CHARITIES. (fn. 1)
Charitable bequests entrusted to
the vicar and churchwardens of West Ham, for the
use of the parishioners in general, were being
divided equally between the three wards (Church
Street, Plaistow, and Stratford) as early as the 16th
century. In each ward the churchwarden kept what
was known as the donation account, and each churchwarden in turn acted also as accountant to the whole
parish. Bequests for the use of specific wards were
paid into their donation accounts.
A Chancery order of 1848 apportioned the income
of the charities then existing, except those of Sarah
Bonnell, between the three ecclesiastical districts,
each of which was also to share the right to nominate
to vacancies in Newman's and Harris's alms-houses.
A Charity Commission scheme of 1870 provided
that the Alms-house Charities and the Distributive
Charities for the poor should be administered by
a central charity board consisting of the Vicar of
All Saints', the churchwardens, and the parish
overseers. In each of the eleven ecclesiastical districts the vicar and churchwardens were to apportion the district's share of the Distributive Charities
and to appoint, in turn, to vacancies in Newman's
alms-houses. In 1897 a controversy arose concerning
the administration of the charities. By then West
Ham had become a large county borough, and a
strong section of public opinion was urging that the
charities should no longer be controlled by the
Church. An order of the Local Government Board
on 19 March 1897 transferred the power of appointing the overseers from the vestry to the borough
council. The council, exercising its powers under
the Local Government Act, 1894, thereupon increased the number of overseers from three to seven
(including the mayor ex officio), thus giving them
potential control over the central charity board,
though not of the district boards. Churchmen, under
the determined leadership of the Vicar of All Saints',
Canon Pelly, then pressed the Charity Commission
to draw up a new scheme which would enable them
to retain control. This was strongly opposed by the
council, which in 1898–9 was controlled by the
Socialists and their allies. A public inquiry was held
in 1899 by an assistant commissioner who reported in
favour of 'more popular and less ecclesiastical' control.
Under the resulting scheme (1903) a new board
of trustees was set up, consisting of the vicar of All
Saints', the mayor, 12 representatives appointed by
the borough council, and 6 co-optative members.
This board was to administer the United NonEcclesiastical Charities, i.e. all the Alms-house and
Distributive Charities controlled by the old central
charity board except Avenon's charity, together
with three other charities that had been independent
of the old board. The new board was to use the
income of the Alms-house Charities for the purposes
of those charities. The income from the Distributive
Charities (except the ecclesiastical portions) was to
be shared between the 12 wards of the borough, in
each of which there was to be a local committee
responsible for distributing the money. The
Ecclesiastical Charities, drawing their income
from the ecclesiastical portions of the Distributive
Charities, were separated from the Non-Ecclesiastical
Charities and placed under the control of the vicar
and churchwardens of All Saints'.
A scheme of 1966 placed the United NonEcclesiastical Charities under the control of a board
of trustees comprising the mayor of Newham, the
vicar of All Saints', 14 members nominated by the
Newham borough council, and 6 co-optative members. The ward committees were abolished.
In addition to the United Non-Ecclesiastical
Charities there are various other charities for the
poor or for the churches. These are all treated in the
present section. Educational charities are described
in the section on Education. Those connected with
nonconformist churches are treated in the section
on Protestant Nonconformity.
The United Non-Ecclesiastical Charities. (fn. 2)
Alms-house Charities.
In 1512 there was an almshouse in Church Street maintained by John Scott of
Stratford, who gave instructions relating to it in his
will of that year (proved in 1525). (fn. 3) Nothing further
is known about Scott's alms-house. It must have
been very near the later alms-houses of Newman
and Harris, but there is no evidence that it was
connected with either of those foundations.
In 1636 John Newman conveyed two copyhold
cottages to the churchwardens of West Ham for the
use of the parish poor. These provided seven almsrooms without endowment. The site, which was
declared freehold about 1810 after a dispute between
the vestry and the West Ham manor court, lay east
of the churchyard. (fn. 4)
James Cooper (d. 1743) left £200 for the rebuilding of the alms-houses, and this work was apparently
completed between 1745 and 1748. (fn. 5) The new
houses comprised a two-storey terrace of ten tenements, accommodating 20 alms-women. In 1899
the condition of the alms-houses was said to be
unsatisfactory, but they were still in use in 1938. (fn. 6)
A scheme of that year provided for the amalgamation
of Newman's with Harris's alms-houses; the buildings of both were to be demolished and replaced
by a block of 26 new alms-houses in Gift Lane.
