Report on the Charities of the Drapers' Company: Part II

PART II.

Dummer's Charity.

William Dummer and Alice his wife conveyed to trustees, by their indenture of the 5th May, 16 Elizabeth (1574), two messuages in Cornewell (Cornhill), in the parish of St. Christopher, and a messuage in the parish of St. Sepulchre, upon trust, to permit the renter of the Drapers' Company to receive the rents, and to distribute yearly 13l. to 13 ancient poor householders, freemen, or their widows, to the renter of the Company 5s., and to the wardens 13s. 4d.

The estate of the Company is charged with 13l. 18s. 4d., of which 13l. is carried to the account of the charities general for "poor on the roll" (see Kendrick's Charity), and of the rest the clerk receives 5s. and the wardens 13s. 4d.

Edmanson's Almshouses in Stratford-le-Bow.

John Edmanson, by his will of the 23rd November 1695, gave to the Drapers' Company all his messuages and hereditaments in the City of London, in trust, to purchase land, and build thereon 12 almshouses for 12 poor men and women, and afterwards to employ the rents for the use of such poor who were either to be inhabitants in the precincts of St. Catherine or decayed sail-makers or their widows inhabiting there or elsewhere.

The almshouses were built some time after 1705 on a piece of ground in the parish of Stratford, and are situated near the railway bridge on the Bow Road, and form, with Sir John Jolle's Almshouses, three sides of a square, the latter forming part of one side of a square, and the chapel and some of Edmanson's Almshouses another side, and the remainder of the latter almshouses the third side, which has subsequently been elongated by other buildings on that foundation.

The estate belonging to this foundation is as follows :—

In the year 1836 four houses were added to one wing of the almshouses on this foundation at a cost of 956l., and in 1855 a lodge was built to front the Bow Road at the entrance of the ground, at a cost of 362l. 18s. 2d., and in 1858 four more houses were added to the same wing, to which the former addition was made at a cost of 922l. 2s. 6d. These were provided out of the accumulations.

The number of almshouses on this foundation are 20, and with the lodge 21, each having two rooms, one above and one below.

The disbursements on the estate are—

The precincts of St. Catherine are now the site of St. Katherine Docks. The almspeople are chosen from the business of sailmakers, and are composed of persons of that trade or their widows, without regard to locality.

There are numerous applications on every vacancy. The selection is made by the master and wardens. At the present time there are 10 males and 11 females in the hospital. The men are allowed to have their wives in the almshouses, and the widow is permitted to remain after the death of the husband. (fn. 1)

Sir George Garrett's Charity.

Sir George Garrett, by his will of the 8th August 1648, gave to the Company 100l., to be lent to some young man of the Company at 3l. per cent., and the interest distributed yearly among the poor of the Company.

The 100l. is part of the 3,811l. 10s. 6d. mentioned in Clonne's Charity, and the 3l. a year is paid towards the pensions to the poor on the rolls (see Kendrick's Charity).

Granger's Charity.

Jonathan Granger, by his will of the 16th May 1769, bequeathed to trustees the sum of 500l. towards erecting a school-house in the Tower ward, and to pay 1l. 1s. a year to the minister of the parish church for annually reading his will, and 5s. for the clerk, and as to the residue he directed the "whole of the remaining surplus designed to charitable uses alternately for blind persons, one year at 10l. each, and children of freemen by servitude 10l. each the next year, as the interest arising from the remaining capital after all things is completed and ended."

Proceedings took place in the Court of Chancery for the administration of the estate of the above-named testator, and by an order of the Lord Chancellor of the 20th June 1784, it was referred to the Master, among other things, to consider and approve of proposals as to the appointment and continuance of a trustee or trustees of the charity estate, and for the future management of the charity.

The Master by his report of the 20th November 1784— made in pursuance of the last-mentioned order, after stating that he found the sum of 2,018l. 19s. 4d., appearing by a former report to be the clear residue of the said personal estate of the said John Granger, was paid by the plaintiff into the Bank in the name of the Accountant-General of the Court on the 10th December 1778, out of which certain costs therein referred to were paid, leaving a balance of 1,884l. 12s. 3d., which the said Master found the said Accountant-General had laid out in the purchase of 3,083l. 4s. 2d. 3l. per cent. Bank Annuities in trust in the said cause, "The Charity Account"—certified that he approved of the master and wardens of the Drapers' Company as proper persons to be appointed for the perpetual trustees of the charity estate and for the future management of the charity agreeably to the proposals therein stated.

