Part 17

_Sarah Brook_, in 1760, left a rent charge of £5 per annum, issuing out of certain lands in Uffington, the amount to be paid to the churchwardens and overseers of the parish of St. Alkmund, and St. Julian, in Shrewsbury, to each parish 50s., to be by them respectively laid out in twopenny loaves, and given among poor, old, and decayed people of honest life.

_Ann Parry_ gave to the churchwardens and overseers of the parish of St. Alkmund £20 to be placed out at interest, and the proceeds to be paid to four widows of the said parish yearly at Christmas. _Francis Wingfield_, in 1813 bequeathed £20, the interest to be distributed to poor persons of the parish on St. Thomas’s day yearly. These two legacies are held by the churchwardens, for which £2 yearly is paid as interest; the churchwardens and overseers distribute the interest according to the donors’ intentions.

_Josina Pemberton_, by a codicil to her will, bearing date 17th September, 1817, desired that her sister would pay yearly, during her life, the sum of two guineas, to the churchwardens for the time being of each of the parishes of St. Mary, St. Julian, and St. Alkmund, to be by them respectively laid out in coals, and distributed among the poor of the respective parishes, and she requested that her nephew, Robert N. Pemberton, would continue the annual payment during his life. The amount is laid out in coal, and distributed among thirty poor housekeepers on new year’s day.

PARISH OF ST. CHAD.

CHARITIES.—MILLINGTON’S HOSPITAL.—_James Millington_, by his will, bearing date 8th February, 1734, devised the greater part of his ample fortune for the erection and endowment of an hospital and free school. The hospital is pleasantly situated upon elevated ground in Frankwell, and consists of a handsome pedimented front with a stone portico; the central portion comprises the chapel and school room, and the houses of the master and mistress, and in the wings on each side are the apartments of the hospitallers. The property purchased by the trustees in 1753 and 1794 is wholly situated in the parish of Llanvair Waterdine, in the county of Salop, and in the parish of Beguildy, in the county of Radnor, except an estate of 15A. 0R. 9P., situate in the parish of Kinnerley. The entire property comprises 2,429A. 2R. 9P. of land, and produces a yearly income of £1227. The hospital consists of twelve in-hospitallers and ten out-hospitallers. These persons are appointed by the trustees as vacancies occur. They are required to be parishioners of St. Chad, and inhabitants of that part of the parish called Frankwell. No persons are selected except poor decayed housekeepers, and the preference has usually been given to females. Each of the in-hospitallers has a dwelling house in the hospital, consisting of a room above and another below, with a small garden, and other conveniences. The four senior of the out-hospitallers are allowed to occupy four sets of apartments over the schools, and they generally succeed as vacancies occur to the situation of in-hospitallers. Each of the inmates receives £10 10s. a year by quarterly payments, and three tons of coals, and a sixpenny loaf every Wednesday and Saturday. They are also supplied with a certain quantity of clothing. The out-hospitallers receive £4 per annum, and each has a like allowance of bread and clothing. A clergyman of the church of England is paid a salary of £50 a year as chaplain. He attends at the hospital every school day and reads prayers to the scholars and in-hospitallers, and the first Thursday in every month catechises the children. The minister in addition to his yearly stipend receives one guinea for preaching a sermon on the 12th of August. In the schools twenty-five boys and twenty-five girls are instructed. The schoolmaster receives £50 a year, and the mistress of the girls’ school £42 per annum, and each of them has an allowance of coal. The scholars are the children of parishioners of St. Chad’s, living in Frankwell, and are appointed by the trustees. They are admitted between six and nine years of age, and are allowed to remain till they are fourteen. During their stay in the school they are completely clothed and supplied with books and stationery; and when they are of sufficient age, the boys are bound out to trades, and the girls placed out in service. A premium of £10 is allowed with each apprentice, and £5 is paid to them when they have completed their time. The girls are allowed £3 when going out to service, and a like sum as a reward for good behaviour afterwards. There is a good garden for the schoolmaster and mistress, and a plot of garden ground for each of the twelve hospitallers, which they generally let for their own benefit, being worth about £2 per annum.