These were built in 1939–40.
The scheme of 1870 stipulated that the almswomen were to be over 60 years old or infirm, and to
have been resident in the parish for at least two years.
A scheme of 1913 permitted the trustees to employ a
nurse to look after the alms-women, and to accommodate her in one of the alms-rooms.
For over a century after their foundation Newman's alms-houses appear to have been maintained
entirely by the vestry, but from the middle of the
18th century they received a succession of endowments, mainly for the alms-women's stipends, which
were providing a total income of £188 by 1898. In
that year the alms-houses also received £20 from
the Distributive Charities. The scheme of 1903 did
not permit such payments, but that of 1913 gave
the trustees power to spend up to £130 from the
Distributive Charities on the alms-houses. Subsequent schemes increased the limit, and under the
latest (1966) the trustees have discretion to use for
the alms-houses whatever proportion of their total
income they think necessary. In 1966 the total
income from endowments of the United NonEcclesiastical Charities was £1,766, of which £140
was spent on eleemosynary grants and the remainder
mainly on the maintenance of the alms-houses, the
nurse's wages and Christmas gifts to the almswomen.
James Cooper (d. 1743) (fn. 7) left £600 stock in trust
for various charitable purposes in the parish, including gifts of coal for the inmates of Newman's almshouses. In 1834 £7 10s. was being spent on coal, one
sack being given to each alms-woman and the remainder to the poor of Plaistow. Thomasin Gouge, by
will dated 1754, left the residue of her estate for the
relief of Newman's alms-women. In 1834 £1,300
stock yielded an income of £39, which was distributed to the alms-women half-yearly. John Snelgrave, by will proved 1810, left £700 stock, in
addition to another bequest, for a yearly distribution
to the alms-women. In 1834 the income was £21.
Samuel Jones Vachell, by will dated 1831, gave
£200 for the poor, from which in 1834 the income
of £8 was being distributed among the alms-women.
Isabella Wilson, by will proved 1834, gave £1,000
for the relief of 30 poor women attending the
parish church. The Chancery order of 1848 apportioned the income among the three ecclesiastical
districts of West Ham, but for some time before
1870 it was being used for Newman's alms-houses.
Joseph Watts, by will proved 1836, gave £500 in
trust for the alms-women. Elizabeth Hoyte and
Mary Goldthorp by deed of 1844 gave £2,300 on
reversion to augment the income of the alms-women,
the gift becoming effective in 1851. By her will
proved 1851 Mary Goldthorp left the reversion
to a further £437 for the same purpose: this
was received in 1875. All these charities were included in the scheme of 1870 and formed the
Alms-house Charities, the charities of Cooper,
Snelgrave, Vachell, and Wilson being numbered
also among the Distributive Charities. Emily Cleypole, by will proved 1877, gave £100 for the benefit
of Newman's alms-women, and this gift was included among the Alms-house Charities in the
scheme of 1903. Under that scheme Wilson's charity
ceased to be one of the Distributive Charities and
Vachell's charity ceased to be one of the Alms-house
Charities.
Roger Harris, by will dated 1633, devised two
copyhold cottages in Little (later Gift) Lane for the
use of the poor. In 1834 these were being maintained
by the parish as poorhouses. They were rebuilt by
subscription in 1853, as a single house with six living
rooms, (fn. 8) the balance of the subscription, £39, being
invested as an endowment for the alms-houses. In
1899 the upkeep of the buildings was being met by
the vicar, mainly from parochial funds. There were
six alms-women, usually from All Saints' parish,
each receiving 2s. 6d. a week from the guardians of
West Ham union, and gifts of bread and cash out
of All Saints' share of the Distributive Charities.
Harris's alms-houses were excluded from the
schemes of 1870 and 1903, and remained under the
control of the vicar and churchwardens of All
Saints' until a scheme of 1932 placed them under
the trustees of the United Non-Ecclesiastical
Charities. From 1932 the conditions of admission to
Harris's alms-houses were the same as for Newman's
alms-houses, except that Harris's alms-women were
expected to have a pension or other assured means.
