CHARITIES FOR THE POOR.
Almshouses.
An almshouse had been established outside the west gate by 1454-5. It was endowed with little
or no land, but the town bailiffs undertook
repairs, and from 1546 it received a small sum,
later 5s., from a tenement and garden given by
John Bentley. (fn. 64) In 1551 the almshouse contained
four poor men and women who in that year
received bedding from a testator. (fn. 65) By 1618 the
inmates were four women. (fn. 66) In 1558 the building
was extensively repaired, largely through gifts in
cash and in kind from townsmen. (fn. 67) The building
was 'utterly demolished' during the siege of the
town in 1645, but the town receiver was paying
the 5s. as a gift to or as rent for the last inmate
in 1653-4, and the same sum for a man who was
probably her son in 1655. (fn. 68) The site, let on a
building lease in 1667, and occupied by a private
house within a year, was on the south side of
West Street, on the corner of a lane leading to
Roper's Lane, opposite the Bell (later White
Ball) inn. (fn. 69)
In 1483 Thomasina Hill left £40 to rebuild
an almshouse for men, (fn. 70) perhaps referring to the
house in West Street. A year earlier a house for
13 poor men and women was projected, but
reference in 1498 to a single almshouse in the
town suggests that it was not built. (fn. 71)
A second almshouse in the town had been
established near the south gate by c. 1603. (fn. 72) The
corporation made weekly payments to support
the almspeople and maintained the building,
partly from the gift of Alexander Jones (mayor
1598, d. 1609), who c. 1603 paid £100 to the
town, partly for the repair of the almshouse.
Most of the gift was used to buy the rectory
estate, but 2s. a week from the gift was still paid
to the almspeople together in 1715. (fn. 73) In 1618
there were 12 almsfolk, (fn. 74) and from 1658 they
were paid £3 a year, the interest on a sum
bequeathed by Bernard Sparke to be lent to
tradesmen. (fn. 75) The almshouse was said to have
been 'utterly demolished', probably during the
siege in 1645, but it was rebuilt in brick in
1693-5, partly paid for by the gift of £300 from
Major Matthew Ingram, a native of the town.
The gift was augmented in 1699 by £100 given
by Mary Brent, which was laid out in the
purchase of land in Hamp. The almshouse evidently remained unfinished for some years. (fn. 76) By
1800 Dorothy Holworthy's charity was being
distributed to the almsfolk; by 1820 the alms
house was let to the churchwardens for use as a
parish poorhouse, and both its founder and its
original purpose had been forgotten. (fn. 77) The
building, which stood outside the south gate, on
a narrow site between the road to Taunton and
the path to Hamp known as Hamp Ward, (fn. 78) was
extended in 1830 by the addition of an engine
house, a mortuary, and two rooms for vagrants.
The building, proposed to be sold in 1851, (fn. 79) was
still standing in 1865 but was then unoccupied,
and it had been demolished by 1887. (fn. 80)
By trust deed dated 1952 Ernest John Waddon
established the Rose Waddon Rest Home charity
in memory of his wife to provide homes for
female pensioners of 60 and more resident in the
borough for 20 years. Three cottages were replaced by four flats, no. 21 Chilton Street. (fn. 81)
Other charities.
By will proved 1553 John
Colverd or Colvord devised to the mayor and
burgesses the residue of his estate in reversion
to pay 40s. a year to the poor. Payments from
the estate had begun by 1561 and continued until
1609, (fn. 82) but thereafter seem to have been regarded as part of the general funds of the
corporation. Elizabeth Prowse by will proved
1554 devised land in trust, the mayor to receive
each year 20s. for the poor. The tenants of the
land seem not to have paid the rent from c.
