. 51) In 1922 James Melrose gave £311 stock, the interest from which was to be used to benefit poor women of Clifton parish. In 1921 waste land at Clifton 'belonging to and held for the benefit of the ancient township of Clifton' was sold by the York Union Guardians and the proceeds invested in £83 stock. The income, in 1955 amounting to £2 10s., (fn. 52) was subsequently administered by the York Charity Trustees for the poor of the ancient township. (fn. 53)

Fulford. In 1895 the Vicar of St. Oswald's observed that, as a result of the Local Government Act, 1894, the Parish Council of Fulford St. Oswald, the portion of the ancient parish of Fulford Ambo which lay outside the City of York, was administering charities applicable to the whole of the ancient parish, and that the portion within the city (after 1884) contained more than 90 per cent. of the population. In 1907 the city portion received a share of the parish charities worth £7 9s. 3d., largely distributed in bread and coal. (fn. 54)

Holy Trinity, Micklegate, with the united parishes of St. John, Ouse Bridge End, and St. Martin-Cum-Gregory. In 1824 the Holy Trinity parish estate comprised a close of land on The Mount, said to have been held immemorially, which was leased for £10 yearly. (fn. 55) Some of this property was sold in 1891 and the proceeds invested in £143 stock, but in 1912 the churchwardens drew a rent from the remainder of £200, of which £120 was applied towards maintaining the living. Parish feoffees also held a church estate known as the 'Holgate Land'. This originated in gifts totalling £30 made by Elizabeth Hinde and John and William Green during the 18th century, (fn. 56) which were invested in lands in Holgate mentioned in an inclosure award of 1787. The lands were sold in 1889 and the proceeds invested in stock, amounting in 1912 to £534. In 1956 this endowment was administered jointly with that of Isabel Ward, who, in 1565, gave land in York to provide an annual penny for 13 poor parishioners. By 1823 the value of this property had risen sufficiently to support an annual payment of £16 14s. (fn. 57) The income of the joint charities in 1956 was £109. In 1784 Tabitha Bower by deed endowed the parish with a quarter share of the income of £1,400 stock, (fn. 58) amounting in 1825 to £10 10s. (fn. 59) and in 1931 to £8 15s., which was applied to the relief of the poor. Other benefactions included a capital sum of £10 and rent-charges of £1 10s. for the poor, left by Abraham Smith (1671), Elizabeth Gibson (1792), and Christopher Waide, at an unknown date. (fn. 60) In 1893 Walter Potter of New Zealand left £25 for the parish poor, to which his relatives added a further £25. This gift yielded £1 5s. in 1931.

The main estate of St. John's parish in 1825 comprised land left by Francis Duckworth in 1710 to provide 10s. yearly for the preaching minister, and the residue of the income for the poor. This endowment was estimated to be worth £52 10s. yearly in 1825, (fn. 61) and in 1907 produced £82 rent. In 1883 the trustees discontinued the customary money doles because of alleged drunkenness among the recipients, and began distribution in kind. In 1794 Dorothy Bowes left £100, and, at unknown dates before 1824, John Dodsworth left £100 and Benjamin Gurnell £50 for coal for the poor. (fn. 62) In 1857 Elizabeth Arthur bequeathed £200, invested in stock, for 4 poor widows of the parish. Smaller benefactions made before 1825 included capital sums totalling £66 and rent-charges of 10s. yearly for the minister and £4 for the poor, bequeathed by James Wright (1635), Samuel Breary (d. 1644), Jonathan Taite (1672), W. Breary (1680), Nathaniel Wilson (will proved 1726), and others. (fn. 63) The rent-charges left by Wright and Samuel Breary were redeemed in 1928 for £26 13s. 4d., which was invested. In 1689 Hannah Laycock left property for the poor worth £4 4s. yearly in 1825. (fn. 64) Henry Watson, who died in 1875, left £50 stock each to the parishes of St. John, Ouse Bridge End, St. Margaret, and St. Mary's, Bishophill, Junior, the interest from which was to be spent on bread doles for poor persons of those parishes.

All the St. John's parish charities except that of Francis Duckworth were consolidated in 1909 by a Scheme of the Charity Commissioners that created out of them two pensions, one of them for a widow, and directed the remainder to be used for the poor. In 1925 the consolidated charities drew an income of £134, £112 from stock and the remainder from property or rent-charges.

St. Martin-cum-Gregory church estate comprised in 1822 lands in Micklegate let for £8 yearly. (fn. 65) A trust deed of 1848 mentions also lands at Drax (W.R.) held for the benefit of the rector, and in the years from 1940 to 1942 the church estate yielded an annual £145 gross. In 1826 the parish owned £1,000 'poor's stock', partly originating in nine loan benefactions totalling £56 12s. (discontinued in 1727), a gift of £20 for 4 poor women made by Elizabeth Perrot in 1732, and another gift of £40 made by a Mrs. Sill in 1769. It was customary to divide a yearly 40s. among 4 poor widows and to use the remaining income in £5 grants for apprenticing poor children of the parish. (fn. 66) In the 19th century the apprenticing charity was allowed to lapse, and from 1824, when £10 8s. was so spent, the trustees began to give out a bread dole. In 1872 the dole amounted to 7s. a week, while 16 widows received £1 a year each. Apprenticeship grants ceased in 1857. A churchwarden wrote to the Charity Commissioners in 1871 that there was 'so much bread we find a difficulty in getting them to fetch it', and in 1873 the commissioners established a scheme whereby income was to be used for making payments 'for the benefit or advancement of children of the artisan or labouring class' on their leaving school. This scheme remained a dead letter, and in 1906 was replaced by another which introduced three representative trustees, appointed by the corporation, and laid down six ways in which income might be used: for subscriptions to the York Dispensary or hospitals, subscriptions to provident clubs, to provide nursing, to pay the cost of outfitting minors entering trade or service, to assist emigration, and to provide gifts of goods worth up to £7 and money up to £3. In 1931 the parish drew an income of £28 from £1,121 stock, which was distributed by the rector in coal, groceries, and medical charities.

In 1641 John Vaux bequeathed money to the corporation to create a yearly rent-charge of £15 to be divided between the ministers and poor of the parishes of Holy Trinity, King's Court, St. Martincum-Gregory, and Huntington (N.R.). (fn. 67) No direction appears to have been made for the disposal of £1 of the income, and in 1825 (fn. 68) and 1835 (fn. 69) the corporation paid £14 only. The full charge of £15 was, however, mentioned in 1934, (fn. 70) and was declared to persist in 1955. (fn. 71) Of this St. Martin's received £3 for the minister and £1 10s. for the poor. Smaller benefactions comprising rent-charges of 10s. for the minister and £3 10s. for the poor were given by Samuel Breary (d. 1644), Matthew Hill (in 1665), and Roger Sawney (in 1695). (fn. 72)

Holy Trinity, Goodramgate, and the united parishes of St. John-Del-Pyke and St. Maurice. In 1825 Holy Trinity parish held a benefaction fund of £177 for bread and coals for the poor, given at unknown dates by Martha and Elizabeth Sugar, Roger Hayter, George Potts, Phineas Bull, John Geldart and others, and £20 for educating poor girls, given by a Mrs. Thornhill. In 1675 Jane Wright left money for apprenticing poor boys, for the relief of poor widows and housekeepers, and for setting up apprentices in trade. By 1681 £1,665 had been received under Wright's bequest and invested in lands at Rufforth (W.R.), York, and Upper Poppleton (W.R.). An award of 1679 ordered that Holy Trinity should receive two-thirds and St. John-delPyke parish one-third of the income. (fn. 73) In 1934 no money was being spent on apprenticing, as there were said to be no persons eligible, and the income was applied exclusively for the poor. Sarah Brown, by will proved in 1909, left £590, received in 1912, for the benefit of 10 poor widows or spinsters. John Turner, by will proved in 1927, left £100, the income to be used for relieving 6 poor persons.

