CHARITIES FOR THE POOR. (fn. 52)
The earliest
known Uxbridge charity is that of John Marsh, who,
by will dated 1557, left the interest on £200 vested
in the Mercers' Company to provide 2s. worth of
bread every Sunday for 24 Uxbridge paupers. In
1908 Marsh's gift comprised an annuity of £5 and
the interest on £113 stock. (fn. 53) Robert Woolman, a London mercer, by will dated 1570, left a rent-charge on
land in Uxbridge, Hillingdon, and Cowley to build
a school in Uxbridge and to give £5 annually to the
Uxbridge poor. The clause providing for a school in
the town was subject to a two-year limitation period,
and the school was never built. John Garrett, an
Uxbridge brewer, by deed dated 1589, granted an
annuity of 5 marks chargeable on his property in
Uxbridge to the bailiffs and freemen of Kingston
(Surr.) to the use of the Uxbridge poor. In 1908 the
gift was represented by a rent-charge of £3 6s. 8d. on
Dunstans Mead. William Skydmore, a London ironmonger, by will dated 1600, left premises in Uxbridge to his heirs on condition that they should give
1s. in bread to the poor each Sunday morning after
divine service in Uxbridge chapel. In 1908 the gift
comprised a rent-charge of £2 12s. on no. 66 High
Street. Sir George Garrett, by will dated 1648, left
4 a. in Moor Field to the use of the Uxbridge poor.
Part of the land was sold in the 19th century to the
G.W.R. Co. and the proceeds were invested in £273
stock. (fn. 54)
In 1695 George Pitt sold the manor and borough
of Uxbridge for £550 to four trustees who covenanted
to pay £20 a year to 6 Uxbridge paupers and £10
a year to be distributed weekly in Uxbridge chapel as
bread to 6 male and 6 female paupers. The trust was
apparently varied in 1729 when the number of
trustees was increased to seven and the manorial
profits vested in a charitable fund for the general
benefit of the town. In 1906 the manor and borough
charity, worth £689 a year, consisted of the site of
the 20th-century almshouses, the building in the
Lynch used as almshouses until 1907, the fire-engine
station, the market-house, cottages in Chapel Street,
the Lynch, and New Windsor Street, and £43 stock.
John Bennet, Lord Ossulston (d. 1695), left £100
to put out apprentice poor children from Uxbridge.
The money was used to buy 3 a. at Yiewsley which
were exchanged in 1780 for 13 a. at Norwood. Part
of the land was sold to the Grand Junction Canal Co.
in 1795 and a further portion to the G.W.R. Co. in
1859. (fn. 55) In 1906 the gift was worth £126 a year and
consisted of 10 houses in Ossulston Villas, a cottage
and 5 a. at Norwood, a £100 share in the Grand
Junction Canal Co., and £1,379 stock. Michael
Pearce, by will dated 1695, left tenements in Uxbridge, subject to the life interest of his sister, in
trust for the maintenance of the Uxbridge poor. In
1778 the gift was distributed as small cash payments
to 124 paupers; in 1823 £23 was distributed among
172 paupers. (fn. 56) In 1906 Pearce's gift, worth £180 a
year, consisted of an allotment, a house in High
Street, and £160 stock. John Hill, by will dated
1744, left a rent-charge of £1 a year on the George
Inn to provide 40 Uxbridge paupers with a 6d. loaf
each Christmas Day. In 1821 the gifts of Marsh,
Woolman, John Garrett, Skydmore, Sir George
Garrett, and Hill were together worth £30. The
whole amount, overlooking the specific directions of
some of the donors, was distributed as bread, except
for 3s. given away each Sunday in part satisfaction of
Sir George Garrett's gift.
Henry Fell Pease, by will dated 1820, left an
uncertain amount to assist in the education of poor
children. By 1915 Pease's gift consisted of two exhibitions tenable at the Greenway secondary school. (fn. 57)
Under the 1825 inclosure award 4 a. on Uxbridge
Moor were allotted to the Uxbridge poor. One acre
was sold in 1903 and the proceeds invested in £313
stock. (fn. 58) William Wells, by will proved 1835, left the
proceeds of £600 stock to the use of the Uxbridge
poor. Emily James, by will proved 1920, left the
income of £300 stock for the relief of the poor.
Sarah Hunter of Fulham House, Hillingdon Heath,
by will proved 1922, left the income on £300 to be
devoted to the purchase of coal for the inmates of the
Uxbridge almshouses. Charles Woodbridge, by will
proved 1924, left £100, which was invested by his
executors, to provide coal for the inmates of the
almshouses.
By a Scheme of 1906, which introduced 5 representative trustees appointed by Uxbridge U.D.C.
and 6 co-optative trustees drawn from persons living
in or near Uxbridge, the gifts of Ossulston and Pearce
and the manor and borough charity were consolidated as the Uxbridge United Charities. (fn. 59) The
income of the charities was made available for the
support of and payment of pensions to 20 poor in
the almshouses and for the general benefit of the
Uxbridge poor. The premiums for apprentices supported from Ossulston's gift were fixed at £20 to £25
for outdoor apprentices and £30 for indoor apprentices. In 1907 the terms of the gift were extended to
include poor children from the whole of Uxbridge
Urban District, and in 1920 another Scheme increased the amounts payable as apprenticeship
premiums. By a further Scheme in 1939 the original
intention of Ossulston's gift was modified to allow
financial assistance to be given to poor persons under
21 years of age who needed fees for instruction,
travelling expenses, or outfits when entering or
engaged in trade or service.
