CHARITIES.
Richard Lydall of Northmoor,
by will proved 1721, left 2 adjacent cottages and
8½ a. in Hardwick, his birthplace, for a bread
charity, which was distributed at Cokethorpe
chapel. (fn. 33) One cottage was later demolished and
in the later 18th century and early 19th the estate
was rented for between £7 and £14 10s. a
year. In 1824 bread was distributed to c. 16 poor
Hardwick families. (fn. 34) At inclosure in 1853 the
churchwardens of Hardwick were awarded c.
4½ a. for Lydall's land, which was turned into
allotments. (fn. 35) In the later 19th century the rent
of cottage and allotments was c. £15 (fn. 36) and was
not raised substantially until 1967. Bread distributions continued, but the charity was also
deflected at the rector's discretion to chiropody
and other purposes. (fn. 37)
Anne Sammon (d. 1832), daughter of Ducklington's rector John Pinnell, left £200 for a
bread and coal charity. After prolonged litigation
the charity, in operation by the 1870s, was
endowed with c. £105, which in the later 19th
century and in 1969 was yielding c. £3 a year. (fn. 38)
On the death of Catherine Strickland of
Cokethorpe House in 1892 her relatives provided a memorial fund of £60 to ensure
continuation of her regular charitable donations
to the parish, which from 1873 or earlier had
been £5 a year used for coal. In the 1960s the
fund was yielding £5 a year. (fn. 39)
Kenneth Macray, son of the rector W. D.
Macray, by will proved 1941 left £300 for
general alms with no religious distinction. The
income was c. £16 10s. in 1968. (fn. 40)
A weekly bread charity for Ducklington intended by the will of James Leverett of Witney
dated 1783 seems never to have been implemented. (fn. 41) Under a Scheme of 1972 the charities
of Lydall, Sammon, Strickland, and Macray
were amalgamated and the income (c. £150 in
1979) was used for general relief in need. (fn. 42)
In the late 18th century, following a longestablished practice referred to as the 'Easter
custom', the rector provided an Easter feast for
his parishioners at the rectory house; the traditional fare was pies of veal or apple. In 1798,
during a vacancy in the living, Magdalen College
agreed to provide £10 worth of bread instead of
the 'custom', and bread of that value was provided thereafter, divided equally between the
inhabitants of Hardwick and Ducklington.
Thomas Farley (rector 1826-70) transferred the
customary payment to the support of the village
school, a practice followed by his successor W.
D. Macray. (fn. 43)