In 1825 St. John-del-Pyke parish held a benefaction fund of £20 10s., given by 'Johnson and others'. (fn. 74)

Endowments in St. Maurice's parish comprised, in 1825, £10 for the minister left by Joyce Houltby in 1730, and a total of £140 for the relief in kind of the poor left by Houltby, John Clapham (1764), and Elizabeth Clapham (1768), together with rentcharges of unknown origin, worth 18s. 6d. yearly, applicable to the repair of St. Maurice's Church. (fn. 75) In 1763 the parish overseers of the poor borrowed the £50 principal of Houltby's gift to buy 'the old York workhouse' for parish use, and paid the interest out of the poor rates until 1880, when the payments were disallowed. (fn. 76) The charge was subsequently redeemed for stock worth £3 10s. annually. By will proved in 1845 Ann Harrison left £200 each to St. Maurice's and St. Sampson's parishes, the interest from which was to be given to the poor in doles. William Robinson, by will proved in 1884, left £266 for the parish poor, which was invested in stock. By will proved in 1947 Bertha Swift left £100 for the augmentation of the stipend of the incumbent of St. Maurice's. The endowment was transferred to the Church Commissioners in 1949.

St. Cuthbert's parish. In 1721 Sir Martin Bowes left £50 to provide, among other payments, 4s. yearly for the minister, 13s. 4d. for repairing the church, and £1 6s. for the poor. (fn. 77) In 1825 this gift was represented by £40, (fn. 78) and in 1955 by £63 stock yielding £1 18s. 2d. (fn. 79) Other benefactions included a rent-charge of 5s. yearly for the poor and 10s. for the education of 2 poor girls, left by Jane Stainton (1692) and a total of £28 left by Margaret Mason (1732), Francis Ketlam (n.d.), and Thomas Coates (n.d.). (fn. 80) In 1907 the churchwardens received a total income from the parish charities of £3 8s. 7d., which they distributed in coal. (fn. 81)

St. Denys's parish, with the united parishes of St. Margaret, Walmgate, and St. Peter-leWillows. In 1825 the church estate of St. Denys's parish comprised properties in York, held 'from ancient time', and yielding £45 19s. yearly. The poor's estate in Heworth, for which the earliest surviving deed was dated 1769, yielded £13 yearly. Out of these incomes the churchwardens paid sums due under Fothergill's and Yeoman's gifts, described below, and allowed £6 1s. 4d. yearly for a bread dole. The residue was applied for the upkeep of the church. (fn. 82) In 1911 and 1912 some of the York land was sold for a total of £1,700, which was invested, and in 1918 the parish drew a yearly income of £64 from stock, £51 from York properties, and £9 from the Heworth estate. Of this the sum of £56 was applied to church purposes and £10 4s. to the relief of the poor. Dorothy Wilson (d. 1817) left, among other bequests, (fn. 83) £40 for the poor of St. Denys's, an annual sum for a schoolmistress, (fn. 84) and 10s. yearly for the minister. The minister's gift had been increased to a guinea a year by 1820. (fn. 85) In 1767 George Fothergill left £100 for the poor, which yielded £5 interest in 1825. (fn. 86) By will proved in 1844 Elizabeth Robinson left £100, divided equally between St. Denys's and St. Margaret's parishes, of which St. Denys's share was to be used in equal parts to provide gifts of bread and coal. In 1924 the £50 had been invested in stock, and the proceeds were distributed in grocery tickets. By will proved in 1910 John Walker left £300 as a fabric fund for St. Denys's Church and a further £300 as a fabric fund for St. Margaret's Church. In 1912 St. Denys's parish also became entitled to a third share of a bequest of £1,000 for the poor made by Miss E. V. Walker. An income of £10 18s. was received in respect of this gift in 1925 and distributed in kind, doles, and payments for medical attendance. In 1917 James Melrose, chairman of the York Charity Trustees, gave the parish £526 stock, the interest from which was to be distributed in gifts to aged poor women. (fn. 87) This was the first of three benefactions to York parishes, totalling £1,567 stock, the other two of which are mentioned below. (fn. 88) Other, smaller, parish endowments included rent-charges of £1 for the minister and 10s. for the poor, left by Philip Eshe (fl. 1688) and William Yeoman. Charities lost before 1825 included a total of £20, given, at unknown dates, by Henry Garbutt, John Hunter, Anne Harding, and Edward Hutchinson, and a loan fund of £7 9s. given by Richard Mason and John Walkington. (fn. 89)

The chief endowment of St. Margaret's parish in 1825 comprised lands in Heworth yielding £25 yearly. These were bought in 1753 for £335, £300 of which was the principal of a bequest made by Sarah Guest for the benefit of a poor man and woman of the parish, (fn. 90) by will proved in 1752. From 1795 until 1879 the amount spent to fulfil the terms of the bequest was fixed at 4½ per cent. of £300, or £13 10s., and the remainder distributed to the poor generally. In 1907 a net rent of £30 was being used to pay two pensions of £15 each to a man and a woman. (fn. 91) Four persons benefited in 1938 when the net rent was £27 7s. 6d. In 1640 Robert Kell left property in York, then worth £3 10s. yearly, but in 1825 producing £12 net, for the repair of the church. In 1938 this property yielded £43 rent (£28 14s. net). Dinah Robinson, in 1788, left two yearly payments of £2 10s. for coal and bread for poor parishioners, and in 1816 her executor, Thomas Wilson, created an endowment of £150 stock. This was represented in 1938 by £176 stock, producing £4 8s. yearly, which was distributed in coal. In 1775 Ann Chadwick left £50 for bread for the poor. This was later administered with Elizabeth Robinson's bequests of £30 for bread and £20 for coal, made in 1844. In 1938 the two gifts were represented by £100 stock producing £2 10s. yearly. In 1919 James Melrose gave £730 stock, from which St. Margaret's parish was to receive half of the interest, and St. Lawrence's the other half, for the benefit of the aged poor of each parish. Smaller benefactions included a loan fund of £10, given by Richard North in 1598, and sums totalling £22 given for the poor, that had been lost by 1825. (fn. 92) North's gift was replaced 'long before 1825' by an annual dole of 10s. interest for the poor. (fn. 93) In 1955 it was represented by stock producing 6s. 4d. yearly. (fn. 94) In 1875 the parish also received £50 stock for the poor, the bequest of Henry Watson.

By will proved in 1905 Isabella Kirk left £200 stock for coal for the poor of St. Peter-le-Willows parish. This gift produced £7 in 1938.

In 1907 St. Lawrence's parish received an income of £3 17s. from the charities of Jane Scruton and John Sykes, which was distributed in coal and flour to widows and other needy persons. (fn. 95) The parishioners also benefited from Melrose's gift, made in 1919, which is described above. (fn. 96)

By will proved in 1910 John Walker left £2,500 to endow St. Luke's mission church, Burton Lane. The money was allowed to accumulate, and on the creation of the parish in 1930 more than £5,000 stock was transferred to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.

St. Martin's, Coney Street, parish and the united parish of St. Helen's, Stonegate. In 1825 St. Martin's parish feoffment estate for the church and the poor comprised lands at York and at Wistow (W.R.), with a rental of £88 10s. (fn. 97) An inquiry held in 1918 showed that some of these, in Coney Street, had been held from the 14th century, when the parish received gifts under Loudham's charity (1336), and that of Juliana, widow of Richard Candeler (1367). Still earlier, about 1292, by Seizevaux's charity, a rent-charge of 4s. 2d. was imposed on a house in 'Staynebow' (lost but near the modern Stonebow). Further acquisitions of lands in Coney Street were made by Talkan's charity (c. 1400), Smyth's charity (1417), and Braithwaite's charity. By will proved in 1529 Thomas Drawswerde left a house in Jubbergate for the upkeep of the church fabric, and charged it with an annual payment of a penny each to 13 poor persons. The earliest account of a payment from Wistow Ing occurs in 1553, when 15s. was received. A trust deed of 1552 established that the feoffment estate was held for the repair of the church and the relief of the poor, but from the 16th century relatively little appears to have been spent on the poor. A portion of the property was, however, maintained as a parish almshouse. (fn. 98) The parish property gained greatly in value in the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1924 it yielded £510 and in 1954, £776. Between 1918 and 1956 the York estate was sold and the proceeds invested in £36,000 stock.