Distributive Charities.
Nicholas Avenon (d. 1599), (fn. 9)
merchant tailor of London, conveyed to 12 trustees,
by a deed of 1580, 6 a. marsh called Withering's
mead. After his death the income from this land
was to provide 24 poor persons with a penny loaf
each every Sunday, any residue going towards an
annual sermon to be preached in the parish church.
The trustees, all laymen, were empowered to renew
the trust as required, but by 1834 it had long lapsed
and the charity was controlled by the vicar. The
land, at Middle marsh, in Plaistow, was then let for
£21, and the penny loaves were being distributed
usually among the inmates of the alms-houses.
Avenon's charity was included, as a Distributive
Charity, in the scheme of 1870. It was later doubted
whether the residue of the charity, as well as the
£5 4s. applicable to bread, was governed by the
scheme, but in 1879 the Charity Commissioners
ruled that it was and that the central charity board
should govern the whole charity. Up to that time
the income from Withering's mead had remained
at £21, but in 1880 the board sold one acre for
£1,500, most of which was used, between 1881 and
1897, to develop the remaining land for building.
When completed the estate, in Avenon's Road,
Hayday Road, Ingal Road, and Denmark Street,
comprised the sites for about 140 houses, let on
building leases. By 1898 the gross income of the
charity was £298; the profits, after deducting the
£5 4s. for bread, were used by the vicar of All Saints'
for church purposes.
During the 1890s and later the fact that the
Church's share of the charity had so greatly increased caused great local resentment. (fn. 10) Thomas
Scott, who as vicar of All Saints' from 1868 to 1891
had started to develop the land, is said to have
wished to make over to the poor part of the increased
income, but to have been prevented from doing this
by Disraeli and later Prime Ministers, who would not
permit any alienation of rights attached to this
Crown living. The controversy concerning Avenon's
charity caused it to be omitted from the scheme of
1903, pending further consideration. This created
uncertainty about its management. The scheme
of 1870, though in other respects superseded by
that of 1903, presumably still applied in this
case, so that Avenon's trustees continued to be
the vicar and churchwardens of All Saints' and the
parish overseers. The borough council's right to
nominate the overseers, acquired by Local Government Board order in 1897, was reaffirmed in the
West Ham Corporation Act (1900), but for some
years after 1903 the overseers seem to have been
unaware that they were still trustees of Avenon's
charity and its control was left to the vicar and
churchwardens. In 1909, however, the overseers
were asked to sign a legal document relating to
the charity, and thus realized that they were still
entitled to share in its management. This precipitated a fight for the control of the charity between the Church and the borough council, in which
the earlier controversy regarding its application was
revived and became the main issue. The struggle was
embittered by the fact that the clerk to the Avenon
trustees was A. B. Banes, who had fought a previous
battle with the council over his claim to compensation for losing the office of vestry clerk. (fn. 11) The
overseers pressed for a new scheme which would
enable part of the increased income to be used for
non-ecclesiastical purposes. The vicar, Canon R. A.
Pelly (1891–1916), was firmly opposed to surrendering any of the income, and he obtained the support
of his bishop and the archbishop of Canterbury.
Avenon's endowment by then provided almost
half the money required to pay the parochial staff
of All Saints', whose duties included a great deal of
charitable work. Pelly opposed a new scheme also
because its publication would 'awake all the Socialist
part of the place to opposition and cause infinite
trouble and disturbance'. The matter was eventually
referred to Chancery, which in 1912 ruled, in
principle, that the increased income of Avenon's
charity could only be used for Church purposes. A
Chancery scheme of 1913 provided that the vicar
was to receive £10 10s. a year for a sermon and
that the balance of the income (after payment of
the £5 4s. for bread) was to be used for curates'
stipends. The trustees of the charity were in future
to be the vicar, churchwardens, and two members
appointed by the bishop. If and when the income
of the charity exceeded £450 they were to apply for a
new scheme. This did not become necessary until the
1960s, when the leases of the houses on Avenon's
estate began to expire, enabling the trustees to sell
the properties and invest the proceeds. By 1964 the
income was about £2,000, and it was estimated that
by 1975 it would rise to £5,000. A Charity Commission scheme of 1965 cancelled the provision of
1913 relating to the £450 limit. The payment of
£5 4s. to the United Non-Ecclesiastical Charities
was still being made in 1966.