_St. Chad’s Almshouses_, situated on the east side of old St. Chad’s church yard, consist of eleven miserable tenements, containing one room each. They are extremely dilapidated, there being no fund for keeping them in repair. It is stated that they were founded in 1409, by one Bennet Tupton, a common brewer, and that there were formerly thirteen tenements, but that two fell down. They were endowed in 1640, by David Ireland, with a rent charge of £4 per annum, issuing out of land in Lythwood, and a further rent charge of £3. 18s., the gift of the widow of Mr. Ireland, which is also payable out of land in the same place. There is also a yearly sum of £1 6s., payable out of a piece of land in Sutton Lane, left by Robert Owen, and a small payment of 2s. 2d. yearly, made by the Mercers’ company. These several sums amounting in the whole to £9. 6s. 2d. are distributed in equal proportions among the inmates. The Rev. Richard Scott, B.D., bequeathed £150 in 1848, and directed the interest to be expended in coals for the poor of St. Chad’s almshouses.

_Richard Lleweylln_, who was bailiff of Shrewsbury in 1637, devised certain lands in the township of Shelton, and directed the yearly income to be employed in binding out poor children apprentices born in the parish of St. Chad; the children of his kindred to be preferred. The property left by the testator produces an income of about £12. 12s. per annum.

_Thomas Owen_, one of the justices of the court of common pleas in 1598, devised to the bailiffs and commonalty of the town of Salop the yearly rent of his farm at Calcott, and directed that they should employ the profits thereof in giving assistance to poor decayed householders of the parish of St. Chad. This gift in after times merged into a rent charge of £20 per annum. The amount is now received by the chamberlain of the corporation, and distributed with the produce of the following charity.

_Edward Owen_, by will, dated 25th November, 1612, gave to the bailiff and burgesses of the town of Salop a rent charge of £10 per annum, issuing out of his lands in Kilgurgan, in the county of Montgomery, the same to be distributed among 200 of the poorest holders in the parish of St. Chad, wherein he was born. This sum of £10 is carried to one account with that of £20 derived from Thomas Owen’s charity, and £1 10s. from the gift of David Lloyd ap Rogers, and distributed on the first Thursday in the year to poor persons in the parish of St. Chad.

_Thomas Edwards_, in 1641, charged certain lands in the parish of Middle, with the payment of £12 per annum, 20s. thereof annually to be given to poor maidens at their marriage, £10 to be distributed among the poor of the town, and £2 to be paid to the curate of St. Chad.

_Richard Winne_, in 1679, gave £100 to the Haberdashery Company, London, on their giving a covenant to pay £5 yearly to the minister and churchwarden of the parish of St. Chad, for the benefit of the poor. This gift is distributed by the churchwardens among twenty poor widows.

_Hester Farmer_, by will, 1691, devised a parcel of land in Castle Foregate, and directed the rents to be paid successively to the several parishes of St. Chad, Guilsfield, Kinnerley, and Great Ness. The land produces £23 per annum, and once in four years the amount is distributed in small sums among the poor of St. Chad’s parish.

_Elizabeth Williams_, in 1712, charged certain lands at Llansianfraid, in the county of Montgomery, with the payment of 40s, yearly, to the minister of St. Chad, upon trust, to dispose of 20s. thereof yearly, for clothing two of the poorest boys in the parish of St. Chad, and the remaining 20s. in buying coats or gowns for three poor women.

_Francis Swift_, in 1717, bequeathed £100 to the churchwardens and overseers of the parish. This gift was laid out in the purchase of three tenements, in Shrewsbury, for a workhouse; together with £100 arising from the charity of Gabriel Rogers; £10 the charity of John Lloyd; £10 given for a distribution of bread, and £100 given to the parish officers for the general benefit of the inhabitants. This workhouse was sold about the year 1799, and out of the sale £220, the amount of the several sums given for charitable uses, with the further sum of £40, the gift of John Lloyd, was lent on the security of the Shrewsbury House of Industry, bearing interest at five per cent. In respect of Swift’s gift, £5 is given among poor persons in sums varying from 2s. 6d. to 5s. each.

_Martha and Mary Harwood’s Charities_.—There is an annual sum of upwards of £80 arising from an estate, at Faxley, and a dwelling house situated in Belmont, Shrewsbury, which is distributed among poor decayed housekeepers and aged widows, chiefly parishioners of St. Chad, excepting £5 per annum which is used as a clothing fund for poor widows. There were two houses in Belmont, devised by Mary Harwood in 1734; but they were subsequently converted into one.