In 1824 a bequest of £20, made by Elizabeth Nalson in 1727, (fn. 99) was said to be 'in the hands of the vicar', for whose benefit it was held. A yearly payment of £1 was subsequently charged on the feoffment estate in respect of this gift. In 1955 the vicar was allowed a supplementary stipend of £150 out of the estate. In 1670 Ann Wright left lands in Coney Street charged with yearly payments of 10s. to the minister and £2 10s. to the poor of St. Martin's. (fn. 1) These charges were paid in 1825, when the charity was administered with the feoffment estate. (fn. 2) In 1924 the income of Wright's charity from rent and stock was £142 10s., and in 1954, £524. In 1694 Ann Savile left £110 for the parish poor and £20 for the minister. (fn. 3) The principal was subsequently spent and the charity afterwards supported by a yearly charge of £6 10s. made on the endowment of Wright's charity. By a Scheme of 1907 payments out of the combined charities of Wright and Saville were fixed at £25 each for the church fabric, the vicar, and the poor. In 1698 Leonard Thompson left £500 to provide yearly payments of 40s. for the poor of St. Martin's parish, 20s. for the poor of St. Helen's parish, and 25s. to the Vicar of St. Martin's. These sums were increased by a Chancery Order in 1819 to £15, £13, and £5 respectively, (fn. 4) and again by a Scheme of 1869 to £20, £18, and £25. In 1819 the endowment had been invested in lands at Wigginton (N.R.) producing £80 yearly. The founder had directed that the surplus income should be applied to apprenticing poor boys of the parish, and in 1819, when such payments were found to have lapsed, a yearly £60 was allowed for this use. In 1869 the application of the residue was extended to include the education of boys, without a religious test. The charity received an income in 1918 of £153 (£133 net). At this date apprenticeship payments had been replaced by a maintenance allowance for providing clothing and outfits for poor boys 'learning a trade under a practical workman'; an average of £7 a year was so spent. From 1911 additional doles to the poor averaging about £50 yearly were made out of surplus income. In 1776 Mary Musgrave left £200 to provide two separate sums of £5 yearly for the poor of St. Martin's and St. Helen's parishes. The principal was held by the corporation. (fn. 5) At some date before 1912 (fn. 6) the parishes added £40 and the total sum was invested in £254 stock, which yielded £7 12s. in 1955. (fn. 7) By will proved in 1844 Dr. Stephen Beckwith left £200 each to the parishes of St. Martin, Coney St., St. Mary, Bishophill, Senior, and St. Mary, Bishophill, Junior, to provide coal for poor persons of those parishes. Other benefactions for the poor of St. Martin's included £20, left by Ambrose Beckwith (1770), and a rent-charge of 7s. left by Edward Hutchinson (1634) and Mary Hutchinson (1650), and, for the minister, a rentcharge of 10s. left by Michael Nicholson. (fn. 8) Fabian Farley, in 1600, gave the corporation £30, (fn. 9) the interest from which was to be shared by the poor of the parishes of St. Martin, Coney Street, St. Helen, Stonegate, St. Michael-le-Belfrey, and St. Wilfrid. (fn. 10) In 1955 this gift was represented by £31 17s. 5d. stock, yielding 19s. yearly. (fn. 11) St. Martin's parish share amounted to 5s. in 1825 (fn. 12) and 3s. 4d. in 1934. (fn. 13)

The increase in the value of the St. Martin's parish lands has been accompanied by a decrease in the number of beneficiaries. By 1955 the population of the united parishes of St. Martin's and St. Helen's had fallen to 241, and income was far in excess of needs. Between 1951 and 1954 Wright's charity had an annual income of more than £400 and an average expenditure of less than £100. The destruction by bombing of St. Martin's Church during the Second World War raised the question of the disposal of its endowments, and in 1956 a Scheme was established whereby surplus income from the feoffment estate and Wright's charity became applicable to St. Helen's parish as well as St. Martin's.

At an unknown date Grace Dale gave lands near Scarborough (N.R.), then worth 16s., but in 1825 let for £6 6s., for the benefit of the minister of St. Helen's parish. (fn. 14) At some time before 1858 these were exchanged for lands near York then yielding £20 yearly. Edward Shilletoe, in 1680, bequeathed property in 'Monkbar' to provide 10s. for the minister and 10s., with the surplus, for the poor. In 1825 £6 6s. was received in respect of this gift. (fn. 15) The property was sold in 1877 for £250, which was invested in stock. In 1922 the trustees began to use the greater part of the income for subscriptions to the County Hospital, York Dispensary, and St. Ann's Convalescent Home, Bridlington (E.R.). By will proved in 1857 Frances Atkinson left £666 stock in trust for two annuitants. Of this £220 was to be applied after their deaths to the upkeep of St. Helen's Church, and £110 for coal and blankets for the poor. In 1884 and 1944 the parish trustees held £289 stock in respect of Atkinson's gift, and the income was applied, in part at least, as a money dole to the poor. Bridget Lawrence in 1635 gave £40 to provide 10s. yearly for the minister and the residue for the poor. (fn. 16) In 1955 this gift was represented by £48 9s. 3d. stock, yielding £1 4s. (fn. 17)

Other benefactions included rent-charges totalling £2 for the minister, bequeathed by John Bears (1672), Tabitha Kaine (1739), and Elizabeth Saire (n.d.), and £20 and a yearly £5 2s. bequeathed for the poor by the same persons, Lady Ascough (1711), Thomas Mowbray (1727), and Catherine Sharp (n.d.). A further £8, given for the poor at unknown dates by Sarah Gaile and Giles Wallis, had been lost before 1825. St. Helen's parish also benefited from Farley's charity, mentioned above, from which 8s. 4d. was received in 1825, (fn. 18) and 6s. 8d. in 1934. (fn. 19)

The chief endowment of St. Mary's, Bishophill, Senior parish in 1822 comprised property on the bank of the Ouse, known as the Parish House, which was given by William Tesh at an unknown date and was said to have been 'appropriated time out of mind for the service and support of the church'. At that date it was customary to add the income, £6 yearly, to the church rate, but it was later also used for the relief of the poor. (fn. 20) From 1885 the money was paid to the parish of St. Mary's, Bishophill, Junior. The rental had risen by 1930 to £20 yearly, but the property was soon afterwards threatened with heavy charges for the repair of the river bank, and it was sold in 1932 for only £226. In 1661 Peter and Ann Middleton gave lands adjacent to the Parish House which were let in 1822 for £8 (fn. 21) and in 1922 for £15 yearly. The income was divided equally between the upkeep of the church and the relief of the poor. The land was sold in 1932 and the proceeds invested in £305 stock, of which the income was, by a Scheme, divided equally between the upkeep of the church of St. Mary, Bishophill, Senior (then lying in Junior parish) and the poor of the ancient parish of St. Mary's, Bishophill, Senior. Thomas Sugden, in 1912, bequeathed £100 to provide weekly 13 loaves of bread for 13 poor persons living 'within Skeldergate Postern'. This gift was represented by £90 stock in 1822, yielding £4 10s. yearly, (fn. 22) and by £105 stock in 1932. In 1778 John Cobb bequeathed £300, which was invested in £451 stock, to provide gifts of coal and bread for poor parishioners. Two-thirds of the income was spent on coal and a third on bread. (fn. 23) By will proved in 1873 Ann Eliza Cooper left £500 for blankets and warm clothing for the parish poor. The sum of £456 was received in respect of this gift and invested in stock in 1874. The principal was retained in the account of the Chancery suit of Dresser v. Gleadow, but the income was available for distribution, and from 1941 to 1944 a yearly figure of £6 was expended in 5s. vouchers for clothing, mainly for women. In 1844 the parish also received £200 for coals for the poor, the bequest of Dr. Stephen Beckwith. (fn. 24) Other benefactions included rentcharges of £2 for the poor given or bequeathed by Thomas Todd (1703), Catherine Ramsden (1716), and Elizabeth Brough (1750). Rent charges of 10s. for the minister and 10s. for the poor had been lost in 1822. (fn. 25) All the parish charities except that of Eliza Cooper were consolidated by a Scheme of 1932.