John Shipman, by will dated 1583, left £6 a year
for the poor of the parish. It was settled in 1608,
after disputes, that the payment should take the form
of two rent-charges, of £3 6s. 8d. and £1 4s. The
larger rent-charge lapsed in 1861; the smaller was
redeemed in 1896 for £48 stock.
Thomas Spaight of Stratford, yeoman, and Henry
Store, woodmonger of London, by a deed of 1584,
gave 3 a. marshland, let for £4 a year on a lease to
run until A.D. 2112, for the relief of the poor. In 1916
the charity's interest in the land was sold for £300
stock.
Robert Rampston (d. 1585) left a rent of £2 for
the poor, charged on Stone Hall in Little Canfield.
This was still being received in 1966.
Margaret, Lady Throgmorton, of Upton, (fn. 12) by
will proved 1591, left a rent-charge of £2 to be
distributed quarterly to poor widows. This was
redeemed in 1896 for £80 stock.
Thomas Staples, by will proved 1592, left a rentcharge of £1 for the poor. It was redeemed in 1878
for £30 stock.
William Rooke of Upton, (fn. 13) by will dated 1596,
left a rent-charge of £5 for bread for the poor. In
1966 it was being paid by the City corporation as
owners of West Ham Park.
Oliver Skinner, by will dated 1609, left a rentcharge of £2 for the relief of 40 poor persons. Half
of this was redeemed for £40 stock in 1894 and the
remainder for the same amount in 1924.
Peter Blower in 1616 settled in trust 1 a. land in
New marsh, the profits to be distributed to 30 poor
persons (8 in Plaistow, 3 in Upton, 12 in Church
Street, 7 in Stratford). The charity was omitted
from the scheme of 1870, but included in that of
1903. In 1899, the land, in Prince Regent's Lane,
Plaistow, was let for £5 a year to the borough
council as a rubbish shoot. It was sold in 1928 for
£1,500, which was invested.
Mary Gwilliam in 1633 gave for the poor a rentcharge of 30s. In 1834 it was distributed to two poor
widows from each ward. In 1877 it was redeemed
for £60 stock.
Roger Harris, founder of Harris's alms-houses,
by his will dated 1633, gave a rent-charge of 52s. for
coal for poor men or widows. This was included
among the Distributive Charities under the scheme
of 1870, along with the balance of £39 from the subscription for rebuilding the alms-houses, although
the alms-houses themselves remained outside the
scheme. The rent-charge was redeemed in 1893 for
£104 stock.
Sir Richard Fenn, alderman of London, by will
dated 1635, left the rents of two houses to buy
bread for the poor. In 1834 the property comprised
a terrace of 6 houses, let for a total of £10 a year.
In 1865 the site was let on a building lease for 60
years at £80 a year. In 1926–7 it was sold for
£5,500, which was invested.
Anne, Lady Middleton, by will dated 1645, left
a rent-charge of £5 a year: £3 for apprenticing a
boy, £1 for the poor of Plaistow ward, and 10s. each
for those of Stratford and Church Street wards. The
apprenticeship payments lapsed between 1848 and
1870. The whole rent-charge, however, continued
to be received until 1930, when it was redeemed for
£200 stock.
William Tudor of Stratford, merchant tailor of
London, by will proved 1653, left a rent-charge of
£5 for the poor of Stratford, to be distributed half in
money and half in bread. Peter Ward, by will proved
1668, left £60 in trust for the poor, and this was
used to buy 5 a. of the land liable for Tudor's rentcharge. The land, which in 1834 was let for £22,
was sold in 1854 to the Victoria Dock Co. for £1,000,
which was invested.
Sir Jacob Garrard, (fn. 14) by a deed of 1653, conveyed
in trust land called Oxleas in High mead, West Ham,
beside the river Lea, then let at £22 a year, from
which £9 was to be paid for apprenticing a boy
from each of the three wards of West Ham. Other
charges, amounting to £7 12s., were payable for
church purposes in West Ham and for charities in
two other parishes. Any residue was to be distributed
between 50 poor persons in West Ham. In 1830
Oxleas, about 12 a., was leased for 99 years at £70
a year. It was sold in 1927 for £14,000, which was
invested.
