CHARITIES.
In the 17th century a number of
people gave or left small sums of money to the
parish; they were to be lent out at interest and the
proceeds applied to the relief of the poor. Some of
the money had been lost by 1683, and by 1724 only
£15 remained out of about £100. This money was
borrowed by the parish towards the repair of the
church, and it was agreed that 15s. a year interest
should be paid. This, however, was only done intermittently, and in 1869 the charity was allowed to
lapse with the consent of the parish and the
Charity Commission. (fn. 53)
There was an almshouse in Warminster in the
mid-16th century; it stood at the lower end of the
High Street, and gave its name to the bridge
which crossed the stream there. In 1607 Clement
Abath gave £5 to the inmates, and the building was
still in use in the early 18th century. It later fell
into decay and was removed about 1750. (fn. 54)
In 1627 Henry Smith, silversmith of London,
founded a charity for the benefit of the poor of a
number of places including Warminster. The sum
allotted to Warminster was at first £10 out of an
estate at Stoughton (Leics.) worth £220 a year. In
the late 17th and early 18th centuries the sum
received was only £6 or £8 a year, but in the 19th
century £24 or £25 a year was the usual amount. In
1833 this was usually laid out in calico and dowlas
shirting, which was given away in lengths worth
4s. each. In 1868 the Stoughton estate was exchanged for one at Thurlaston (Leics.); by 1903
the annual receipt had fallen to £18, which was
distributed in 4s. tickets for buying food. (fn. 55)
In 1670 Stephen Pilchard of London left £120
to the parish of Warminster where he was born, to
buy lands; of the revenue 10s. was to be paid to the
officiating minister for a sermon on St. Stephen's
Day, and the residue was to be distributed to 20
old and needy natives of the town. In 1682 the
sum of £7 4s., to allow for the gifts to be of 6s. 8d.
each, was secured as a rent-charge on some houses
near Almshouse Bridge, which later included the
Organ Inn. (fn. 56)
At his death in 1688 John Wadman of Imber
left a rent-charge of 50s. a year out of Flintford Farm in Frome to be given away to 20 poor
inhabitants. (fn. 57) In 1723 William Slade left a rent
charge of 50s. a year out of the former 'King's
Arms' in the Market Place to be distributed in the
same way. (fn. 58) William King of London by his will
dated 1769 left a small piece of land, the rent to be
given away yearly at the rate of 10s. a year to each
recipient. The income has varied from £2 to £6.
In 1949 the land was sold and the proceeds invested. (fn. 59) At his death in 1799 John Langley left
£1,000 stock to provide annual payments of 5s.
each to 120 poor people. In 1869 the capital was
increased by £400 transferred, as Langley had
provided, from the charity he founded in connexion
with the Old Meeting. (fn. 60) From that time the number of recipients was increased. (fn. 61)
In 1807 George Wansey left £1,000, which was
subsequently allowed to accumulate to £1,250, to
provide yearly payments of £1 each to aged widows;
they had to be nominated to go on the list, and
once on it remained recipients for life. (fn. 62) By his
will proved in 1818 Ralph Hotchkin left £100
stock so that the interest could be distributed to
deserving poor, especially widows and people with
large families. (fn. 63) At her death in 1820 Elizabeth
Townsend left £200 to provide a number of great
coats and cloaks for poor old men and women. In
1833 £3 a year from another charity she founded
for singing an anthem in the parish church was
allotted to this one. (fn. 64) About 1830 Sarah Lawes gave
just over £100 for the benefit of the industrious
poor. Similar bequests or gifts were made later in
the 19th century by Jane Benett, £100, Mary Anne
Wyche, £100, J. S. Halliday, £100, Mary Aldridge,
£100, Susan T. Taylor, £98, F. H. Langley,
£1,000, and G. T. Vicary, £50. (fn. 65) Other bequests
were made by Letitia Leat, £100 to provide fuel,
Charles Bleeck, £400 to give away beef at Christmas,
and John Doel, £200 to provide boots and shoes. (fn. 66)
Since at least the early 19th century it has been
customary to distribute the income from most of
these charities at Christmas. In the 1820's and
30's some £120 was generally given to nearly 400
recipients. (fn. 67) The same method was still in use in
1962; in 1957 about £140 was given away, mainly
in small sums as directed by the donors. (fn. 68)
In 1873 Louisa Warren built four almshouses in
Portway in memory of her late husband. They
were to provide homes for 4 Protestant widows or
spinsters over 60; an endowment of £2,500 was
made to allow for the upkeep of the houses and
for small weekly payments to the inmates. In 1893
Jane Fish, an almswoman, left £122 to the endowment. The charity still functioned in its original
form in 1963. (fn. 69)
Several charities have been endowed for the
poor of the district or parish of Christ Church. In
1878 Matthew Davies left £2,000 to provide weekly
supplies of coal for old people during the winter.
In 1903 the income was sufficient to provide over
100 people with 1 cwt. a week and an extra 1½ or
2 cwt. at Christmas. In 1959 it was given away in
8s. vouchers. (fn. 70) In 1867 Margaret Elling gave a house
and 6a. of land at Rehobath near Warminster
Common for the general relief of the poor of the
district. The estate was sold c. 1922 and the proceeds invested; in the 1950's some £26 a year was
given away in money and vouchers. (fn. 71) By his will
proved in 1901 S. P. Collier left £100 to provide
meat for poor people; this too has been given away
in vouchers. (fn. 72)
The formally-endowed charities were supplemented by several subscribing bodies for the relief
of the poor. Warminster Infants' Friend Society
was founded in 1800 to lend clothes and linen to
lying-in women, and to give the infants that lived
an adequate set of clothes. The Society for the
Relief of the Aged Poor, established in 1814,
collected subscriptions of 1d. a week from its
members and allowed a number of aged paupers
1s. a week in winter and 6d. in summer to provide
comforts in addition to the parish pay, which was
not cut. Warminster Ladies' Benevolent Society
was founded in 1818 to give small sums of money
or clothes and comforts to the sick poor, and the
Blanket Lending Society dated from 1827. (fn. 73) There
were clothing clubs attached to the church Sunday
Schools at the parish church and the Common in
1828, (fn. 74) and in 1835 a Penny Clothing Society was
instituted. Members could pay from 1d. to 4d. a
week, and at the end of the year were supplied with
tickets to buy clothing worth a small amount over
what they had paid, the increase coming from subscriptions. (fn. 75) The Society for the Aged Poor and
the Blanket Lending Society still carried on their
work in 1962. Each had accumulated endowment
by gift and bequest, and still received subscriptions
from its members. (fn. 76)