The chief endowment of St. Mary's, Bishophill, Junior parish in 1825 comprised property, on which stood the Coach and Horses Inn, left by Richard Pickard for the poor at an unknown date. Of the net annual rent of about £20 (fn. 26) only about £15 was customarily spent on the poor dole, so that there was a credit balance of £181 in 1907, when £130 was invested in stock. In 1902 the property was repaired and the rent raised to £70. The inn and lands were sold in 1945, and the proceeds invested, with accumulated funds, in £4,541 stock from which, in 1955, the trustees drew an income of £142 11s. In 1647 George Abbot left a charge of £5 yearly on land at Cornborough (N.R.) to maintain a school for teaching boys and girls of the parish to read English, and 30s. yearly for schoolbooks. Any surplus from the fund was to be 'bestowed in Bibles to such poor people as would not embezzle them'. There does not appear to have been a permanent schoolhouse. In 1825 ten children were being taught by a mistress, (fn. 27) but the payment was allowed to lapse after 1871, and was not again recovered until 1906. In 1844 the parish received £200 for coal for the poor, the bequest of Dr. Stephen Beckwith. Smaller bequests for the poor included £20 left by Peregrine Lascelles in 1768 (fn. 28) and £50 stock left by Henry Watson in 1875. All the parish charities, including those of Middleton, (fn. 29) Dodsworth, (fn. 30) and Wright, (fn. 31) described elsewhere, were consolidated in 1907 by a Scheme of the Charity Commissioners which established four pensions of not less than 5s. a week, and laid down that the surplus should be applied for the general benefit of the poor, including subscriptions to medical institutions, provident societies, the provision of nursing, and relief in kind or cash.

St. Mary's, Castlegate, parish with St. Michael, Spurriergate. The chief estate with which St. Mary's parish was endowed in 1825 appears to have comprised property in York left by Elizabeth Saville in 1649. This was charged with payments of £2 to the minister, and the residue of the income, amounting in 1825 to £2, to the poor. (fn. 32) In 1845 a heavy debt was incurred for repairs and rebuilding, and though the property was sold for £700 in 1861, it produced a net sum of only £105, which was invested in stock. In 1729 Frances Barker bequeathed to the corporation £150 charged with the yearly payment of £2 interest to the rector of St. Mary's, £2 for teaching poor girls of the parish to read and sew, and £2 to the Grey Coat Charity School. (fn. 33) The parish share of this gift was represented in 1955 by £106 stock yielding £3 3s. 8d. yearly. (fn. 34) In 1775 Thomas Norfolk bequeathed £100 to provide bread for poor people of the parish. In 1791 this gift was increased by £10 bequeathed by John Mann (n.d.), subject to a charge of 10s. yearly for the minister, and £25 bequeathed by Dr. William White in 1790, and the whole invested in stock which yielded £6 18s. in 1825. (fn. 35) By will proved in 1873 Rawlins Gould left the York Charity Trustees £500 to be invested in stock and the income distributed yearly in bread to 10 poor widows of the parish. In 1955 the annual income of this charity was £13 6s. 8d. (fn. 36) Other benefactions included rent-charges of £3 yearly for repairs to the church, 10s. for the minister, and £4 16s. for the poor, bequeathed by George Buck (d. 1611), Sir Henry Thompson (1692), Thomas Barker (1725), and Thomas Dalkin (n.d.). (fn. 37)

St. Michael's parish estate comprised property in York worth £55 yearly in 1743, (fn. 38) and £98 in 1825, which was held for the repair of the church and the relief of the poor. In 1825 the earliest surviving deed was dated 1599. (fn. 39) At some date before 1908 the larger part of the lands was sold, and the proceeds invested in £3,795 stock, but in 1911 £2,000 of this was realized and a new estate bought. In 1921 the parish had an income of £165 from rents and £201 from stock. In 1595 James Cotterill left £100 for the minister, (fn. 40) represented in 1955 by £106 stock worth £3 3s. 8d. yearly. (fn. 41) In 1681 William Shaw left £100 to provide £5 4s. yearly for bread for the poor. The money was invested in a rent-charge on land at Barlby (E.R.), near Selby. (fn. 42) The charge was redeemed in 1931 for £208 stock. Peter Richardson, in 1690, created a yearly rent-charge on land at Oxton (W.R.) of £1 for the minister of St. Michael's and £5 4s. for the poor. In 1770 William Hutchinson bequeathed £30 to provide a yearly £4 for the rector, and £6 10s. with any surplus for the poor; the principal was subsequently invested in stock. (fn. 43) By will proved in 1792 Henry Myers bequeathed £300, the yearly interest from which, amounting in 1825 to £14 16s., was to be expended on coal for the poor of St. Michael's and St. Mary's, Castlegate. (fn. 44) In 1955 this gift was represented by £370 stock, worth £9 4s. yearly. (fn. 45) At unknown dates before 1825 Isabel Cuthbert bequeathed £100 for bread for the poor and John Smurthwaite £100 to provide a yearly 10s. for the minister and 2s. for the poor. Other benefactions included bequests for the minister and the poor with a total annual value of £6 and £3 1s. 8d. respectively, made by Thomas Moseley (1624), Samuel Manklin (1686), Thomas Nayler (1689), Mrs. Gibson (1782), and by Richard Wood and Robert Darley, at unknown dates. A loan fund of £60, the gift of Peter Richardson, Richard Marsh, and Alice Barstow, had been lost before 1825. (fn. 46)

St. Michael-le-Belfrey parish with St. Wilfrid's. In 1825 the estate administered by St. Michael's parish feoffees comprised property in York with a rental of £148 yearly, acquired as a result of gifts by John Johnson (by deed of 1574), Edward Cook (whose gift is first mentioned in a deed of 1669), and Samuel Bellingham (d. c. 1727). In 1859 the properties representing Johnson's gift yielded a net rent of £33, those representing Cook's gift £22, and those representing Bellingham's gift £84 10s. The income was subject to certain specified charges, including £1 to St. Anthony's Hospital, 6s. 8d. each for repairing the causeway 'in the horsefair leading to the forest', and £5 3s. 8d. in money or kind for the poor, and the residue was applicable to the upkeep of the church and the relief of the poor. (fn. 47) In 1921 parish property in Monkgate with a rental of £80 was sold for £2,250, and the net product invested in stock. A disused burial ground was sold in 1953 for £60, which was also invested. In 1825 a separate body of parish trustees also held 'bread funds' totalling £131 cash and £160 stock, whose origin was unspecified, but which appear to be partly, at least, comprised in the gifts mentioned below. By will proved in 1773 William Haughton left £100 for bread for the poor. This was represented by £112 stock in 1957, when distribution was said to have been suspended on the introduction of bread rationing in 1946, and not resumed. Catherine Wombwell, in 1791, bequeathed £200, the interest from which was to be distributed in kind among the poor of St. Michael's and St. Wilfrid's parishes and Mint Yard Liberty. Other benefactions for the poor totalling £141 cash and rentcharges of £9 12s. were bequeathed or given by Elizabeth Cass (1691), John Bell (1694), Thomas Harrison (will proved 1721), Christopher and Mary Birkbeck (1717 and 1743), George Wright (will proved 1722), John Allen (1748), Thomas Scholfield (1750), Jacob Costobadie and Ellen Ascough (n.d.). (fn. 48) St. Michael's parish also benefited from Farley's charity, described above, from which 10s. was received in 1826 (fn. 49) and 6s. 8d. in 1934. (fn. 50) By will proved in 1898 Clara Wilson gave £50 (net £45), the income to be used for the upkeep of the choir of St. Michael-le-Belfrey. Allen's and Ascough's charities were also for the poor of Mint Yard. The Birkbecks' charge was on leasehold property and was extinguished in 1833 at the end of the lease. Cass's and the Birkbecks' charity were administered by the parish feoffees.