Elizabeth Toppesfield, by will proved 1660, gave
a rent-charge of 50s., of which £2 was to provide six
poor wives or widows with waistcoats, in which they
were to attend a yearly sermon paid for by the other
10s. The rent-charge was redeemed in 1888 for
£100 stock. She also gave £30 to buy coal for selling
to the poor at cost price, but the loss and trouble
incurred in this scheme resulted in the remaining
£20 being used, in 1819, to build a pump for the
poor of Plaistow.
Clement Pragell of Stepney (Mdx.), by will dated
1680, gave a rent-charge of £5 for the poor. This
was still being received in 1966 from the owners of
land at Plaistow which included Pragell Street.
Nathaniel Peckover, by will proved 1686, left a
rent-charge of £2 to be divided between 20 poor
widows of Stratford. This was redeemed in 1905
for £80 stock.
Sir Thomas Foot, by will proved 1689, left an
annuity of £42 of which £8 was for the poor of
Plaistow. In 1720 this was transferred to South Sea
Co. stock and lost most of its value, no dividends
being received for many years. A reinvestment was
made in 1783 from which in 1830 the parish
was receiving £1 10s. a year. In 1893 £56 stock
was specifically assigned to this charity.
Sir William Humble (d. 1687) (fn. 15) left £60 to buy
land, the rent from which was to provide weekly
doles of bread. In 1706 1 a. was bought in New
marsh. This produced a rent, in 1834, of £4. In
1869 the Gas Light and Coke Co. took the land by
compulsory purchase to make Beckton Road, at a
price of £450, which was invested.
Daniel Ingoll (d. 1691) (fn. 16) left a rent of £10, charged
on his land in Leadenhall Street, London, to buy
coal for the poor. In 1772 the owner of the land
conveyed it to the vicar and churchwardens of West
Ham in recompense for 35 years' arrears, and between 1776 and 1879 the rent from it increased from
£10 to £120. In 1891 it was let on an 80-year building
lease at a rent of £105. In 1878 £97 stock was bought
with money paid by the owners of adjoining properties
in compensation for interference with light and air.
The land was compulsorily purchased by the City
corporation in 1913, and the proceeds invested in
£4,731 stock.
Mary Battailhey (or Sherley), by will proved 1702,
gave a rent of £10 charged on a house and land at
Plaistow. Of this £1 was for bread for the poor of
Plaistow, and £2 10s. for 'widows' groats', to be
paid to eight poor widows of Plaistow and eight of
Church Street ward; the rest was for ecclesiastical
and educational purposes, which were excluded from
the scheme of 1870. The rent-charge was redeemed
in 1925 for £400 stock, of which £140 was allotted
to the United Ecclesiastical Charities.
Samuel Sheppard, by his will dated 1733, gave
£50 for coal and £200 for the sick poor.
The legacy of James Cooper (d. 1743), part of
which was for Newman's alms-houses, was also to
provide doles of 5s. for 30 poor householders of
Plaistow on Midsummer Day and £1 2s. 6d. and
15s. for bread on New Year's Day for the poor of
Plaistow and Church Street respectively.
Sarah Bonnell, by deed of 1754, gave £200 stock
in trust to provide each year lengths of cloth at 10s.
each for five poor widows, 10s. 6d. for education,
and the residue for coal for the poor. All the beneficiaries were to belong to Church Street ward. In
1834 the interest of £6 was spent as directed, but in
1868 7s. 6d. was given to the alms-women and the
vicar spent the residue on port wine for the sick.
Peter Bigot, by deed of 1771, gave a rent of £10,
charged on a house and land in Upton Lane, for
shoes, stockings, and 1s. each for six poor women in
Plaistow and six in Stratford ward, the residue to be
spent in the same way in Church Street ward. In
1966 the rent-charge was being paid by Barclay's
bank, Forest Gate.
Jeremiah Atkinson, stationer of London, by will
dated 1777, left the reversion of £300 for coal for
the poor of Plaistow. This became effective some
time between 1814 (fn. 17) and 1834. The restriction to
Plaistow lapsed under the scheme of 1870.
