CHARITIES FOR THE POOR.
Jonathan
Feedham, by will proved 1718, bequeathed to
the rector and churchwardens £50 to invest in
land for the benefit of poor sailors or their
widows. (fn. 16) In 1752 c. 3 a. of land at Wivenhoe
heath was bought and the yearly rent of £2 10s.
was used to buy material for gowns. In the early
19th century an average of eight people a year
received clothes or material. As the rent of the
field rose towards the middle of the century, so
the number of beneficiaries increased until 1867
when 51 women and 17 men each received an
average of 3 yd. of flannel; after that date the
rent fell and the number of beneficiaries
decreased. (fn. 17) In 1973 the field was sold for
£41,000 for residential development; in 1974
Feedham's Charity Trust, formed to administer
the funds, built seven almshouses on land in
Vanessa Drive for the poor of Wivenhoe with
preference given to retired sailors or widows of
sailors. (fn. 18)
William Sandford, by will proved 1831, left
50s. a year charged on a farm at Fingringhoe to
buy bread for 10 poor communicants. (fn. 19) His
brother, Benjamin Sandford, by his will proved
1840, left 50s. yearly, charged on oyster layings,
for coals for 50 poor widows or other aged
persons. In 1859 the charges were redeemed
and the capital invested; regular distributions
were made during the later 19th century. (fn. 20) The
combined income of £6 was distributed in
1965, but payment appears thereafter to have
lapsed. (fn. 21)
Dr. C. W. Mason, by will proved 1883, be-
queathed £300 to the poor; the interest appears
to have been paid into a fund for the sick and
poor during the 1920s, and distributions made
in money, food, and coal. (fn. 22) M. B. Brown of New
York had spent some years in Wivenhoe and had
regularly contributed to the relief of the poor;
on his death in 1926 his legatees gave £500 to
the same cause. (fn. 23) Theodore Pim, by will proved
1929, gave £1,000 for the poor. (fn. 24) All three charities were distributed between 1943 and 1953. (fn. 25)
Alice Helen Egerton-Green, by will proved
1960, gave £100 for the aged poor. Before 1965
the four charities were amalgamated as the
Charity of Alice Helen Egerton-Green and
Others. £83 was distributed to the needy in
1974, but apparently no payments were made
thereafter. (fn. 26)
By indenture dated 1872 Mary Ann Sanford
(Sandford) conveyed to trustees land in Rebow
Road for six almshouses for single women or
widows, preferably sailors' widows. She en-
dowed the houses, called Mary Ann Sanford's
Almshouses, with £102 a year for repair, up-
keep, and weekly stipends of 6s., the surplus to
be used for general help to the poor. During her
lifetime she selected the occupants. Kezia
Hines, her sister, by will proved 1885, gave £500
to the trustees of the almshouses to be used at
their discretion. (fn. 27) Residents contributed to the
upkeep of the houses after 1959. Colchester
borough council gave a loan to help with the
modernization of the houses in 1988, and has
also given regular grants for improvements to
be made. (fn. 28)
Mrs. Cock, by her will dated 1744, left a yearly
rent-charge of £2 to benefit eight widows; by
1836 the beneficiaries included unmarried
women. The charge may have been paid in 1863
but appears to have been lost shortly afterwards,
presumably because payment of the £2 was not
legally enforceable. (fn. 29) Robert Kempton, by will
proved 1749, gave £10 for the poor; (fn. 30) the charity
was paying 10s. a year in 1787 (fn. 31) but no further
record has been found. Thomas Goodwin, a
former rector, by his will proved in 1749,
charged a house and land called Woodhewers in
St. Osyth with 50s. to be distributed to five
widows to buy gowns. The charity had been lost
by 1836. (fn. 32)