Wolvercote: Charities for the poor

Charities for the poor

Catherine Rawson, by will dated 1705, left £200, the income, after payments of £1 for a sermon and 10s. to the clerk, to be given to the poor. (fn. 93) In 1706 the money, with £20 given by David Walter (d. 1679) and £5 given by Richard Hall (probably d. 1705), was used to buy 9 a. of meadow in Wolvercote, thereafter known as the Poor's Plot. (fn. 94) In 1815 the trustees revised the principles on which the charity was to be distributed, laying down that special consideration should be given to the poorest families who managed without relief, and that all recipients should attend church regularly; adults should receive 3s. 6d. and children 2s. (fn. 95) Part of the land was sold to the railway companies in the 1850s and the proceeds invested in £785 Consols. (fn. 96) In 1979 the charity had an income of £62 for the poor. (fn. 97)

Adam Knapp of Middlesex, by will proved in 1823, left £ 101 Consols, the income of which, £2 15s. 4d., was distributed in kind in 1890. (fn. 98) There is no later record of the charity.

Minnah Frances Rowland Middleton, by will proved in 1931, left £1,000 to the poor of Wolvercote and Cutteslowe. The estate proved inadequate to pay the legacy in full, and only £86 was received. The income of the charity was £6 in 1979. (fn. 99)