1606. (fn. 83) Robert Blake by deed dated 1592 gave
£240, the interest to be partly for poor relief. (fn. 84)
Gifts of cash and clothing were made from the
endowment in 1605, (fn. 85) and the charity formed
part of the poor stock of the corporation in the
later 18th century but seems to have been lost
in the 19th. (fn. 86) Richard Tapp or Tilley gave by
will proved 1599 a sum which was later held by
the corporation. The interest on £40 was still
distributed each Good Friday and Christmas
Eve in 1786, but has not been found later. (fn. 87)
Margaret Blake by will dated 1599 gave £10 to
the corporation, the interest to provide smocks
on All Saints' day for six poor women. The
endowment was transferred to the corporation
in 1602, but the charity seems to have been lost
by 1715. (fn. 88) Christian Shercombe (d. 1613) left
£10 for the poor in the hands of the corporation. (fn. 89) From 1787 the corporation used the
income to buy cloth for the poor. (fn. 90) In 1839 the
charity was transferred to the Bridgwater charity
trustees. (fn. 91) By will dated 1633 Richard Castleman
gave £300 to the aldermen of the town to be laid
out in real property, one third of the income to
be for the poor. (fn. 92) The endowment, used from 1787
to buy cloth, was transferred to the Bridgwater
charity trustees in 1839. (fn. 93) Richard Holworthy by
will dated 1643 gave £50, the interest to be
distributed weekly in bread. (fn. 94) The charity was
transferred to the Bridgwater charity trustees in
1839. (fn. 95) Admiral Robert Blake (d. 1657) gave
£100 to provide food and clothing twice a year.
In 1826 the income was used to buy cloth. (fn. 96)
Dorothy Holworthy c. 1662 gave £140 10s. to buy
land, the rent to be given to the poor. From 1787
it was used by the corporation to buy cloth for the
poor. (fn. 97) The charity seems to have been lost between 1826 and 1839. (fn. 98) Dr. William Blake by will
dated 1667 gave the interest on £100 already held
by the corporation. (fn. 99) From 1787 it was used to buy
cloth and in 1839 was transferred to the Bridgwater
charity trustees. (fn. 1)
Robert Balch (d. 1705) gave a rent charge of
40s., initially for the new workhouse, but it later
passed to the corporation. The charity survived
in 1786 but was lost after 1826. (fn. 2) Sir John
Bawden gave £40 to the poor before 1715. (fn. 3) The
charity was distributed in cloth from 1787 and
was transferred to the Bridgwater charity trustees in 1839. (fn. 4) Gilbert Bloyce by will of 1717 gave
a rent charge and John Gilbert by will of 1731 gave
leasehold properties for weekly bread distributions.
Both survived in 1826, the first as a dole until
1939. (fn. 5) Constance Harvey (d. 1718) gave £20 for
poor widows, an endowment which was spent
on cloth from 1787 and which was transferred
to the charity trustees in 1839. (fn. 6) Anne Holworthy
(d. 1745) gave the mortgage interest on a house,
payment of which had ceased by 1826. (fn. 7) Before
1757 Samuel Darby gave 10s a year for a sermon
on Good Friday and £10 to pay interest for the
poor; (fn. 8) the £10 had been lost by 1826. (fn. 9) A rent
charge of £5 given by one Grabham before 1715
has not been traced further. (fn. 10) Jane Habberfield
by will dated 1813 gave a bread dole which by
1936 was used for sermons on Ash Wednesday
and Ascension Day at St. Mary's church, a bread
distribution, and the general parish poor fund. (fn. 11)
In 1786-7 there were said to be 17 endowed
charities for the poor in the parish including 12
with a total capital value of over £780, and three
others with a total rent charge income of over
£54. (fn. 12) All seem to have been administered by
the corporation, which from 1787 paid out annual interest of £30 in cloth for the poor from
the endowments of Robert (d. 1657) and William
Blake, Richard Castleman, Dorothy Holworthy,
Sir John Bawden, Constance Harvey, and Christian Shercombe, together with the interest from
the apprentice charity of Benjamin Vaughan (d.
1639) which was shared with Cannington. (fn. 13) The
Richard Holworthy and John Gilbert bread
charities were also still continued, the latter also
providing cloth from surplus income in the first
week in December. By 1826 the charity of Mary
Brent was no longer paid to the inmates of the
south gate almshouse, but instead to 4 or 5
widows not otherwise supported, who received
weekly doles of 1s. 6d. (fn. 14) Mary Brent's charity,
subject to a Scheme of 1864 and Orders of 1882
and 1900, in the 1960s provided pensions to poor
people over 60. (fn. 15) The charity of Robert Blake
(d. 1657) was in 1826 used to buy clothing, while
those of Gilbert Bloyce and Jane Habberfield,
the latter invested in consols and not in the
corporation, continued as bread doles. (fn. 16)
In 1839 the corporation paid to a new body
called the Bridgwater charity trustees the sum
of £923 13s. 6d. in the name of 12 charities,
including three educational charities. (fn. 17) In 1853
after the trustees refused to disclose their accounts people complained that out of capital of
c. £1,200 only £40 went to the poor and implied
that the rest, for education, was not distributed. (fn. 18)
In fact, in that year the trustees, in the name of
eight charities, paid out £66 18s. 8d. to help Dr.