The Master of the Rolls, by his order of the 30th November 1785 confirmed the report and appointed the Company trustees of the charity. The Drapers' Company in July 1859 presented their petition in the administration suit of King v. Granger, stating that Jno. Granger, the nephew and only next of kin of the said testator, died in the year 1802 without having left any child or children or other issue or posterity surviving him; and the said Jno. Granger duly received during his lifetime the dividends in respect of 1,151l. 3l. per cent. Bank Annuities in the petition mentioned, and that a sum of 1,896l. 3s. 4d. cash, in respect of accumulations of dividends since his death, was then standing in his name; that no application had been made to the court on behalf of the Tower Ward school in respect of the 500l. bequeathed to it by the said testator, and no declaration of the trusts thereof had been made by the court; and that the Drapers' Company were advised that until such declaration should have been made or until the court should declare that the said bequest to the said school was void under the statute of mortmain that the Company were only entitled under the residuary bequest, and in the events which have happened, to one moiety of the said 1,151l. 3l. per cent. Bank Annuities, and of the accumulations of the dividends thereon, and to the whole of the sum of 124l. 8s. 4d. like annuities, in which a legacy of 100l. in the said will mentioned had been invested, and the accumulations of the dividends thereon, amounting in cash to 298l. 6s. 4d., and praying that the costs of the application might be taxed and paid out of the moiety of the said 1,896l. 3s. 4d. cash, and that the residue of such moiety, the amount to be verified by affidavit, might be ordered to be invested in the purchase of Bank Annuities, and, together with one moiety of the said 1,151l. Bank Annuities, might be transferred to the charity estate account, and the dividends ordered to be paid to the said Company, and applied by them from time to time to the purposes of the charity. And that the said sum of 298l. 6s. 4d. cash might be invested in like annuities, and together with the said 124l. 8s. 4d. like annuities might be carried to the same account, and the dividends thereon ordered to be paid to the said Drapers' Company for the like purpose.

The Court by its order of the 4th August 1859 directed the costs to be taxed and paid out of one moiety of the fund in court, and that the residue of the said moiety of 1,913l. 1s. 5d. cash, after payment of the costs, be laid out in the purchase of Bank 3l. per cent. Annuities in the name of the Accountant-General in trust in the cause to the account entitled "the Charity Account." And it was ordered that 575l. 10s. Bank 3l. per cent. Annuities, being a moiety of 1,151l. like annuities standing in the name of the Accountant-General in trust in the cause, "John Granger's account in Master Grave's office," be carried over in trust in this cause, the said account entitled "the Charity Account," and that the Accountant-General should declare the trust thereof accordingly, subject to the further order of the court. And it was ordered that the interest to accrue due on the said Bank Annuities to be purchased as before directed, and on the said 575l. 10s. like annuities, as well previously to as when so carried over as aforesaid, be paid to the master and wardens of the Drapers' Company, to be applied by them for the purposes of the charity. And that the other moiety of the said 1,913l. 1s. 5d. cash and 575l. 10s. Bank 3 per cent. Annuities, the other moiety of the said 1,151l. Bank Annuities, be paid and transferred respectively to Thos. Boyles Murray and Thos. Quested Finnis, two of the trustees of the Tower Ward school.

And by a subsequent order of the 24th November 1859, made on the petition of the Drapers' Company, the Master of the Rolls ordered the taxation of costs, and that they should be paid out of the sum of 300l. 2s. 11d. cash in the bank on the credit of the cause, "the contingent account in Master Grave's office," and that the residue of the said cash should be laid out in the purchase of Bank Annuities in the name of the Accountant-General, to the account entitled "the Charity Account;" and it was ordered that the 124l. 8s. 4d. Bank Annuities in the name of the Accountant-General in trust, "the Contingent Account in "Master Grave's office," he carried over to the "Charity Account," and the dividends to accrue due on such Bank Annuities be paid to the Drapers' Company, to be by them applied for the purposes of the said charity.

The information on which the foregoing petitions were presented was the subject of a communication to the Board, and of their letter to the clerk of the Drapers' Company of the 17th February 1859 (File 5,685).

The charity funds now consist of 4,674l. 10s. 6d. Bank 3l. per cent. Consolidated Annuities, standing in the name of the Accountant-General of the Court of Chancery to the credit of the said cause, to the account of "Granger's Trust," producing an income of 140l. 4s. 8d.

The income is applied in alternate years for the relief of the blind and for apprenticing of the sons of freemen who have obtainined their freedom by servitude.

The share of the blind is paid in sums of 10l. without regard to place or other specific qualification. It is given on the certificate of the minister and churchwardens of the parish to which they belong by the master and wardens at their court, and the allowance is not withdrawn so long as they need it. The last distribution to the blind was in January 1860, when 88l. 15s. 10d. was paid to nine poor persons, the ninth receiving the fractional sum. The next distribution will be in January 1862, when 104l. 3s. will be applicable to the purpose.

The payment of the sum allowed for the information above referred to left the blind account indebted in a small sum to the Company.

The apprentice fund has a balance in its favour of 526l. 6s. 11d. The sum paid is 10l. each. There are not so many applications for this as for the other apprentice fees, from the exclusive qualification which is needed.

In the month of February last (1861) the Company invested 458l. 2s. 6d. accumulations in the purchase of 500l. Reduced Annuities on account of the apprenticeship branch of this trust.

Hall's Charity.

Martin Hall, prior to the year 1662, gave to the Drapers' Company 300l., to be lent to two young men of the Company at 40s. per cent. per annum.

The 300l. is part of the 3,811l. 10s. 6d. governed by the directions of the court, mentioned in the report on Clonne's Charity, and the 6l. a year is appropriated to the pensions of the poor on the roll (see Kendrick's Charity).

Harwar's Almshouses in St. Leonard's, Shoreditch.