_Josena Pemberton_, by a codicil to her will, dated 10th December, 1817, desired that her sister would pay yearly during her life the sum of five guineas, to be laid out in coals for the poor; and she further desired that her nephew, Rev. Robert N. Pemberton, would, within one month of her sister’s decease, lay out the sum of £100 in the names of the trustees, or some other safe security, and apply the annual income in purchasing coals for poor needy persons of the parish of St. Chad. When the Charity Commissioners published their report, Miss Pemberton and her nephew were both living, and the annual sum of £5. 5s. was paid to the churchwardens.

_Easter Jones_, in 1823, bequeathed to the minister and churchwardens of the parish of St. Chad £400 three per cent consols, in trust, to distribute the yearly dividends every Easter Monday, in proportions of 10s. each, to twenty-four poor women of the said parish.

_Mary Jukes_, by will, in 1700, devised certain premises on Claremont Hill, and directed the yearly income to be appropriated to charitable uses. The property consists of four houses, producing a yearly rental of £46; out of which 10s. is paid to the vicar for an annual sermon, one moiety paid in apprentice fees, and the residue distributed among the poor.

_Edward Tomkis_, by will bearing date 24th January, 1771, bequeathed £400 upon trust, that the interest should be annually spent in buying twelve blue coats for men, and twelve gowns and petticoats of the same colour for an equal number of women. In respect of this Charity, there is a sum of £717. 10s. three per cent. consols, the dividends of which amount to £21. 10s. 6d. The amount is expended in coats and gowns, except a yearly sum of £5 which has been given to the Vicar of Meole Brace for clothing poor boys, belonging to St. Chad’s, but resident in Meole Brace.

_Hopton Estate Charity_.—The following legacies were noticed on a table of benefactions put up in the Church in 1640, viz.:—Sarah Giles, £50; John Hill, £50; Henry Swinnerton, £50; Stephen Rogers, £50; Thomas Phillips, £10; John Cotton, £50; Hester Lloyd, £100; Thomas Cotton, £10; John Hall, £20; Richard Lloyd, £10. These several sums may have formed the purchase money of the Hopton estate, as it is stated it was purchased with the proper money of the poor of the parish of St. Chad; but it does not state the source from whence the money was obtained. The estate consists of 83A. 1R. 37P. of land, with farm house and out-buildings, the whole of which was let on lease in 1748, for 99 years, at a yearly rental of £15. The farm is valued at upwards of £100 a-year. Of the rent one moiety has been paid in aid of the National Schools, and the other to the general fund of the poor.

_Astley Estate Charities_.—The estate at Astley consists of a farm house with outbuildings and lands, containing together 120A. 3R. 27P., let at a yearly rental of £100. The following legacies are mentioned in a book containing an account of the Charities of the parish, as having been laid out on the estate. Benjamin Muckleston gave £40, the interest to be expended in coats for poor boys; Susanah Loxon £200, for a weekly distribution of bread; Elias Evans, £20; William Peers, £20; and Elizabeth Hamer, £20, also for a distribution of bread. Thomas Bright, in 1730, gave £20 per annum, payable to the minister of Astley, for preaching every Lord’s day throughout the year. There is a sum of £260, the produce of the sale of timber cut on the Astley estate in 1804, which is secured on the Shrewsbury House of Industry, and for which interest is paid at the rate of five per cent. Out of the rents and interest above mentioned, being £113 per annum, there is paid £20 to the chapelwardens of Astley; £3 for the repairs of the chapel; £3. 9s. 5d. for land tax and chief rent; £2 for purchasing four coats for poor boys, and the remainder is carried to the general charity account for a distribution of bread.

_William Spurtson_ bequeathed £100 which was expended in the purchase of a rent charge of £6 per annum, issuing out of certain messuages in Burleton. The amount is carried to the general charity account hereafter mentioned. Rowland Newett bequeathed £10; John Lloyd, £10; Richard Mather, £20; John Dodd, £20, for a distribution of bread—and a further sum of £10, given by an unknown donor, with the above is carried to the general charity account. There is also a sum of £200 secured on the Church of St. Chad, which was lent from an accumulation of charity money. The surplus of the produce of the several charities before mentioned, not specifically applied, is carried to one general account, and disposed of chiefly in bread. There is also, occasionally, a sum of money distributed by the churchwardens.