Morgan's educational charity to clothe 30 poor
boys. (fn. 19) Under a Scheme of 1857 the charities of
Robert Blake, Richard Castleman, and Dorothy
and Richard Holworthy became part of the
endowment of the grammar school, later known
as the King James exhibition, to provide exhibitions and scholarships for pupils in need; and
the charities of Constance Harvey, Christian
Shercombe, William Blake, Sir John Bawden,
and Robert Balch became part of the endowment
of Dr. Morgan's school. The educational
charities thus established were thereafter known
as the Bridgwater Municipal Charities, and were
in 1989 administered by trustees as the King
James exhibition and scholarship endowment,
providing assistance for Bridgwater pupils in
secondary or higher education. (fn. 20)
From 1839 there is no further trace of the
charity of Robert Blake (d. 1592). Under a
Scheme of 1898 the sermon charities of Richard
Castleman and Samuel Darby, the Benjamin
Vaughan apprentice charity, and the bequest of
James Hartnell, to the governors of the King
James exhibition by will proved 1866, became
the United Charities. Hartnell's charity was
transferred to the Board of Education in 1904;
and the remainder, subject to minor modifications in 1964 and 1976, were in 1989
administered by Sedgemoor district council,
which paid small sums to the vicar of Bridgwater
in respect of Castleman's and Darby's charities
and offered half the income from Vaughan's
charity to help a needy Bridgwater child to enter
a trade. (fn. 21)
There also remained in 1988 the charities of
Robert Blake (d. 1657), John Gilbert, Gilbert
Bloyce, and Jane Habberfield. The first two,
administered by trustees under a Scheme of
1908, provided food and clothing for the inhabitants of Bridgwater borough. Bloyce's charity,
in the 1930s a rent charge of £5 4s., was administered by the vicar of St. Mary's in place of
bread doles on Sunday mornings. Habberfield's
charity, a bread dole worth £3 9s. 6d. and a poor
fund worth 9s. 6d., together with a small sermon
charity, were also considered part of the charity
income of St. Mary's church. It was administered by the vicar and churchwardens with part
of the gift of James Cook, who by will of 1912
gave capital sums to the three parishes of St.
Mary, St. John the Baptist, and Holy Trinity
for distributions of meat and bread on Christmas
Day. At Christmas 1964 the charities of Bloyce,
Habberfield, and Cook were distributed at St.
Mary's in vouchers worth 3s. each. (fn. 22)
By will proved 1848 Jane Axford gave investments, the income to be given on 1 January in
money, provisions, or clothing to the poor of St.
Mary's parish. The income was under £5 in
1966. Before 1896 Mary Ann Smith by will
endowed pensions for poor widows or spinsters
born in the parish; under a Scheme of 1964 the
endowment became known as Towell's Charity
Trust. (fn. 23) By indenture of 1898 Mary Katherine
Lovell-Marshall gave £30 a year for pensions for
poor people of 70 and over in the parishes of St.
Mary and Holy Trinity. The trustees were empowered to pay rent or give assistance in kind. (fn. 24)
Mrs. L. M. Mansfield before 1932 gave an
income of between £25 and £50 for pensions for
people who had lived in Bridgwater for 10 years
and were unable to support themselves. 'Poor
distressed persons' in Bridgwater shared the
income from the Manchip Trust, established by
will of 1936 and administered under a Scheme
of 1970. The Emma Pearce Memorial Fund was
founded by will of 1942 for distributions to the
needy widows and spinsters of St. Mary's and
neighbouring parishes. (fn. 25) Miss L. M. Tamlin (d.
1942) by will gave £10,000 for the use of poor
residents of the borough. The income was £1,480 in
1988 and 38 pensioners each received £40 in 1989. (fn. 26)