In 1910 the charities of Allen, Costobadie, Wombwell, and Ascough were being administered by the parish trustees and were represented by £624 stock. With the other endowments held by the trustees they yielded £29 13s. 4d. in 1958.

St. Wilfrid's feoffee estate comprised, in 1826, property in York with a rental of £12 12s. 6d.; it was conjectured that part of the property represented the site of the church. (fn. 51) The earliest deed then surviving dated from 1542, and recorded the gift, by John Wryght, to trustees, of a messuage in Blake Street 'for the maintenance of the parish church and the help of the poor people of the parish'. Further property in Blake Street was acquired in 1590.

After the union of the parish with that of St. Michael-le-Belfrey in 1586, St. Wilfrid's was assessed for an eighth of the joint church rate, and the contribution was paid out of the income of the feoffee estate. An average of £10 5s. annually was so paid in the period immediately before the abolition of church rates, and a similar sum continued to be paid to the churchwardens of St. Michael's subsequently. A yearly £3 was also paid for distribution among the poor of the former parish, and the surplus was expended on the poor in doles and apprenticing fees.

In 1904 the estate was sold for £4,500, which was invested in stock, and by a Scheme of 1906 the endowment, £4,603 stock and £262 cash, was divided equally between an eleemosynary and an ecclesiastical charity. Out of the £73 13s. income of the eleemosynary branch £52 yearly was appropriated to pensions to 4 poor persons of St. Wilfrid's parish or that of St. Michael-le-Belfrey, and the residue to the general benefit of the poor. In 1957 an income of £70 16s. 2d. was received from £2,166 stock. The endowment of the ecclesiastical branch was reduced in 1907 by the sale of £808 stock, and in 1957 an income of £41 10s. 6d. was received from £1,384 stock. (fn. 52) St. Wilfrid's parish also benefited from Farley's charity, described above, from which 3s. 4d. was received in 1934. (fn. 53)

St. Olave's parish with St. Giles. The principal endowment of St. Olave's parish in 1822 comprised £100 stock given by William Bowes in 1766 for the poor of Gillygate, Bootham, and the 'hamlet of St. Mary Gate'. (fn. 54) By will proved in 1866 Martha Bebb bequeathed £500 for the poor of the parish and the widows of St. Thomas's Hospital. The principal was invested in stock which yielded £13 4s. 4d. in 1952. In 1867 Mary Dixon bequeathed £100 for the poor, and in 1871 Mary Anne Ware £50. In 1882 £62 7s. 9d. was transferred to the Official Trustee in respect of Ware's gift and invested in stock that yielded £1 11s. in 1952. By will proved in 1933 Alice M. Wolstenholme gave £200 and by will proved in 1956 Frederick Wright left £2,000 to augment the living of St. Olave's Church. Both these sums were subsequently placed in the hands of the Church Commissioners. Other benefactions for the poor included £11 cash, and rent-charges of £1 10s., given or bequeathed by William Day (1622), Philip Goodrick (1700), Revd. Thomas Moseley (1732), and Benjamin Legg (1740). Fabian Farley, in 1607, left lands at Lastingham (N.R.) for the poor which were sold in 1752 for £21. In 1789 the principal was used, with Moseley's gift, to buy new bells. No interest was subsequently paid to the poor until 1822, when the Brougham Commissioners advised a resumption. (fn. 55)

By will proved in 1880 Frances Fletcher left a sum for the poor of St. Paul's, Holgate, represented, in 1896, by £102 stock, and by will proved in 1890 R. W. Hollon left £514 stock for the poor of St. Paul's. (fn. 56) In 1907 the parish received an income of £15 8s. from these gifts, which was distributed in coal. (fn. 57)

St. Sampson's parish with Holy Trinity, King's Court. In 1825 St. Sampson's parish owned property in York bequeathed in reversion by Stephen Watson in 1652, with an annual rental of £21 12s. This appears to have been acquired in 1743, and was an endowment for 6 poor men. (fn. 58) Although the property produced an annual net income of £21 19s. in 1955, it was described two years later as 'ruinous' and valued only on its site value, about £60. In June 1784 James Woodhouse bequeathed to the poor £300, £200 of which was to be received on his wife's death. In 1826 this gift was worth an annual £17 9s. 6d., which was distributed in coal. (fn. 59) In 1955 it was represented by £377 stock yielding £9 8s. 8d. (fn. 60) By will proved in 1903 Jane Bell left £500 (net £450) to provide a stained-glass window, the residue to be invested to augment the vicar's stipend. Other benefactions for the poor totalling £56 6s. 8d. cash and rent-charges of £4 14s. 8d. were given or bequeathed by Alice Herbert (1633), Philip Esh (1688), Dinah Hammond (c. 1703), George Gilman (1703), John Wilkinson (1727), George Atkinson (1729), and Alice Green (1818). In 1653 Richard Hartforth bequeathed a yearly charge of 10s. for a sermon at St. Sampson's, the preacher to be chosen by the churchwardens. (fn. 61)

In 1826 Holy Trinity parish estate comprised lands in York mentioned in a deed of 1656. (fn. 62) As a result of disadvantageous leasing, in 1877 this property yielded a rent of only £13 10s., part of which was expended on the church fabric. In 1951 the gross rental was £330 18s. 5d. and the trustees also received an income from accumulated stock of £5 14s. The church went out of use in 1886 and was demolished in 1937. The income in 1942 was customarily used for the relief of the poor. The charity was regulated by a Scheme of 1944 which permitted the use of the income for weekly pensions and for a number of other purposes in keeping with the character of a modern central-urban parish, such as the maintenance of a reading-room, a library, or working-men's clubs. In 1674 Stephen Arlish gave land in Fulford, let in 1821 for £16 10s. yearly, for the benefit of 6 poor men and women of Holy Trinity. By will proved in 1739 Richard Chambers left land at Wigginton (N.R.), let in 1821 for £23 yearly, (fn. 63) for the benefit of 2 poor persons of the parish. In 1902 the two gifts were consolidated by a Charity Commissioners' Scheme which created 8 pensions of not less than 5s. weekly and directed the residue to be used for subscriptions to the Dispensary, the York County Hospital or institutions where injured children were given special training, to provident societies, and for direct gifts to the poor of up to £15 yearly in kind or money. At this date Arlish's charity yielded £110 annual gross rent and Chambers's £22. In 1956 4 pensioners each received £13 out of a net income of £86 10s. In 1692 Henry Tireman left the corporation £300 to provide an annual sum for apprenticing 3 freemen's sons, preferably of Holy Trinity parish, to the 'handicraft trades' or as seamen. Grants of £4 a head were customary. (fn. 64) In 1916 a Scheme authorized the trustees to apply any unused income to assist minors entering trades by paying various expenses, including those for instruction. In 1934 this gift was represented by £419 16s. stock, yielding £16 4s. yearly. (fn. 65) In 1845 the churchwardens received £200 left for doles for the poor by Ann Harrison. (fn. 66) This was invested in stock in 1877. Other benefactions for the poor included rent-charges totalling £4 12s. yearly given or bequeathed by Henry Tireman (1672), Ann Taylor (1675), and Alderman Richard Shaw. A total of £4 10s. yearly for the minister was bequeathed by the same persons, and by Thomas Rogerson (1602), and Richard Mason (1692). In 1677 Thomas Elcock devised a tenement in York for the use of the minister, which was sold in 1904 and the proceeds invested. Thomas Rogerson also left 20s. yearly for the repair of the church and Richard Shaw 2s. 6d. yearly for the church officers. Shaw's charge was redeemed in 1929 for £65 6s. 8d. stock. Mason's ceased to be paid after 1874, and proved irrecoverable. A loan fund of £10 8s., comprising gifts made by Mason and Taylor, had been lost before 1826. (fn. 67) From 1641 the parish also benefited from Vaux's bequest, described above, (fn. 68) of annual rent-charges of £6 for the minister and £1 10s. for the poor. In 1941, after the demolition of the old parish church, a Scheme regulated the disposal of the income so as to allow the £6 to the Vicar of St. Sampson's and Holy Trinity, and the £1 10s. in kind to poor persons resident within the old parish bounds.

