Charities for the poor
Robert Cundall, by will proved 1559, charged his estate in
Bladon with 6s. 8d. a year and Thomas Godfrey,
by will proved 1747, charged his estate with £1 a
year for the poor of Bladon. (fn. 70) Both charities had
been lost by 1825. In 1606 the inhabitants of
Bladon held three houses, built on part of the
lord's waste, probably on land once part of the
Green, for the use of the poor of the township. (fn. 71)
Those or other houses were conveyed by William Fletcher and Mary Baldin to the churchwardens and overseers in trust for the poor in
1765, and were repaired by the overseers in the
early 19th century. (fn. 72) They were not reported as
a charity in 1825.
During the 17th century and the earlier 18th a
number of bequests were made to form a stock
for the poor. Richard Stockman, by will proved
1620, left £5; John Symons, by will proved
1638, £5; William Hopkins, by will proved in
1639, £3 6s. 8d.; Henry Hopkins, by will proved
1643, £20; Mary Hopkins (d. 1649) £1 13s. 4d.;
Gervase Broadgate, by will proved 1713, £5; Sir
Thomas Crisp (d. 1714), £5 and Thomas
Loughton, by will proved 1722, £5. (fn. 73) Another
Henry Hopkins, at an unknown date, apparently
gave £5 or £10. (fn. 74) In 1796 the sum of £40, the
surviving capital of those and at least one otherwise unrecorded charity, was added to £27
collected at the opening of a new organ in the
church, and invested in £100 3 per cent consols. (fn. 75) The income was used in 1825 for a dole of
bread at Easter. (fn. 76) In 1896 the income was £2 1s.
3d. (fn. 77)
Peter Hopkins, by will proved 1643, charged
his yardland in Bladon with £3 a year, half for
schooling, (fn. 78) half for distribution among the poor
or for apprenticing. (fn. 79) After a dispute with Hopkins's heirs over his power to charge land held in
tail, the charity was confirmed by a Chancery
decree of 1693. (fn. 80) By 1825 only 25s. was assigned
to the poor, and that was added to the bread
charities described above. (fn. 81)
William Hopkins of Oxford, a member of the
Bladon family, by his will proved 1681, left
£200 to buy land, the income to benefit 'honest
and true' servants in Bladon, or, failing suitable
applicants, for apprenticing. (fn. 82) In 1825 the income of £10 a year, from land in Rotherfield
Greys, was distributed by the churchwardens. (fn. 83)
In the 19th century the money was more often
used for apprenticing than for rewarding servants. (fn. 84)
James Nixon, by will proved 1800, left £300,
subject to his wife's life interest, as a bread
charity. The bequest was found to be irregular,
and in 1830, after protracted litigation, only £11
18s. 3d. remained for the charity. (fn. 85) That capital
was transferred to the official trustee for charitable funds in 1863, and in 1896 yielded 4s. 9d. a
year. (fn. 86)
Sophia Brown, by will proved 1861, gave
£100, the income to be distributed to the poor
on Good Friday. (fn. 87) In 1896 the charity had an
income of £2 9s. 4d. (fn. 88)
In 1877 the vestry decided that the poor of
Hensington should not benefit from the Bladon
charities. (fn. 89) By a Scheme of 1965 the Brown,
Nixon, 'small donations', and Peter Hopkins
non-educational charities were amalgamated
into one charity for the benefit of poor people
resident in the area of the ancient parish of
Bladon; the William Hopkins charity was to
continue to be distributed to servants, in accordance with the testator's will. (fn. 90) In 1969 the
Peter Hopkins rent charge was redeemed for the
sum of £75. In 1970, under a new Scheme, the
William Hopkins charity for servants was amalgamated with the other parish charities to form
the Bladon parochial charities for relief in need.
In 1979 £39.83 was distributed to the poor. (fn. 91)