_Nathaniel Tench_, in 1674, conveyed the lands and tithes of the farm and grange of Crow Meole, in trust, to pay the yearly proceeds to the minister of St. Chad’s, on condition that he preached an anniversary sermon on the 6th of June, yearly, being the birth-day of the said N. Tench; and in case the minister should refuse or neglect to preach the said sermon, or should not reside, or not personally officiate in the said parish, then the rents and profits thereof should be distributed among the poor of St. Chad’s parish. The value is about £160 per annum.

_Lost Charities_.—Eleanor Griffith gave £40; John Atkins, £20; Thomas Clemson, £10; Elizabeth Forster, £30; Mary Bowdewin, £20; and Mrs. Pigott, £20. Up to the year 1747, the interest of the several benefactions above mentioned was paid out of the churchwardens’ account. Subsequent to the year 1747, a considerable sum was for many years disposed of annually in bread, but it does not appear from what benefactions such bread was provided; and from this period there is no distinct trace of the several gifts above mentioned. Mary Pelton left £2. 10s., yearly, and Hester Lloyd bequeathed £100; it appears that formerly apprentice fees were paid from the interest of this money, the last was in the year 1755. There is now no evidence to shew how the capital has been appropriated.

_John Evans_, in 1844, bequeathed £150, in trust, to the minister and churchwardens of St. Chad’s, and directed the interest to be distributed among poor persons, not receiving parochial relief.

_The Rev. Richard Scott_, _B.D._, in 1848, bequeathed £300, in trust, to the minister of St. Chad’s, to apply the interest yearly, in purchasing coals for the necessitous poor of the parish.

PARISH OF HOLY CROSS.

CHARITIES.—ST. GILES’ HOSPITAL, situated near St. Giles’ Church, was originally established for the reception of persons afflicted with leprosy. Henry II., for the support of the hospitallers, granted 30s. yearly out of the rent of the county of Salop, and a handful of two hands of every sack of corn, and a handful of one hand of every sack of flour exposed for sale in Shrewsbury market. Henry III., in 1232, gave a horse load of wood, daily, from his wood of Lythwood. The right of nominating the inmates of the hospital is exercised by the Earl of Tankerville, and the following payments are made to them by one of his lordship’s agents:—To each of the four inmates, 1s. 6d. per week; 3s. at midsummer for coals; and 12s. 6d. at Christmas for a garment

_Peter Langley_, in 1650, gave £200 for charitable uses, and _John_ and _Jonathan Langley_ bequeathed £100 for the same purpose. These gifts were laid out in the purchase of lands and premises in Castle Foregate, which produced an income of £82 per annum at the time the Charity Commissioners published their report. The amount is distributed in sums, varying from 2s. to 10s., among the most aged and needy parishioners.

_Mathusalem Jones_ charged an estate at Underdale with the payment of so much money, as should furnish five coats for men and five garments for women, to be given to ten paupers every 5th of November.

_Elizabeth Prynce_, in 1711, bequeathed £100, and directed the same to be laid out in lands or hereditaments, the yearly produce thereof to be distributed among the poorest inhabitants of the parish. There are no deeds in the parish relating to the laying out of this bequest; but the property supposed to have been purchased therewith consists of four cottages in the Abbey Foregate, producing a yearly rental of £4. 10s. each.

_Thomas Doughty_ bequeathed £50, the interest thereof to be laid out in bread. This bequest, and five others, amounting in the whole to £85, were probably carried to the church account, as the interest, £3. 18s., has been considered as a charge upon the estate held by the parish. The amount is expended in bread, which is given away every Sunday.

_Thomas Jenkins_, _Esq._, in 1730, directed that six poor people, parishioners of Holy Cross, should be clothed once in every year. Three poor men and three poor women are supplied with coats and gowns at the expense of R. Jenkins, Esq., of Bicton.