By will proved in 1910 John Walker left £300 for the repair and maintenance of church-, Sunday school-, or Mission-rooms in St. Thomas's parish, and £100 to provide prizes at St. Thomas's Sunday school.

Independent and General Charities

Agar's Charity. In 1604 Francis Agar gave £30 to the mayor and chamberlain's of York to provide 5s. 6d. yearly for the poor of Walmgate ward. This charity had been lost in 1825. (fn. 69)

Allen's Charity. John Allen in 1747 left the reversion of his residuary estate to build an almshouse for poor old men of the city. Although £2,600 was received in 1753, the house was not built, and the income was devoted instead to pensions, originally 5 in number. In 1824 12 pensioners each received £10 and a further £2 as room-rent. (fn. 70) In 1954 14 pensioners received £12 each. The charity was then endowed with £6,065 stock yielding £179 yearly.

District-Nursing Amenities Fund. In the Purey-Cust Nursing Home 34th Annual Report for 1947-8, the home's district-nursing fund was said to exist 'primarily to provide a district-nursing service for the city of York, for which no charge is made to necessitous patients', and in that year £3,163 was spent for this purpose, and for amenities and comforts for the sick poor. As a result of the National Health Act, 1946, district-nursing ceased to be an object of the fund, and in 1951 the endowment was transferred to a 'District-Nursing Amenities Fund' which provided foods, medicines and other medical supplies, domestic help, and grants for convalescence or other auxiliary purposes connected with the district-nursing service. The fund's endowment at this date was £10,276.

Faithful Female Servants Society. A fund was created in 1820 to pay annual pensions to women in domestic service to reward them for good conduct and to encourage them to remain for longer periods with individual employers. The recipients were given a Bible after the first year, and money gifts in subsequent years of service. No nominations were made for this charity after 1871, and in 1889, on application from the treasurer, the Charity Commissioners sanctioned the dispersal of a surviving balance of £370, for the objects of the society, which was dissolved.

Hodgson and Phillips's Charity. By will proved in 1891 John Hodgson left a sum, represented in 1930 by £5,000 stock, for the benefit of the sick poor of York and Sheriff Hutton (N.R.). By a Scheme of 1930 the York public assistance committee and the local government authorities concerned were appointed trustees. By will proved in 1940 Dr. H. A. Phillips left a reversionary bequest, for the same purposes as Phillips's charity, in respect of which £4,462 was received in 1949. The charity owned £9,497 stock in 1956.

Merchant Adventurers' Charities. In 1825 the Merchant Adventurers Company administered a number of charities for the benefit of Trinity Hospital which have already been described. (fn. 71) It held also loan funds comprising £100 bequeathed by William Woller in 1597, £40 bequeathed by Alderman William Robinson in 1614, £600 bequeathed by William Hart in 1633, and £60 bequeathed by Stephen Watson in 1659. (fn. 72) The money was lent to young merchants without interest and for varying periods until 1848, when the last loan was made. Interest on the principal was subsequently used for the inmates of Trinity Hospital.

Middleton's Charity. By will proved in 1652 Peter Middleton left annual rent-charges of £4 each for the poor of Micklegate, Bootham, Walmgate, and 'Fishergate' wards, and the parish of All Saints', North Street. (fn. 73) The poor of All Saints' parish were also entitled to share in the Micklegate Ward benefaction.

Queen Elizabeth's Dole. At the time of its suppression, in the reign of Edward VI, the college of St. Mary and the Holy Angels, York, was endowed with a number of churches in Yorkshire, and paid £26 13s. 4d. to the poor of the respective parishes. (fn. 74) Of these, Hooton Pagnell and Thorp Arch (W.R.) were farmed by the Crown in 1562, subject to a yearly charge of £17 13s. 4d. for corrodies, apparently for the sacrist and prebendaries. (fn. 75) In 1588 this sum was appropriated by letters patent to the payment of annual sums to the poor of the city of York, and of six Yorkshire parishes whose churches had been held by the college before its suppression. The share of the York poor was £2 6s. 8d. (fn. 76) Hooton Pagnell rectory paid no part of this in 1727, and in 1908 there was no record in the municipal archives of the receipt of any payment in respect of the half-share of the dole due from that parish. From 1832 to 1902 Thorpe Arch rectory paid £1 0s. 4d. a year out of tithe, representing a half share of the dole, £1 3s. 4d., less land-tax. In 1956 £1 2s. 5d. was received by the corporation. In 1907 the income was being applied in relief of rates. (fn. 77)

St. Hilda's Trust. In 1932 St. Hilda's Industrial School for Girls, (fn. 78) Lowther Street, which had been closed by the Home Office, was sold for £2,500, of which £2,084 net remained in the hands of the trustees after winding up, together with an endowment of £1,724 stock. A trust was established to regulate the disposal of the income from the proceeds of the sale, and in 1933 the endowment was made subject to the same trust. Its objects were the advancement, protection, or benefit of old pupils, of girls, or young women whose character, upbringing, home circumstances or surroundings were such that they were in danger of suffering moral, mental, or physical harm or deterioration, of girls in any certified Home Office school, or of girls leaving any such school. The trustees were reconstituted to include representatives of the local justices of the peace, and of the York Education Committee, and were directed to use the trust income for training, education and maintenance grants, for the provision of medical or surgical treatment and aided holidays, or in any other appropriate way. In 1950 the trust received an income of £145 from £3,914 stock, part of which was used for grants to aid the work of probation officers and the York welfare officer.

Sarah Scott's Charity. Sarah Scott (d. 1823) bequeathed £100 to provide winter coal for poor parishioners of St. Cuthbert's, St. Denys's, and St. Margaret's parishes. (fn. 79) This gift was represented in 1924 by £81 8s. stock yielding £2 0s. 8d., which was distributed in grocery tickets.

Dorothy Wilson's Charity. Dorothy Wilson (d. 1717), in addition to charities for St. Denys's parish and for education described elsewhere, (fn. 80) left an annual charge of £6, to be divided among three blind men or women of York. This sum was later increased to £12, and in 1819 to £49, divided among 7 recipients. (fn. 81)

Edmund Wilson's Charity. By will proved in 1913 Edmund Wilson left £7,025 stock to York Corporation, to provide three swimming instructors: for the City of York Amateur Swimming or Humane Society, the Yearsley Amateur Swimming Club, and the York Police Swimming Club. Each instructor was to receive £20 yearly, and the residue was to be applied at discretion for the encouragement of swimming in York.