Samuel Harwar, by his will of the 28th January 1703, bequeathed to his executors 1,700l., in trust, to lay out 100l. in the purchase of a piece of ground on one of the roads leading to Bow or Ware, within a mile or two of the City of London, for erecting 12 almshouses, upon which 400l. was to be expended, and to convey the same to the Drapers' Company, and the remainder of the 1,700l. to be laid out in the purchase of an estate of inheritance of 60l. a year or thereabouts for the maintenance of the six poor men and six poor women in the almshouses, who were to be paid monthly 6s. a-piece, and to have a load of coals each once a year and 1s. a-piece at the yearly visitation.

The Commissioners of Inquiry state (vol. 32, pt. 2, p. 420) the proceedings taken with regard to this foundation.

The parcel of ground purchased for the almshouses, court, and garden, which is in the Kingsland Road, in the parish of St. Leonard, Shoreditch, and the estate purchased for the endowment, which is in the parishes of Luddenham, Buckland, and Murston near Faversham, in Kent, were conveyed to the Drapers' Company in 1717, and some balance of moneys for the same purpose was invested in Orphan stock, which being paid off in 1811 was converted into 500l. Consols. It deserves remark that I do not find any licence in mortmain enabling the corporation of the drapers to hold this estate.

The Commissioners state that after making the specific payments the Company claimed the surplus rents, not only by the legal effect of the will, but by a letter which they received from the founder of the charity, whereby he expresses his intention to be a "considerable benefit to the Company," and they certified the case to the AttorneyGeneral. The information was filed by the AttorneyGeneral on the 14th February 1838, stating the foundation and praying that the whole rents and profits of the said farm and premises and the dividends of the stock were applicable to the charitable purposes in the will declared in respect of the said almshouses and for the support of the said almspeople therein, and that an account might be taken of the whole rents and profits of the said estates and funds which had been received by the Company, and of the sums applied by them thereout to the purposes of the charity from the time they took possession thereof, or for such time as to the court might seem just; and that the said Company might be charged with the full amount which, upon taking such account, might appear to have been received by them over and above the amount which they should appear to have properly applied to such charitable purposes, and that it might be referred to the Master to approve of a scheme for the application of the future rents and dividends of the said farm and funds, and of any sum which might be coming from the said Company.

The cause was heard before the Master of the Rolls on the 13th and 14th June 1840, and judgment was delivered on the 18th June 1840, when the Court declared that the whole rents and profits of the farm and premises and the whole of the dividends of the stock were applicable to the charitable purposes in the will of Samuel Harwar mentioned, declared on and in respect of the almshouses in the information mentioned and for the support of the almspeople therein.

And the Court referred it to the Master to take the accounts of the charity estate and tax the costs, which were to be paid out of the charity estate, and reserved further directions.

The Master, by his report of the 8th March 1842, found that a sum of 56l. 18s. 1d. was then due from the defendants in respect of the charity estate. The report was confirmed on the 22nd April 1842. I find that the costs of the Attorney-General, amounting to 129l. 2s. 9d., were paid by the Company on the 13th May 1842, and the law costs of the Company were 140l. 16s. 5d.

The property of the charity according to the finding in the Master's report is:—

The disbursements of the charity are—

In 1860 (December 31st) there was a balance of 6l. 2s. 9d. in favour of the trust. (fn. 2)

Heycon's Charity.

John Heydon, by his will of the 6th March 1579, gave 100l. to the Company, to be lent out to three young men of the Company at 3l. 6s. 8d. per cent., and paid over to the Mercers' Company. This forms part of the 3,811l. 10s. 6d. mentioned in the report on Clonne's Charity. The 3l. 6s. 8d. is paid to the Mercers' Company annually.

Hollis' Charity.

Thomas Hollis, in the year 1714, gave 100l. as a fund for the Company to pay 5l. a year to the Company's poor at Bow Church on the 5th November.

About 80 poor freemen of the Company receive at the Hall of the Company 2s. 6d. each in the month of November in respect of this and Deacle's Charity. They are the same persons who receive 10s. each under Royley's Charity.

Howell's Charity.

Thomas Howell, who died at Seville in Spain, by his will, about 1540, directed his executors to send to the City of London, to be delivered to the house named Drapers' Hall, 12,000 ducats of gold, in trust to buy therewith 400 ducats of rent to be bestowed in marriage to four maidens every year for ever of his lineage if they could be found, and if not to four other maidens of good name and fame, and if the said principal should produce more than 400 ducats a year, to bestow the residue in the marriage of maidens being orphans, or increase of the marriage of the four as should seem best to the wardens of the house.

The Company received a portion of the amount of this gift in oils, shipped to their use, which produced only 8,720 ducats, and they invested the amount in lands and tenements, which produced 105l. a year.

The Commissioners of Inquiry (vol. 32, part 2, p. 423) set forth a tabular statement of this property, adverting also to the fact that it included the Drapers' Hall, for which no rent was paid. The Commissioners of Inquiry mention a suit soon after the testator's death by certain orphan maidens in Wales claiming to be kinswomen of the testator, and a decree, in 1559, directing that a pedigree should be drawn up by the bishop or diocesan body of Llandaff of the next of kin, lineage, and blood of the testator.

