Читать книгу History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Shropshire [1851] - Samuel Bagshaw - Страница 20

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Sir Thomas White, in 1566, bequeathed certain monies for charitable uses, in respect of which £100 is annually paid to twenty-four corporate towns in rotation (Salop being one), to be lent out, without interest, for a period of ten years, to poor young men of the said towns.

Robert Allen, by will 24th August, 1568, bequeathed £200 to be lent out to the poor inhabitants of the town of Salop, in sums of £10, to be held for three years; each recipient to find a bondsman for the repayment of the same at the expiration of the term, and to pay 4d. per annum, to be divided among the inmates of the almshouses of St. Mary and St. Chad.

Paul Clarke, April 15th, 1606, bequeathed £20 to be lent out, in sums of £10, to persons of his name and kindred only for the space of two years, and then to be returned to the bailiffs of the town, to be again put forth by the said bailiffs, from time to time, on sufficient security being given for the repayment of the same.

Sir Samuel Jones, by will, dated 10th March, 1670, gave to the town of Shrewsbury £500, to be employed for the setting poor people on work there, which sum he directed should he paid to the mayor and corporation of the said town, and should be by them, from time to time, lent on good security, without interest, to young tradesmen who should set up there.

Rev. John Hilton, in 1697, bequeathed £50 in trust to the mayor and corporation, to be lent out to five young tradesmen of the town, £10 to each, for the term of five years, interest free.

The foregoing abstracts are taken from the recitals in a decree of the Court of Chancery, made in the year 1772, in a cause between the attorney-general and the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses, of the town of Shrewsbury. By this decree it was ordered that the sum of £2,404. 14s. 6d., found to be in the hands of the corporation, should be apportioned to the preceding charities, in a ratio proportionate to their several bequests. It appears that shortly after these proceedings in Chancery, the whole of the funds of these charities were lost; that a sum exceeding £3,000 was raised by subscription to replace the money so lost, which was subsequently repaid to the subscribers by the corporation. In addition to the above sum found to be in the hands of the corporation, two sums of £100 each have been since received from Sir Thomas White’s charity, leaving £2,596. 5s. 3d. in the hands of the corporation to be accounted for. In lending out the different sums of money, particular attention is paid to the directions of the several donors. No applications for loans are refused, provided the parties are properly qualified, and sufficient securities are proposed.

David Lloyd ap Rogers, by will, bearing date May 1st, 1623, devised certain premises at Frankwell, in trust to the bailiffs and burgesses of the town of Shrewsbury, and directed out of the yearly income thereof, 10s. to be paid to the minister of St. Chad, 10s. to be employed in repairing the bridges in Shrewsbury, 10s. to be expended in repairing Buttington bridge, in the county of Montgomery, and the residue thereof to be distributed to the poor of the parish of St. Chad. The premises now consist of two tenements, the estimated value of which is upwards of £30 per annum.

Henry Smith’s Charity.—The corporation are in possession of an estate in Chelmick, purchased with part of the personal property given by Henry Smith for charitable uses. It consists of a farm house, outbuildings, and 129a. 2r. 15p. of land. In 1805, upon the enclosure of the waste lands, an allotment was set out to the corporation; but the situation was remote from the remainder of the farm, and it was accordingly sold for £201. 10s.; £100 of which was subsequently laid out in improving the farm, and the residue put out at interest. The income arising from the above sources amounts to £85. 1s. 6d., which is carried to the Burlton estate account.

In an old book of accounts, belonging to the corporation of Shrewsbury, there is an entry stating that gifts and legacies had been given to the poor of the town of Shrewsbury previously to the year 1663, amounting in the whole to £1,301. 11s. 11d. The principal legacy is one of £300, left by William Spurstow. Six other donors left legacies of £100 each, and the remainder is made up of smaller items. In the whole there are names given of twenty-four several donors. The sum of £1,200 was laid out in the purchase of an estate at Burlton. In 1796 a sum of £925, which arose from the sale of timber on the estate, was laid out in the purchase of the tithes of corn, grain, and hay, in the said parish. In 1829, the sum of £264. 12s. was received for timber cut on the estate; and in the same year £266. 9s. was expended in rebuilding and improving the farm premises, £50 of which had been advanced by the tenant. The income derived from the Burlton estate and the farm at Chelmick, belonging to the charity of Henry Smith, amounts to £297. 7s. 6d. per annum. The principal part of this income is applied in putting out apprentices, with a premium of £10 each, and in distributing coals among the necessitous poor.