The York Charitable Society, a voluntary society, was described in 1907 as 'practically extinct'. It possessed at this date an endowment producing £39 annually, which was distributed in grants to the sick and poor funds of poorer parishes. (fn. 82)

Municipal Charities

The origins and history of the York Municipal Charities and of the York Charity Trustees have been discussed in the introduction, and those of the majority of the endowments administered by the trustees are discussed in the sections on almshouses, parish charities, and prison charities. The following is a list of charities which are or have been administered by the York Charity Trustees:

A number of charities, at one time administered by the corporation, do not appear to have been placed in the hands of the trustees. An account of 1660 lists general loan funds, held by the corporation, totalling £605, including a gift of £300 from William Hart 'pastor of the English church, Emden'. Endowments for the poor of York totalling £120, given by Richard North (fl. 1593), Brian Dawson, and Francis Ewbank, and £20 for the poor of Micklegate Ward, given by Richard Byns, are also recorded at this date. (fn. 83) No trace of these gifts occurs in the 19th-century surveys. In 1584 William Drewe left the corporation £40 (fn. 84) to be lent to butchers without interest on bond from the Butcher's Company. At unknown date a certain Owram left £20, the interest from which was to be used to buy hats for the lord mayor's sword- and mace-bearers. This gift was represented in 1835 by an annual charge of 16s. paid by the corporation. (fn. 85) Other municipal charities which are not described elsewhere are considered below.

Jessie Ashton, by will proved in 1932, left £5,000 to provide playing-fields for the children of York and its neighbourhood. The endowment was placed under the administration of the York Charity Trustees in 1934, and playing-fields were subsequently laid out on a site of about 2 acres next to Lincoln Street, Leeman Road.

By will proved in 1937 Edmund Alfred Birks left £250 to the trustees to provide a general repair fund for York almshouses.

The Cremitt Money derives from the pension granted to the sick poor of St. Leonard's Hospital at the Dissolution. (fn. 86) The sum of £41 6s. 8d., representing 31 pensions at 26s. 8d., was being paid in 1825 by the receiver of Crown rents for Yorkshire. In 1705 an Order of the Lord Treasurer confirmed that the income ought to be distributed to poor householders and others on the recommendation of the mayor and aldermen; in 1934 the beneficiaries were all women. (fn. 87) The gift was then, and in 1955, represented by £1,377 stock yielding £34 8s. 8d. (fn. 88)

Alderman Lancekot Foster (d. 1913) bequeathed £1,000 to endow a solatium fund for aged women applicants who failed to obtain a place in the almshouses administered by the York Charity Trustees. (fn. 89)

In 1785 John Hartley bequeathed, among other gifts, (fn. 90) £500, the interest from which was to be paid to 'poor and decayed commoners', or to 'reduced housekeepers' of York. The money was invested in stock which yielded £23 10s. 6d. in 1825. (fn. 91) In 1955 the gift was represented by £588 stock yielding £14 15s. 4d. (fn. 92)

In 1707 Lady Sarah Hewley bequeathed £500 to provide coal for poor persons of York, at the discretion of the mayor and aldermen. The gift yielded £25 yearly in 1825, (fn. 93) and £15 18s. 8d. in 1955, when it was represented by £531 stock. (fn. 94)

At a date before 1825 Revd. Charles Jackson gave £200, the interest from which, at 5 per cent., was to be given to poor tradesmen of York. (fn. 95) In 1955 this gift was represented by £212 stock yielding £6 7s. 4d. (fn. 96)

By will proved in 1928 Arthur Lawson left £483 to the York Charity Trustees, the interest from which was to be paid to 'poor invalids in their homes at every Christmas time'. In 1955 this gift was represented by £904 stock yielding £22 12s. 4d. (fn. 97)

In 1731 Ann Prince bequeathed £100, the interest from which was to be paid yearly to the Grey Coat Girls' Charity School. In 1934 this gift was represented by £106 stock yielding £3 14s. 4d. (fn. 98)

In 1934 the York Charity Trustees were receiving an annual rent-charge of £3 3s. from the corporation in respect of St. Anthony's Charity, and paid it to the Blue Coat Boys' School. (fn. 99)

In 1734 Zachariah Scott gave £100, the interest from which was to be applied for the benefit of the York Charity Schools. In 1934 this gift was represented by £106 stock yielding £3 14s. 4d. (fn. 1)

In 1706 Richard Sterne gave £200, the interest from which was to be divided between the Blue Coat School and the Grey Coat Girls' School in the ratio of two to one. In 1934 this gift was represented by £212 stock yielding £7 8s. 8d. (fn. 2)

In 1723 Frances Thornhill gave £100, the interest from which was to be paid annually to the Grey Coat Girls' School. In 1934 this gift was represented by £106 stock yielding £3 14s. 4d. (fn. 3)

At a date before 1660 Christopher Turner created a yearly rent-charge of £7 (fn. 4) on a house in Stonegate for the benefit of 6 poor widows. (fn. 5)

By will proved in 1934 Thomas Harry Walker left the reversion of part of the residue of his estate to the York Charity Trustees for the particular benefit of the clerks of solicitors or auctioneers or their dependants. The principal was received in 1945 and invested in stock. The trustees held £27,703 stock in 1955, and received an annual income of £873.

In 1676 Ann Watson left £200, the interest from which was to be paid to 8 poor women of York. The principal was, for a time, invested in a mortgage on the Wakefield to Halifax Turnpike, and was later, in 1862, invested, with accumulated interest, in £350 stock yielding £8 15s.

In 1566 Sir Thomas White gave by indenture £2,000 to Bristol Corporation, to pay each year, out of interest, £104 in turn to 24 specified corporations, of which York was one. The money was to be used to provide interest-free loans of £25 for periods of ten years to poor clothiers or other tradesmen. (fn. 6) In 1820 30 poor clothiers were receiving help from the charity in York. By that date £1,000 had been paid to the corporation of which only £750 was accounted for. (fn. 7) In 1838 bonds for £450 only and £150 cash were transferred to the York Charity Trustees, by whom a further payment of £100, due from Bristol Corporation in 1814, was also received. Further periodic payments to 1916 amounted to £307 1s. 1d. In 1838 £100, and in 1856 £36 14s. 8d. of the principal were spent on the appointment of the York Charity Trustees, and in 1934 the balance was represented by £744 stock and £127 cash. In 1916 White's charity was amalgamated with those of Dr. Joseph Loveland and Peter Johnson, Recorder of York, (fn. 8) who, at dates previous to 1825, gave to the corporation the respective sums of £100 and £205 to be lent without interest to poor freemen. (fn. 9) By a scheme which regulated the joint charity the funds were invested in stock, from which the income not absorbed in loans was to be used to assist minors resident in York entering trade, by grants for outfitting or instruction fees. Preference was to be given to the sons and daughters of freemen. In 1955 the York Charity Trustees held £1,582 stock and £132 cash in respect of the joint charity, and received an income of £48 19s. 4d. (fn. 10) It was said in 1934 that no loans had been made 'for many years', and that the income was paid into the Trustees' miscellaneous expenses account.

In 1947 W. K. Sessions showed that half of the York almshouses had gas lighting only, that only 17 out of the 174 residents had individual baths, and that 135 had no bath, no wash basin, and no access to running hot water; the figures for the municipal almshouses were said to be worse than those for the independent institutions. At the same time a report of an investigation sponsored by the Nuffield Trust was published which advocated the application of a greater proportion of charitable funds to the modernization of almshouse premises, and the provision of welfare facilities and permanent caretakers for the inmates. (fn. 11) Partly with this recom mendation in mind, in 1956 the York Charity Trustees and the Charity Commissioners secured an Act consolidating and uniting all the municipal charities mentioned above, with the exception of prison charities, educational charities, and Tireman's charity for apprenticing. A number of payments due to ministers for their own use and to parish trustees for the upkeep of their churches having been reserved, the remaining net income from all the charities, almshouse, parish, and general, was treated as a single fund, to be administered in three branches. The sum of £60 yearly was apportioned to the 'Advancement' branch to assist York children with outfitting, travelling or maintenance expenses consequent on their entering upon a trade, profession or occupation, or into service. Two-thirds of the residue was apportioned to the 'Almshouse and Pension' branch, and one-third to the 'Poor's' branch, out of which the trustees were, however, permitted to make grants in aid of the Almshouse and Pension branch. The remainder of the 'Poor's' branch income was made applicable to the general benefit of the York poor, irrespective of parish. (fn. 12)

Nonconformist and Roman Catholic charities

The Wesleyan York Centenary Circuit was endowed in 1872 with money to help support a supernumerary minister. In 1938 the endowment, then represented by £420 stock, was used to buy a minister's house.