The four orphans or maidens to be entitled to the gift were under this decree to be certified by the bishop or dean and chapter. By a decree in a subsequent suit in 1594, the certificates were directed to be also signed by the justices of the peace of the county of Monmouth. The Commissioners of Inquiry set out the receipts and disbursements for several years preceding the time of their report (1830–1835), and by a note in the Analytical Digest (pp. 18, 19) they state that they had certified the case to the Attorney-General.

A suit was instituted by the Attorney-General against the Drapers' Company in the year 1838, and a decree was pronounced on the 29th April 1845. Reference to the Master was directed, and the proceedings resulted in two Acts of Parliament being obtained. The first to which the royal assent was given on the 27th July 1846, intituled "An Act to authorise the sale of part of the Charity estates vested in the Master and Wardens and Brethren and Sisters of the Guild or Fraternity of the Blessed Mary the Virgin, of the Mystery of Drapers of the City of London, upon the Trusts of the will of Thomas Howell, deceased."

The second to which the royal assent was given on the 30th June 1852, entitled "An Act for the regulation and management of the charity founded by Thomas Howell in or about the year 1540, and for other purposes."

Under the first Act the Company were enabled to purchase the freehold and inheritance of the hall, buildings, gardens, and premises then mentioned, and by the second Act the Company were enabled to purchase an adjoining house in Throgmorton Street, the Court of Chancery was empowered to extend the Charity to the establishment of girl's schools in Wales, and the Company were empowered to manage the schools under the directions of the Court of Chancery as therein mentioned.

I have appended copies of the two Acts referred to, and as they recite very fully all the proceedings in the Court of Chancery and the result of the accounts directed to be taken, I have, for the sake of brevity, abstained from setting forth a more full account of such proceedings than above stated.

The Court of Chancery under the authority of the latter Act approved of a scheme, by an Order of the 23rd March 1853, a copy of which is also appended to this report.

The present estate of the charity is as follows:—

The Drapers' Company has received notice under "The Defence Act, 1860," from the solicitor to the War Department that a portion of the Allhallows farm, Kent, is required to be taken absolutely for the construction of works under the powers and provisions of the said Act, and that a certain other portion of the same farm is required to be kept free from buildings. On behalf of the charity an affidavit (or declaration) has been filed of the claim to be made for payment and compensation, which is as follows:—

The valuer (Mr. Robert Forster, of Tottenham) also states that his opinion is the tenant should be allowed 75l. a year as a deduction from his rent for the diminution of the land comprised in his lease, and that he should be allowed a proportion of the two sums of 308l. 15s. and 900l., "having a due regard to his leasehold interest in the farm, which will terminate at Michaelmas 1881, and that such proportion should be calculated at 3 per cent. according to Mr. Inwood's letter." He also suggests that the 150l. should be employed in erecting a barn or some other building on some other part of the farm to be agreed upon by the tenant.

The annual charges cannot probably be estimated at less than 500l. It must also be remembered that the 120l. a year, the ground rent of the Hall, will expire in the year 1871. The income will then be reduced to the sum of 3,200l. or 3,300l. a year.

The receipts and disbursements affecting the capital of the charity, sanctioned by the proceedings of the Court of Chancery and by Parliament, as above mentioned, may be thus represented:—

Receipts.

Disbursements.

It appearing by the above account that the sums paid into the Court of Chancery (or allowed as payments in the Chancery account) amount in the aggregate to 60,966l. 17s. 10d., and that the payments for the purchase of the school sites in Wales, for the farm in Kent, and for the buildings at Llandaff and Denbigh amount to 72,246l. 1s. 10d., and which added to the money remaining still invested in Consols to the credit of the cause make about 80,000l.

After the building operations began in July 1858, the money received by the Company on account of rents and profits was applied in discharge of the current expenses of the buildings. The accounts are passed before the clerk of the Master of the Rolls, and I have not, therefore, thought it necessary to do more than state roughly the aggregate expenditure for the principal purposes for which that expenditure was sanctioned, and the sources from which the fund proceeded. Up to the 31st of December 1860 there was a balance of cash due to the Company, amounting to 415l. 15s. 5d., which has been ordered to be repaid to them out of the sale to be made of a part of the fund in court as above stated.

The school at Llandaff is built of stone and is of hand some elevation, approached by a carriage drive with a lodge with the entrance.

At the principal entrance there is a large hall, to the right of which is a handsome room appropriated for the use of the governors; there is a passage from the hall on the left, out of which is a waiting room, matron's room, linen closet, and store-room; this passage leads to the principal staircase, schoolroom, dining room, &c. The schoolroom is 54 feet by 22, adjoining which are two class rooms, 20 feet by 15 each, with a cloak room and a day room for the children to play in, being 54 feet by 16. There is an assistant's room, 20 feet by 19, near to which is the dining room, 54 feet by 22, with another day room, 48 feet by 16. Close to the dining room is a convalescent room, 27 feet by 20, and other conveniences; an excellent kitchen, a scullery adjoining, with a passage leading to the steward's apartments. On the upper floor there are two dormitories, each 54 feet by 22. At the west end there is a servants' room, lavatory, &c., and at the east end a sick room, 27 feet by 20, with nurse's room, &c.; also on this floor a dormitory for 10 girls, with rooms for the matron and for servants.