Margaretta Hodshon of Wandsworth (Surr.), by
will proved 1779, left £200 for apprenticing one
poor boy each year. The income continued to be
used for this purpose until 1870, after which it was
applied to the general purposes of the Distributive
Charities.
Before 1791 William Winn gave £10, Penelope
Colchester £20, and other parishioners £20. These
sums were together invested in stock, and the
interest, £1 15s. in 1834, was distributed in doles.
John Snelgrave, a benefactor of Newman's
alms-houses, by will proved 1810, also left £200 for
coal, bread, or clothing for the poor. In 1834 the
income of £5 15s. was spent on blankets for 20
persons.
The charities of Samuel Jones Vachell and Isabella
Wilson have been mentioned above under the Almshouse Charities.
The scheme of 1870 included, along with the
above-mentioned charities, four others founded in
the 17th century which had in fact lapsed before
1870. None of these was included in the scheme of
1903. Richard Pragell, by will dated 1617, gave for
the use of the poor a rent-charge of £2. Richard
Hale of Stepney, by will proved 1628, gave for the
poor of Plaistow ward a rent-charge of £2. In each
case the land charged was eventually acquired by the
Victoria Dock Co., which made no payment of
Pragell's rent after 1854 or of Hale's after 1860.
William Fawcit, by will proved 1631, left a rent
of £2 10s. charged on a house at Upton, to provide
10s. for a Gunpowder Plot sermon on 5 November
and £2 for bread for the poor attending the sermon.
This was regularly paid until 1851, after which the
owner of the land withheld payment. William Davis,
by will dated 1679, gave a rent-charge of £4 on
reversion to buy waistcoats for 12 poor women each
year. This rent, from land at Plaistow, also lapsed
in the 1850s. In most of these cases attempts were
made to prevent the loss of the charities, but with
such small sums involved the trustees could not
afford much litigation. The great changes that were
taking place in the topography of West Ham at that
time sometimes made it difficult to identify exactly
the land upon which a rent was charged, and the
defaulting landowners exploited these difficulties.
Rebecca Robinson, by her will proved 1866, left
£90 stock to maintain her family's tombstone, the
residue being for bread or coal for the poor. The
charity was not included in the scheme of 1870, but
from 1881 its trustees (the vicar and churchwardens)
remitted the income to the central charity board,
and it was included in the scheme of 1903 as one of
the Distributive Charities, the tombstone bequest
being invalid.
Other Charities for the Poor.
The following
charities are not included among the United Non-Ecclesiastical Charities, in most cases because they
were not in operation when the scheme of 1870 was
being prepared. Many of them are restricted to
particular ecclesiastical parishes.
John Hiett, distiller of London, by will proved
1719, gave a rent of £5, charged on Chobhams farm,
for apprenticing each year the son of a poor Protestant dissenter, preferably from Stratford. In 1834
this was paid to the minister of Brickfields Congregational church, who used it as directed. It was not
paid after 1839 and efforts to recover it in 1855–7
failed.
George Dacre, by deed of 1855, conveyed to the
vicar and churchwardens of All Saints', West Ham,
land and houses in Church Street, then leased at
an annual ground rent of £7 10s. (fn. 18) At the expiration
of the lease in 1910 the houses were to be used as
alms-houses, the rents meanwhile being saved. By
1910 the accumulated rents amounted to about £750.
The houses were not used as alms-houses after 1910,
but continued to be let, the income from rents and
investments being used, under a scheme of 1911, to
pay pensions to poor married couples, preferably
aged, who were constant communicants of All Saints'
church and had lived in West Ham for at least two
years. In 1922 the property was sold for £630. In
1964, when the income of the charity was £86, four
pensioners each received £1 a month and an
almoner £5 for the year.
Edith Clark, by will proved 1860, gave £300 in
trust to provide bread and coal at Christmas for the
poor of the parish of St. Mary, Plaistow. In 1966
the income of £4 15s. 8d. was used to provide fuel
for old people at Christmas. (fn. 19)
The Mary Curtis maternity charity was founded
in 1872, when Mary Curtis, widow, gave £6,666
stock in trust to provide help at or after confinement
to respectable poor married women living within a
radius of 1 mile from St. John's church, Stratford.