By will proved in 1925 Jula Chapman left £700 for the aged poor of York. The distribution was not subject to a religious test, but administration was placed in the hands of the trustees, ministers, and deacons of the York Baptist church. In 1932 5 pensioners received £6 each.

In 1907 £50 yearly was received from the endowment of Dyson's Charity for poor members of New Street and Clifton Wesleyan chapels, and was distributed in pensions of £2 5s. a quarter to 5 poor widows. (fn. 13)

By will proved in 1908 John Radcliffe left £1,000 to provide £30 yearly for the support of a visiting Sister for the Roman Catholic parish of St. Wilfrid, and the surplus for the senior priest at St. Wilfrid's. The bishop and the senior priest were created trustees.

By will proved in 1923 Sir J. S. Rymer left £3,600 (Sir Joseph and Lady Rymer's Trust Fund) in trust for fifteen years, of which a quarter was to be used for the support of the York Centenary Wesleyan circuit, a quarter for the use of the York Centenary Chapel Trust, and an eighth for other Methodist uses. The remainder was applicable for charities in York with special reference to Masonic charities and the Salvation Army.

St. Saviourgate Unitarian chapel has benefited from a number of endowments, the St. Saviourgate Chapel Charities. The earliest recorded, that of John Geldert, was made in 1693, when the founder bequeathed £200 for the dissenting preaching ministers of York during their exclusion from Church livings. In 1729 Thomas Colton gave £1,910, out of the interest from which £60 yearly was to be paid to the minister; the residue was to be given to the widows of former ministers or used for the chapel fabric. In 1899 this charity was represented by lands at Lower Dunsforth (W.R.) and Harthill with Woodhall (W.R.) yielding £228 rent. In 1732 William Garforth gave £400 to be invested in lands, from which two-thirds of the rent was to be paid to the presbyterian preacher or congregation of York, and one-third to that of Hull. This gift was never invested in land and by 1873 was represented by only £259 stock. By will proved in 1895 W. F. Rawdon left £2,000 to the trustees of Colton's charity, for the augmentation of the stipend of the minister, and in 1897 £2,116 was received in respect of this endowment.

Prison Charities

By a deed of 1781 Tabitha Bower gave £200 for coal for prisoners in York Castle and Ouse Bridge gaols. This gift was represented in 1825 by £345 stock yielding an annual £10 7s. 2d., of which twothirds was spent on coals for the castle prisoners, and one-third for those in the Ouse Bridge gaol. (fn. 14) Until c. 1883 the income was regularly distributed in coals, (fn. 15) and thereafter was applied by the governor of York castle for the benefit of discharged prisoners.

In 1601 John Burleigh gave £100 to provide £6 yearly for the relief of poor prisoners in the castle. In 1835 the income was said to have been retained by the corporation as a partial remuneration for rebuilding Middleton's Hospital, (fn. 16) but later in the 19th century it was customarily used to buy meat for the prisoners until 1888, when the governor refused to receive any further allowances. (fn. 17)

In a petition drawn up in 1654 the York castle prisoners complained that the gaolers were misappropriating a part of the prison charities and in particular of the 'Cottrell Bread'. (fn. 18)

William Edmundson, whose will was made in 1735, left £50, received in 1749, for the debtors and criminals of York common gaol. (fn. 19) In 1835 the corporation held £32 in respect of this gift, and paid £1 6s. yearly. (fn. 20) The income is said to have been customarily spent on bread. (fn. 21)

William Hart is described in a deed of 1634 (fn. 22) as having recently given £100 to endow a preacher to the prisoners in York castle. Although the gaol visiting committee had a record of the existence of the gift in 1883, the principal had been lost by 1812. (fn. 23)

By a deed of 1634 Phinees Hodson gave a rentcharge of £30 yearly out of lands at Bempton (E.R.), of which £25 was to endow a preacher to the prisoners in York castle, and £5 was to be spent in bread for their relief. The appointment of the preacher was in the gift of the chapter. This charge was redeemed in 1888 for £1,200 stock.

In 1844 Jane Legard left £333 to the governor of York castle to be used towards the discharge of small debts of prisoners confined for debt. In 1890 this gift was represented by £342 stock.

In 1657 Elizabeth, Viscountess Lumley established a trust, among the provisions of which was an annual payment of £10 for poor debtors in York gaol. This sum was varied, with fluctuations in the income of the charity, to £9 in 1740, and £15 in 1820. In 1822 it was said to have 'usually been given as largess indiscriminately among all the prisoners on the felons' side'. (fn. 24)

In 1825 the corporation was responsible for the payment of a rent-charge of £3 4s. yearly, created at an unknown date, and known as Peacock's Gift. (fn. 25) In 1812 it was payable to poor prisoners in the city gaol. (fn. 26)

In 1801 Dr. Fountayne, the former Dean, gave £100, and the four Residentiaries £25 each, making a total of £200, which was invested so that the proceeds might be available for the relief of debtors and felons in St. Peter's Prisons. Another gift provided 12s. a year for the prisoners. Both gifts were mentioned in 1812, (fn. 27) but not in subsequent accounts of York charities.

Elizabeth Taylor, by will dated 1580, gave 3s. 4d. yearly to be divided between the prisoners in York City gaol and poor women in Maisons Dieu. (fn. 28) This gift was mentioned in 1812 (fn. 29) but had been lost by 1825.

Frances Thornhill, in 1723, (fn. 30) gave £30 for straw for prisoners in York castle. (fn. 31) In 1835 the corporation held the sum of £130, apparently in respect of this and Thornhill's educational charity, and paid an annual charge of £5, (fn. 32) of which the prisoners' proportional share would have been approximately 23s. The payment to the prisoners, and its principal, appears to have been lost before 1890.

In 1883 the York castle visiting committee had a record of an annual payment of 26s. in respect of 'Alderman White's Gift', but the origin of the endowment was untraceable at this date, and payments had ceased before 1812. (fn. 33)

Prison reforms during the 19th century progressively deprived the charities of their original functions, and in 1885 the York Castle Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society, which had been formed the previous year, petitioned the Home Secretary to authorize the diversion of income to benefit discharged prisoners. The visiting committee also supported this reform, and in 1890 the Charity Commissioners established a Scheme consolidating all the recoverable charities under the administration of the visiting committee. The income was made available for prison-gate work, including assisted emigration, and permission was given for a part or the whole to be paid to the appropriate discharged prisoners' aid society. In practice the income was administered by the York Castle D.P.A.S. York castle ceased to be a civil prison in 1900, (fn. 34) and was finally closed in 1932, but the charity funds continued to be used for the general purposes of the York Castle D.P.A.S. A part of the funds was, for a time, used to help support the York D.P.A.S. shelter for women, adjacent to the York Penitentiary. The shelter was founded in or before 1900, largely on the instance of a Mrs. Cookson, and had room for 7 girls. It was used, amongst other things, for the care of girls under remand and was closed in 1918. The definitive abolition of the visiting committee incidental to the Criminal Justice Act of 1948 led to a reorganization of the charities, which were placed, by a scheme of 1951, under the administration of the National Association of Discharged Prisoners' Aid Societies, although the York Castle society continued to receive grants from the national body. (fn. 35) The consolidated charity was then endowed with £132 in mortgage loans, £2,029 stock, and annual charges of £18 4s. The gross income in 1956 was £101 6s. 8d.

Footnotes