The buildings at Denbigh in their internal arrangements are of the same character as the above, the chief difference being that the rooms are not quite so large.

The school at Denbigh was opened in May 1860, and that at Llandaff in August 1860, both of them having been formerly delivered over to the charge of the respective local governors by the clerk of the Company in December 1859. I append lists of the local governors. They were appointed by the Court of Chancery under the 11th clause of the scheme, and are in future, by the same clause, to be filled up by the Court of Chancery. The bishop of the diocese is in each case a governor ex-officio.

The establishment of the school at Llandaff is formed as follows:—

I have examined the list of children elected on the foundation, who, I find in the Denbigh school, are mostly those of the educated classes, as clergymen, clerks, &c. and some of tradesmen; and at Llandaff for the most part the same, but with apparently a larger number of children of tradesmen. The pay children are admitted by the governors directly, without the intervention of the Drapers' Company. The latter class of chidren may be other than orphans.

The school at Denbigh is almost on the same footing as at Llandaff, except that it contemplates the reception of 24 orphans instead of 30.

The school has been a very short time in operation. The Drapers' Company have, as far as possible, avoided any disbursements which might lead to an expenditure exceeding what is likely to be the permanent income. The account of the payments hitherto made in the maintenance of the establishments do not afford materials for arriving at any definite judgment of the amount of the annual cost of the two institutions.

The scheme settled by Parliament for the administration of this large charity has been far from satisfactory to many persons, and the Commissioners may probably agree with Mr. Falconer, the judge of the county courts of Glamorgan and Brecknock, that it is very much to be regretted that the funds had not been applied to purposes capable of conferring more extensive advantages on poor female children in Wales, although they may not agree in much of his pamphlet on the subject, which I append. I do not, however, find that the Drapers' Company had anything to do with the scheme beyond a passive assent. (fn. 3)

Jay's Charity.

Henry Jay, by his will of the 16th January 1601, gave to the Drapers' Company 50l., to be lent out to a brother of the Company for three years at 40s. yearly, for the poor of the Company.

The 50l. is part of the 3,811l. 10s. 6d. mentioned in the report in Clonne's Charity.

The 2l. a year for the poor of the Company is applied towards the pensions of the poor on the roll. (See Kendrick's Charity.)

Sir John Jolles's School and Almshouses.

Sir John Jolles, by his will of the 24th February 1617, gave to the Company certain tenements in Mark Lane to pay yearly out of the rents and profits thereof to eight poor people in the Stratford-le-Bow Almshouses 3l. each = 24l., and, further, out of the rents and profits, to pay to the schoolmaster and usher of the school at Stratford 26l. 13s. 4d. to educate free 35 boys, children of the inhabitants of Stratford-le-Bow and Bromley, in the fear of God and good manners, to learn grammar and the Latin tongue, and to write and cypher. The will referred to a "deed of indenture," but no such deed appears to be known to the Company. The charity is the subject of three different reports of the Commissioners of Inquiry; first, in the Second Report of the Commissioners for the Education of the People (vol. 2, p. 136) there is an account of the school situated, as therein stated, at the east end of Stratford-le-Bow church, in which writing and arithmetic was then taught to 35 boys; secondly, there is an account of the almshouses in the parish of St. Mary, Stratford-leBow, in the hundred of Ossulton, Tower division, and county of Middlesex (vol. 8, p. 433), which almshouses were filled by the recommendation of the parishes of St. Mary, Stratford, and Bromley St. Leonard, in the same county; and, lastly, there is the report of the charity generally, amongst the charities under the management of the Drapers' Company (vol. 32, part 2, p. 405). The Commissioners say (p. 406) that a petition was presented by the inhabitants of Stratford to the Court of Chancery in or about 1827, praying for an appropriation of the surplus income of the charity beyond the specified sums, but the Court refused to entertain the hostile claim against the Company on a petition under Sir Samuel Romilly's Act; and the Commissioners add that it would seem by the terms of the will, taking into consideration that of the rents reserved at the time of the testator's death there was left a small surplus undisposed of, the Company was entitled to the surplus for their own use.

The estate upon which the two sums of 24l. a year and 26l. 13s. 4d. a year are charged by this devise are Nos. 37, 38, 39, 40, and 41, Mark Lane. The Company applied to the Charity Commissioners on the 12th June 1855, stating the report of their surveyor, advising that the premises should be pulled down and the site let for building, and also stating several offers that had been made in answer to advertisements, in which sums of money, varying from 350l. to 520l. per annum, had been mentioned, and to lay out 7,000l. on new buildings. The application to the Board and its sanction would not seem to be necessary, as the estate is in fact the property of the Company, subject only to a rentcharge of 50l. 13s. 4d. a year. The Board, however, by their order of the 27th June 1855, approved of a lease for 80 years, from Michaelmas 1855, to Mr. James Pursell, at a rent of 520l. a year clear of all rates and taxes, the lessee laying out 7,000l. as therein mentioned. The agreement has been performed, and the rent is now accordingly 520l. The buildings are called "Mark Lane Chambers," and occupy a space of 85 feet, fronting Mark Lane, between Nos. 36 and 42, and extending as to 44 feet 5 inches (from No. 36 end); backwards, 77 feet 7 inches; and as to the remainder, about 31 feet.