Six 'distributors' were appointed with power to
grant letters of recommendation to objects of the
charity. They included Mrs. Curtis herself and, ex
officio, the vicars of West Ham and St. John's, Stratford. For many years the charity was administered
by St. Helen's House women's settlement. A scheme
of 1968 provided that after St. John's area had
been served the charity could help any married
woman living in the London Borough of Newham,
before, during, or after confinement. In that year
the income was £251, part of which was spent on
the provision of gifts of food or clothing, usually
costing about £5 in each case. (fn. 20)
The birthday gift of Thomas Wiseman Shipston
was founded under his will, proved 1885, by which
he gave £1,050 in trust to provide Christmas gifts
for 30 poor aged inhabitants of West Ham. In 1966
each of the 30 pensioners received 16s. 3d. (fn. 21)
George Canning Edwards, by will proved 1902,
left £100 to maintain the graves of his parents and
his sister, the residue of the income to be used for
the poor of the parish of St. John, Stratford. The
provision concerning the graves was invalid. In
1964 the income of £2 13s. 8d. was distributed to
5 persons. (fn. 22) Edwards also left £100 to maintain his
own grave, the residue for the poor of the parish
of Emmanuel, Forest Gate. In 1926 it was stated
that in then recent years the income had been used
for the general maintenance of Emmanuel church,
and the Charity Commission reminded the vicar
that it should be used only for the benefit of the poor.
In 1966 the income of £2 13s. 8d. was distributed
to the sick and needy. (fn. 23)
The Sir Henry Tate Memorial investment was
founded in 1902 by his widow, who gave £3,330
stock to pay the salary of a nurse employed by the
Silvertown and North Woolwich district nursing
association. The association was dissolved in 1955,
and a scheme of 1958 provided that the charity
should be applied to the sick poor of Silvertown and
North Woolwich by trustees appointed by the
boroughs of East Ham, West Ham, and Woolwich.
In 1966 £73 was spent on gifts in kind to 20 persons. (fn. 24)
The Richard Peck gift of coals was founded by
Mrs. Dorothy Peck, who by will proved 1905 gave
£105 for coal for the aged poor of the parish of
St. John, Stratford. In 1964 £2 12s. was spent on
coal for 5 persons. (fn. 25)
John Oliver Surtees, by will proved 1907, left
£135, subject to a life interest which expired in
1914, for the sick and poor of the parish of St. Mary,
Plaistow. In 1964 the income of £3 17s. 10d. was
distributed in cash as directed. (fn. 26) Surtees also left
£135 on the same terms for the parish of St. Mark,
Victoria Docks. In 1964 the income of £5 1s. 8d.
was spent on Christmas gifts for the aged poor. (fn. 27)
Miss Wetherall's trust was founded by deed of
1908 to provide coal at Christmas for poor members
of St. Mary's church, Plaistow. In 1945 the income
was £2 6s. 2d. from an endowment of £79. (fn. 28)
Joseph Withers, by will proved 1911, gave £1,000
in trust for the aged inmates of the West Ham union
workhouse. In 1964 3s. 6d. was given to each of 160
old people in homes maintained by West Ham
borough council. (fn. 29) Withers also gave £2,000 in trust
for the aged poor of All Saints' parish and the same
amount for those of the parish of St. John, Stratford. (fn. 30) In 1966 the income of the All Saints' charity
was spent mainly on gifts of £1 each to 22 persons
in June and again in December, and on an honorarium to an almoner. That of the St. John's charity
was dispensed bi-monthly to about 10 old persons. (fn. 31)
Harriet Townsend, by will proved 1913, left
£2,000, subject to a life interest which expired in
1924, for the poor of the parish of St. Mary, Plaistow.
The vicar and churchwardens invested the capital.