By a Scheme of 1907 the charities of Clarke, Sir
George Garrett, John Garrett, Hill, Marsh, Skydmore, Wells, and Woolman, and the Poor Allotment
were consolidated as the Charities of Clarke and
Others. The charities were to be administered by the
trustees of the Uxbridge United Charities and their
income, after the payment of insurance, repairs, and
other necessary charges, was to be applied as if it
were income from the United Charities.
In 1961 the income of the United Charities
amounted to £8,265, used mainly to provide pensions to the almspeople and to maintain and insure
the almshouses and market-house. The Charity of
Clarke and Others realized £394 and Ossulston's
gift £403. The income of the gifts of Hunter and
Woodbridge together realized £11, all of which was
spent on coal for the poor, and the income from the
Pease charity was £95.
The early history of the Uxbridge almshouses is
obscure. Almshouses in the Lynch were in existence
before 1727. (fn. 60) Two years later the manorial trustees
covenanted to rebuild the almshouses, (fn. 61) but whether
they did so is uncertain. In 1743 there were 16
tenants in the Lynch almshouses. (fn. 62) Eight new almshouses, apparently built on the same site, were
completed in 1846. (fn. 63) A Scheme for new almshouses
was prepared in conjunction with the Charity Commissioners in 1905. (fn. 64) The new buildings were built
next to the Methodist chapel in New Windsor Street
at a cost of more than £3,000, which was met by
temporarily appropriating the income from the
Ossulston and Pearce charities. The new almshouses
were occupied in 1907, and the 19th-century almshouses seem to have been demolished about 1920. (fn. 65)
The earliest known charity in Hillingdon parish
outside Uxbridge is that of Nathaniel Snell who, by
will dated 1692, left £5 a year for apprenticing
a poor child from the parish. Thomas Tisdale, who
was churchwarden of Hillingdon in 1692, (fn. 66) at an
uncertain date left a 2-acre close called Honey Hill
to the use of the Hillingdon poor. Under the inclosure award of 1825 this land was exchanged for
6 a. at the corner of Royal Lane and Cowley Church
Road. Robert Brigginshaw, by will dated 1715, left
a rent-charge of 30s. a year on his property in Hayes
parish to be distributed on 30 January (the testator's
birthday) in food among those Hillingdon poor who
were not receiving parochial relief. Lady Sarah Winford, by will dated 1732, left £50 to purchase land,
the rent from which was to be used in repairing her
father's tombstone. Any surplus was to be distributed among the parish poor. Two acres in the
common fields were purchased in 1743 and exchanged under the inclosure award of 1825 for 2 a.
at the corner of Kingston Lane and Green Lane.
Anthony Brown, by will dated 1800, left a sufficient
sum to realize £5 a year to buy cheese for distribution each Christmas among the parish poor and
a further £5 to be applied towards educating pauper
children. In 1823 the gift was represented by £500
stock. Under the 1825 inclosure award 4 a. in front
of the Hillingdon workhouse were allotted to the
Hillingdon poor. The land was later sold to the
Uxbridge guardians and in 1870 the allotment was
represented by £643 stock. In 1823 the income from
the gifts of Brown, Brigginshaw, Tisdale, and Winford was lumped together as one fund, which then
realized £26 a year, and the total amount distributed at Christmas as bread and cheese among all
the parish poor.
Under a Scheme of 1870 the Hillingdon charities
were consolidated under the administration of the
parish authorities. The income, after the payment of
management expenses, was divided into 10 equal
parts, 5 of which were apportioned to the ecclesiastical parish of St. John, Hillingdon, 3 to the parish of
St. John, Uxbridge Moor, and 2 to St. Andrew's
parish. The proceeds were to be used to provide the
poor with clothes, bedding, fuel, and medical and
other assistance. Representative trustees were introduced in 1898 and were defined in 1932 as 9 members appointed by Uxbridge U.D.C. and 3 by
Yiewsley and West Drayton U.D.C., together with
the vicars of the three parishes and that of St.
Matthew, Yiewsley. In 1954 the vicars of All Saints,
North Hillingdon, and St. Jerome, Dawley, were
included, and the number of representatives appointed by Uxbridge Borough Council was reduced
to 8. In 1962 the income of the Charity of
Brigginshaw and Others was £112, all of which was
distributed as clothes, fuel, food, medical aid, and
temporary financial assistance in cases of special
hardship.
Charles Sims, by will proved 1918, left numbers 1
and 2 Rosslyn Villas in trust to provide coal and
blankets for the poor of Hillingdon East civil parish.
Under a Scheme of 1933 the property, which was
then represented by £581 stock, was vested in 5
trustees, 4 of whom were appointed by Uxbridge
U.D.C. and the other by Yiewsley and West Drayton U.D.C.