The almshouses of Sir John Jolles form part of the east side of the square or quadrangle of which Edmanson's Almshouses occupy the rest. The tenements are still, as described in the last report, one large room for each of the eight almspeople, divided into a sitting and bed room, and they have small gardens behind. They are occupied chiefly (and indeed almost wholly) by women, but men are not excluded, and one was lately presented by the parish of Stratford-le-Bow, and one also with his wife was a short time ago presented by the parish of Bromley. The man is dead and his wife will be continued, the presentation being joint and, I presume, also several. The presentation is by the vestries of the parishes of Stratford and Bromley, the presentation being certified by the rector and vicar. Four rooms are appropriated to each parish, and every vacancy is filled up by the parish whose room is vacated. The Company uniformly accept without question the presentation of the parish. Up to Christmas 1860 the almspeople were paid 3l. per annum each. Since that time the Company, taking into consideration the small allowances which they receive from all sources, the same appearing not to exceed 1l. a month, have ordered that the founder's allowance should be increased from 3l. per annum to 12l. per annum. It is probable that the result of this will be to induce the parishes to withdraw their former allowances, and that the almspeople will not therefore be benefited. I am told that if this should be so, the Company will be prepared still further to raise their stipends, so that the income of the almspeople should not be less than 21l. a year. The great increase of the rents under the recent letting has no doubt led to this resolution on the part of the Company, but it must still, I apprehend, be regarded as the result of bounty and not of legal obligation.

In addition to the money allowance, the Company pay for the benefit of the eight almspeople—

The Company having found that the Bromley poor were allowed coals by the parish, they therefore ordered four tons of coals, one for each of the Stratford poor.

School.

The school is still at the east end of Stratford Bow church, and consists of one room over a covered space or cloister. The Company appoint a master who is not in Holy Orders. The present master is Mr. Fredk. Chipperfield, who was appointed about nine years ago. He had been a pupil-teacher at the Abbey Street, Bethnal Green, school (a British school). The founder's stipend of 6l. 13s. 4d. has for many years been increased to 54l. 12s. a year, or 1l. 1s. a week, and the master is allowed to take private scholars in addition to the scholars on the foundation, who are always 35 in number and pay nothing. The foundation boys are not admitted under 7 years of age and they may remain till 14, but many are taken away to work before that age. A charge of 3d. a week is made for each foundation scholar for providing books, stationery, &c. The master informs me that as the churchwardens of the two parishes declined to fill up vacancies in the school, he has himself done so, and has from time to time admitted those who, upon inquiry, he thought had the greatest need of it. In addition to those on the foundation, the master also has at the present time 35 private scholars, most of whom pay 6d. a week. At the time of his appointment there were only 12 boys on the foundation and one private scholar.

In addition to the payment to the master and for repairs, which is included in the sum stated under that head in the account of the almshouses, there is an annual sum of 3l. 8s. for three tons of coal.

There is no residence for the master or other advantage beyond what I have mentioned.

I am informed by the clerk of the Company that the Company is now building at Tottenham a school for the poor freemen of the Company, and that the balances of this estate and Sir Thomas Cullum's estate is designed to be employed in the aid of this new educational foundation.

Sir John Jolles's Charity.

Sir John Jolles, by his will of the 24th February 1607, bequeathed to the Company 200l., to be lent to two young men at 3l. per cent. and paid—

The 200l. is part of the 3,811l. 10s. 6d. mentioned in Clonne's Charity. The churchwardens of Allhallows Barking, and of Haddenham receive 2l. a year, but only 1l. a year is paid to the parish of St. Leonard's, Bromley, and 20s. is carried to the warden's account, this exhausts the charge of 6l. mentioned in the deed poll referred to in Clonne's Charity.

Johnson's Charity.

Hugh Johnson by his will, proved in 1618, bequeathed to the Drapers' Company 200l., to be lent to young men of the Company at 5l. per cent.

The 200l. forms part of the 3,811l. 10s. 6d. mentioned in Clonne's Charity.

The sum of 5l. is paid to the churchwardens of St. John's, Hackney, and 5l. to the parish of Macclesfield annually.

Kendrick's Charity.

John Kendrick, by his will of the 29th December 1624, bequeathed to the Company 2,400l. to purchase lands of 100l. a year, and bestow the same as follows:—

The Company purchased an estate in Fleet Street and Fetter Lane in the city of London, which at the time of the last inquiry produced an income of 316l. a year, of which something more than 100l. per annum appeared to be employed in charitable purposes. The Commissioners certified the case to the Attorney General, and an information ex-officio was filed on the 28th January 1839, praying that it might be declared that the whole of the rents and profits of the said premises ought to be applied to the purposes of the said will, and that the same might be decreed to be so applied for the future, and that it might be declared that the said Company were not entitled to appropriate any part thereof to their own benefit, and that they might be decreed to make good the amount which they had so retained in their hands as aforesaid out of such rents for such time as to the Court might seem just, and that the same might be applied according to the intention of the will, and that all necessary accounts might be directed, and, if necessary, it might be referred to the Master to approve of a scheme for the application of the said increased rents and the sum which might be coming from the said Company. The cause was heard on the 19th March 1841, and the Court by its decree declared that according to the true construction of the will the whole of the rents and profits of the premises in Fleet Street and Fetter Lane belonged and ought to be applied to the purposes mentioned in the said will, and it was referred to the Master to take the accounts of the charity estate as therein mentioned, and to settle a scheme for the administration of the charity, with directions for the taxation and payment of costs as therein mentioned.