In 1964 the income of £89 was spent on a Christmas
party for 120 aged poor and in other charitable
ways. (fn. 32)
Thomas Geere, by will proved 1914, gave
£114 10s. in trust to provide treats for inmates of
Harris's alms-houses who were members of the
Church of England. In 1964 £3 8s. was distributed
in kind by the vicar of All Saints' among the Anglican
inmates of the combined alms-houses. (fn. 33)
James Hawkey Banfield, by will proved 1916, gave
£100 in trust to the mayor as a Christmas fund for
the poor. In 1966 the income of £3 6s. 2d. was
shared among three persons. (fn. 34) Banfield also left his
residuary estate in trust to provide holidays for
members of the 'lower middle class or upper lower
class … who often have to keep up appearances on
very small means'. Free church ministers were to
have first consideration and the borough of West
Ham was to have a 'liberal first claim'. In 1964 the
investments of the holiday fund stood at over
£11,000, and the income was £594. Grants totalling
£312 were made to 30 applicants. (fn. 35)
Elizabeth Bowerbank, by will proved 1916, left
£650 in trust to supply food and coal to the aged
poor of the parish of St. Mary, Plaistow. In 1964
£21 was spent on coal. (fn. 36)
St. Cuthbert's home was founded in 1944
by Mrs. G. E. de Fontaine, who bought a
house in St. Vincent's Road, Westcliff-on-Sea, to
provide holiday accommodation for the aged poor
of West Ham. Funds were raised by public subscription to equip and endow the home, which was
opened in 1947. After Mrs. de Fontaine's death in
1948, and a subsequent Chancery action for the
enforcement of the charitable trust, a scheme of
1951 directed that the property should be administered by the borough council. (fn. 37)
Jabez Legg's alms-houses at Forest Gate, which
are not restricted to West Ham, are described elsewhere. (fn. 38)
Church of England Charities.
The Ecclesiastical Charities.
The following charities were included among the Distributive Charities under the
scheme of 1870. The scheme of 1903 formed them
into a separate group called the Ecclesiastical
Charities, to be administered by the vicar and
churchwardens of All Saints'.
Sir Jacob Garrard's charity, founded by deed of
1653, included an annual payment to the vicar of
£1 for a sermon on the Sunday following 9 January,
together with 6s. 8d. for the curate, 3s. 4d. for the
clerk, and 2s. for the sexton. Elizabeth Toppesfield's
charity, under her will proved 1660, included 10s.
for an annual sermon in her memory. Clement
Pragell's charity, under his will dated 1680, included
a rent-charge of £1 for the repair of his family's
tomb in the churchyard. The legacy of James Cooper
(d. 1743) included annual payments of 15s. to the
vicar for a sermon and 3s. 9d. each to the clerk and
the sexton. The scheme of 1903 provided that the
trustees of the Ecclesiastical Charities should receive
£41 5s. in trust as their share of the endowment of
Cooper's charity, together with annual payments
from the trustees of the United Non-Ecclesiastical
Charities of £1 12s. for Garrard's charity, 10s. for
Toppesfield's, and £1 for Pragell's.
Battailhey's Charity.
The charity of Mary Battailhey, under her will proved 1702, included annual
payments of £1 10s. to the vicar for a sermon on
Good Friday and £1 for the repair of the vault in
which she and her servant were to be buried. These
and the payments for educational purposes were not
included in the scheme of 1870, though the eleemosynary gifts under the charity were. In 1899, however, the whole income was being received by the
central charity board, and was treated as part of the
income of the Distributive Charities. Mary Battailhey's vault could no longer be identified. The payments for ecclesiastical and educational purposes
were subsequently resumed. When Battailhey's
rent-charge was redeemed in 1925 the Ecclesiastical
Charities received £100 as their share of the endowment, in respect of the sermon and vault. (fn. 39)
Other Church Charities.
Mary Ann Tickell Scott,
by will proved 1922, gave to the vicar of St. John's,
Stratford, £400 in trust for the maintenance of the
church fabric. (fn. 40)
Col. Thomas Vernon, by will proved 1919, left
£1,000 to the vicar of All Saints' for the poor of the
parish. After a lawsuit the legacy was received in
1925 and the interest used to rent a house (no. 134
Portway) for parish women workers. In 1932 the
house was bought for £615, the balance of the capital
providing an endowment. In 1960 the house was
sold for £2,150, which was invested for the ultimate
purpose of providing a flat for a woman worker in
one of the church halls. In 1964 the investments
amounted to £2,217. The income was £141, of
which £121 was spent during the year. (fn. 41)
Clock Charity.
Samuel Gurney, by will proved
1856, gave £800 for the maintenance and winding
of clocks on places of public worship, including one
to be put up on Forest Gate Congregational church.
In 1961 the income of £20 was paid to the borough
treasurer. (fn. 42)