_Thomas Talbot Gorsuch_, by a codicil to his will, bearing date 4th June, 1819, gave to the vicar and churchwardens of the parish of Holy Cross and St. Giles, £300 three per cent. reduced annuities, upon trust, to distribute the interest to such poor persons of the said parish as should be most regular in attendance at divine service in the parish there, and be the most deserving objects of charity. Not less than ten shillings to be given to each poor person.

There is an entry in the old churchwardens’ book, under the date of 1634, reciting that divers lands and messuages had been formerly given to the repair of the churches of Holy Cross and St. Giles, and so decreed by commission of charitable uses, James II. The amount of these rents, £127. 4s. 10d., with such payments as are received for opening graves and for pew rents, the two latter amounting to about £20 per annum, supply the place of a church rate, and are sufficient for the repairs and ornaments of the two churches in this parish.

ST. MARY’S PARISH.

CHARITIES.—ST. MARY’S ALMSHOUSES were founded by the Company of Drapers, at a very early period, and are usually called the Drapers’ Almshouses. They appear to have been remodelled in 1461, during the wardenship of Degory Watur, a draper of Shrewsbury, who devoted a portion of his substance towards their endowment. This beneficent man is said to have “dwellyd in the almeshouse hall amongst the poor,” and when deprived of sight, and bowed with the weight of ninety-six years, he daily accompanied the participators of his bounty to the “church of our lady,” where he “wold kneele amongst them in a fayre longe pewe made for them and hym selfe.” In his will, dated 28th July, 1477, he devised certain lands to the wardens of the Drapers’ Company, to “sufficientlie susteyne poore people in St. Mary Allmeshouse.” Other charitable individuals have made subsequent additions to the endowment, which are under the management of the Drapers’ Company. The old almshouses stood on the west side of St. Mary’s church-yard, and having become much dilapidated, were taken down in 1825, when the stun of £476. 16s. was awarded to the Company of Drapers, as a compensation for the site and materials for the purpose of improving the town. The company then purchased a piece of ground on the opposite side of the street, for £750, and they have since built sixteen tenements, at an expense of about £2,000. The inmates receive about £6 per annum, and are appointed by the Drapers’ Company from amongst the poor parishioners of St. Mary’s.

_Elizabeth Lord_, in 1696, bequeathed £100, and directed the profits to be employed in clothing ten poor persons. This sum is in the hands of the corporation, and £5 annually is paid as the interest thereof, which is laid out in warm clothing for poor women.

_Sarah Bolles_, in 1747, bequeathed £100, the yearly income to be given to eight poor housekeepers. On account of this charity there is £132. 0s. 2d. new four per cents. standing in the names of certain trustees, who receive the dividends, amounting to £5. 5s. 6d.

_Ann Parry_, in 1755, gave £60, being a benefaction intended by her sister, Mary Tench, deceased, the interest to be given to eight poor housekeepers, not burthensome to the parish; and in 1776 bequeathed £20, the interest to be given annually to four poor widows. These two sums were laid out in the year 1790 in pewing the church, and since that period £4 has been annually paid out of the church rate.

_Elizabeth Price_, in 1780, bequeathed £50, the interest to be given in bread to the poor of the parish. This money is lent to the guardians of the house of industry.

_Edward Lloyd_, in 1789, left £190, the interest to be given to ten poor housekeepers. This sum is secured by a bond given in pursuance of an act of parliament passed for the rebuilding of the church of St. Chads, and £4 10s. is paid annually as the interest thereof.

_Richard Lister_, in 1793, bequeathed £100, and directed the interest to be laid out in bread and given to the poor after divine service every Sunday morning. In respect of this gift there is the sum of £154 14s. 10d. three per cent consols, producing annually dividends to the amount of £4. 12s. 8d.

_Pemberton’s Charity_. The particulars of this charity will be found amongst those for the parish of St. Alkmund. The sum of £2. 2s. is expended annually in coal, and distributed amongst poor housekeepers.

_Lost Charities_. In the parliamentary returns of 1786 there is mentioned a legacy left by Madam Honor Dryden, and several others, amounting in the whole to £180. This sum was in the hands of a person who became insolvent, and only £19 9s. was received from his estate. Nothing is now known even of this sum.

PARISH OF ST. JULIAN.