The Master made his report of the 13th March 1847, and thereby found the amount due from the defendants, and taxed the costs. The Court, by its order of the 17th April 1847, confirmed the report, and directed that, after payment of the costs as therein mentioned, the residue of the sum of 1,646l. 8s. 9d. should be invested in the purchase of Consols, and that the dividends thereon should be applied in the same way as the income of the charity was directed to be applied by the scheme. The scheme settled by the Master was approved with the exception of the third clause, in which it was proposed to apply the 8/100ths for the benefit of the poor of the parish of St. Margaret, and which the Court directed should be applied for the other objects of the charity. I append a copy of the scheme as finally settled.

In the year 1860 the income being as aforesaid, 303l. 5s. 3d. (there has been no deduction since 1855, when a sum of 3l. 3s. was deducted for a surgeon's charge), the amount was divided as follows:—

There was on the 31st December 1860 a balance of 7l. 13s. 4d. cash standing to the credit of the trust. In 1853 there were certain fixtures in 181, Fleet Street, for which the tenant paid 10l., and this is a portion of the fund.

Queen Elizabeth's College at Greenwich.

Queen Elizabeth by her letters patent of the 25th November 1575, on the petition of Sir Geo. Hayward, Wm. Lambard, and others, granted that there should be a college or hospital of poor persons at East Greenwich for the relief and support of poor and indigent persons, and to be called "Collegium Pauperum Reginæ Elizabeth," to consist of a warden, sub-warden, and 18 poor persons, and that the Master of the Rolls and the two senior wardens of the Drapers' Company should be the president and governors, and be incorporated.

The statutes of the college, made in 1578, are of great length, and are set out in pp. 398 and 399 of the Report of the Commissioners of Inquiry (vol. 32, part 2), to which I beg to refer.

The Commissioners of Inquiry state that the founder's deeds settling the property, which constituted the endowment of the college, had not been found. It appeared that there was a direction or request in the will of Mr. Lambard of the 16th May 1597, that the president and governors would be pleased to make leases from time to time to such of his name as should be his heir male of his manors and lands in Kent for the then usual and accustomed rents. The president and governors in 1608, "in performance of such earnest suit and petition," covenanted with Sir Malton Lambard to seal to him and his heirs male leases of the lands therein mentioned (within three years before the expiration of existing leases) for 21 years, and so from 21 years to 21 years, with the several benefits and advantages therein contained, and saving only that the president and governors might increase the rents, so that the total rents thereafter reserved should not exceed the sum of 5l. more than the total rents on the lease then in being. The Commissioners stated the demises to the Lambard family at the same rents down to the year 1830, and observed that whether they ought to be set aside was a fit question for the Attorney-General.

An information ex-officio was filed by the AttorneyGeneral (Sir Frederick Thesiger) on the 29th October 1845 against William Lambard, claiming to be heir-at-law of the founder, and Sir Percival Hart Dyke, Baronet, and the Rev. Thomas Randolph, the executors of Multon Lambard, the last lessee and the president and governors of the college, praying that the several leases of the 11th March 1830 therein mentioned might be set aside, and that the defendants, William Lambard, Sir Percival Hart Dyke, and Thomas Randolph, might be directed to deliver up possession of the premises held by them as aforesaid to the said president and governors, and might be decreed out of the assets of the said testator, to pay and make good to the college such principal sum over and above the said rent reserved by the said leases as might seem proper. And that it might be declared that the said indenture of the 3rd March 1608, and the covenants therein contained, were invalid and void and not binding on the said president and governors of the said college, and if necessary proper directions might be given for the management and letting of such lands in future.

It appears by some correspondence between the solicitor of the Attorney-General (J. P. Fearon, Esq.) and the solicitor of the governors, of the 26th and 31st January 1850, that some proposals were made and partly accepted for a compromise of the suit. Mr. Lambard having, however, objected to some of the terms proposed (apparently as to costs) the suit was heard before the Vice-Chancellor (Sir R. M. Rolfe) on the 12th November 1850, when it was declared that the five several leases of the 11th March 1830 granted to Multon Lambard, deceased, ought to be set aside, and the Court decreed the same accordingly, and that the defendants, William Lambard and the Rev. Thomas Randolph, should deliver up the said leases, and execute a proper deed or deeds to be settled by the Master, in case the parties differed, for surrendering the said leases and the hereditaments thereby demised to the said defendants, the president and governors of Queen Elizabeth's College, but without prejudice to the liability of the defendants, William Lambard and Thomas Randolph, to pay the rents thereby reserved up to that time, and by consent the defendant, William Lambard, his executors, &c., was to hold the said charity hereditaments thenceforth for his life and for 30 years afterwards at a reserved rent of 300l. a year, and a lease was to be made to him accordingly. And that it be referred to the Master to settle such lease, and that the same should contain covenants on the part of the lessee or lessees to keep in repair the said premises after the same should have been put into repair under the direction therein-after contained, and the said lease was also to contain all other usual covenants and provisions. And it was ordered that all such necessary repairs of the said premises as the Master should think fit be executed out of the funds of the said charity estates. And that it be referred to the Master to inquire what repairs were necessary, and to ascertain the expenses thereof, And that such repairs as the said Master should approve, and such sum as the said Master should certify to be necessary to defray the expenses thereof, be done and paid for out of the funds of the said charity accordingly. And that the costs of and all charges and expenses properly incurred by the Attorney-General and the said defendants, the president and governors, in the suit or in relation thereto be paid and retained by the said last-named defendants out of the funds of the said charity.