James Phillips, Esq., of London, in 1661, devised certain tenements in the borough of Southwark, in trust to the corporation of Shrewsbury, out of the rents and profits thereof, to maintain a lecture on the Thursday in every week in the year, in the parish churches of Ellesmere, Oswestry, Whitchurch, and Shrewsbury; such lectures to be delivered by able and orthodox divines. The residue of the said rents to be expended in gowns or clothes for the poor people of the said parishes. In 1825, the corporation sold two tenements, situated in the parish of St. Saviour, left by the same donor, for the sum of £1,685, which was laid out in the purchase of £2,146. 10s. three per cent. consols. Out of the income, amounting to £232. 7s. 10d. per annum, there has been appropriated for many years £10 per annum to the officiating ministers of Ellesmere, Oswestry, Whitchurch, and Shrewsbury; and the residue is expended in flannel, and distributed among the poor of the above-mentioned parishes.

Edward Donne, in 1668, bequeathed £200, and directed his executors to dispose of the same in the purchase of lands, and lay out the yearly proceeds in apprentice fees, upon poor children born in the parishes of St. Chad, St. Mary, St. Alkmund, and St. Julian. It appears the amount was invested in a rent charge of £10 per annum, arising from certain lands situated at Bulchey, Bryn-y-Koppall, and Wollaston. Dr. Gardiner took possession of this property under the will of his father, in 1801, and considerable arrears were allowed to accumulate in his hands. He, however, in March, 1801, offered to discharge the arrears by paying £60 a-year till the whole were liquidated, and to pay the amount of the rent charge in future to the corporation.

William Jones.—From an entry in one of the books of the Company of Drapers, in the town of Shrewsbury, under the date of March, 1653, we learn that William Jones conveyed the manor of Wigmore, in the parish of Westbury, upon trust, that there should yearly be paid out of the said premises £11. 6s. 8d. to the master warden and assistants; £10 thereof to be yearly distributed among the most necessitous poor of the town of Salop, more especially those dwelling in the parishes of St. Mary and St. Alkmund. The residue, £1. 6s. 8d., to be paid to the Vicar of St. Alkmund, for reading morning prayers.

Widow Baugh bequeathed twenty marks per annum; one-third thereof for the better maintenance of the minister of St. Chad, and the other two parts to the relief of the poor of Shrewsbury. Certain lands in Preston Montford are charged with the payment of the twenty marks, or £13. 6s. 8d., one-third of which has been paid to the minister of St. Chad, and two-thirds thereof to the directors of the House of Industry for the united parishes of the town of Shrewsbury. [We conceive that the two-thirds of the annuity which has usually been paid to the directors of the House of Industry, in aid of the parish rates, ought to be discontinued; and the amount distributed among proper objects of charity in the town of Shrewsbury, according to the intentions of the donor.]

John Allatt, by will, bearing date 7th April, 1792, after bequeathing certain legacies directed all his personal estate, not specifically disposed of, to be held in trust, to apply such sums as the trustees should think proper in the erection of a school house and residences for the teachers; and the residue to be invested in government stock, to be applied in support of the school. By a codicil to his will, dated October 31st, 1796, he directed £1,600 to be invested in the three per cent. consols, the dividends thereof to be expended in the purchase of gowns for poor widows, poor single women not less than the age of 40 years, and coats for poor men of the age of 50 years and upwards. The testator died in 1796, and the school buildings were erected in 1800, at an expense of upwards of £1,500. In addition to the sum laid out in erecting the school premises, £4,497. 4s. was laid out in the purchase of three per cent. consols, and also the sum of £1,600 left for the purpose of providing clothing for the poor. With the former, £8,743 stock was purchased; and with the latter, £3,257. Subsequent purchases have been made with the surplus of the income; and a legacy of £45 left for the same use, by the will of Sarah Mason, in 1809. There is, therefore, now a capital of £14,000, of which the dividends of £10,800 are appropriated as the educational fund, and £3,400 as the clothing fund.

Sarah Darley, by will, 29th January, 1821, bequeathed £100 upon trust, and directed the yearly produce should be applied in the purchase of four tons of coals, for the use and benefit of all the prisoners who might be confined in the county gaol of Shrewsbury; and that the residue should be applied in aid of the prison charity. And she further bequeathed £500, to be placed out at interest by her executors, and the interest applied in releasing one or more debtor or debtors who should be confined in the gaol of Shrewsbury, but who, through misfortune, is forced into confinement; and that particular regard should he paid to those whose families should be suffering from their confinement.