In pursuance of the said decree a lease was made by the president and governors, and settled by the Master, bearing date the 12th day of January 1854 of the farms (particularly described, No. 1, in the table below) to the said William Lambard and his assigns, from the 25th December 1850, for the term of the natural life of the said William Lambard and for 30 years from the day of his decease, but subject to impeachment for waste as therein-after mentioned, at the annual rent of 300l., and William Lambard thereby covenants to insure the buildings and the farms, he being permitted to retain one half of the sum expended in effecting and keeping up such insurance, and that he will keep the said buildings in repair, being allowed rough timber for the same.

On the 29th March 1852 the Attorney-General ex officio filed an information against the president and governors of Queen Elizabeth's College, Greenwich, stating the various gifts and endowments of the college, and stating that while the annual income of the said charity property, including Rokeby's and Walrond's gifts, was then considerably more than 1,000l. per annum, the whole average annual expenditure, including pensions of 21l. per annum to each of 20 almspeople, and all other recurring and incidental expenses, did not exceed 570l., and that there was therefore a large and increasing surplus income which, according to the existing rules and constitutions of the charity, there were no means of properly applying. That the charity as then constituted was a mere adjunct to workhouses of the several parishes who send paupers to it, inasmuch as the foundation expressly directed that the poor who were to be the objects of the charity should be such only as had been before relieved at the charge of the parish, and charging that the benefits of the charity might be greatly extended if the above-mentioned restriction could be dispensed with, and the number of recipients increased, and praying that it might be referred to the Master to approve of a scheme.

The cause was heard and a decree pronounced the 22nd February 1855, whereby an inquiry was directed of the property of the charity and to approve of a scheme, and to inquire in particular whether it would be proper to apply for an Act of Parliament with reference thereto. By the chief clerk's certificate of the 9th August 1856, the property was found, and corresponds with the foregoing table, except as to the ground at the back of the college, and except the stock, which has since been increased by a further sum of 1,000l. He certified that a scheme was settled and had been established by an order of the 5th August 1856, and that it was not fit or proper to make any application to Parliament.

The scheme is set forth in the printed book appended to to this report. It will be observed that there is no notice of the change suggested in the information as to the almspeople having previously received relief of the parish, and that it remains still a rule that the poor admitted should have previously received parish relief. It is obvious that the true rule would have been to have made the reception of parish relief neither a necessary qualification nor a ground of exclusion.

The eighth clause of the new scheme directs that the governors shall determine whether the persons elected are persons duly qualified. The governors, however, rely upon the selection of the authorities having the nomination, in which the parishes and the poor seem to have uniformly acquiesced.

The impression on the poor of so many populous parishes, that they will not be admissible to Queen Elizabeth's Hospital unless they have previously been recipients of parish relief, must have so demoralizing a tendency that I have earnestly requested that the subject might be brought before the president and governors of the college, with the view of considering the propriety of obtaining such an alteration of the scheme as would render the previous reception of parish relief neither a ground of qualification for exclusion. If the president and governors should be of opinion that such an alteration should be made, I presume that it can be effected under the Charitable Trusts Act, 1860, without any expense to the institution.

An example of the working of the system is seen in the fact that persons at the last election at Deptford for this charity applied for and received parish relief to qualify themselves, and were then disappointed at finding that by the same act they had disqualified themselves for another charity. I am told that the guardians of the poor, understanding the object of candidates, commonly admit their claim to parochial relief a week, without inquiry as to the necessity.

The college, which was rebuilt in 1817, was enlarged under the scheme of 1856 to receive double the number of members. 40 instead of 20. The building, which before the alteration formed three sides of a quadrangle, has received additions of two houses at each corner, and 12 houses facing the south at the back of the chapel. The buildings and the expenditure thereon was approved by the Court of Chancery. The cost was 4,528l. Each of the 40 tenements has one room above and one below, and a washhouse.

The inmates are men and women, and are mostly aged persons.

They are now appointed as follows:—

Two by the Master of the Rolls;
Two by the wardens of the Drapers' Company;
Two by the High Steward of East Greenwich;
and the rest from parishes within the hundred of Blackheath, viz.:—

Two from Deptford;
Six from Lewisham;
Two from Lee;
Six from Eltham;
Two from Charlton;
Two from Woolwich; and
Fourteen from East Greenwich.

The nomination by one of the parishes interested was produced before me, and is in the following form. In another form the statement was that the person presented was qualified in all points according to the intention of the donor. Another form simply stated that Mrs. M was elected.

"According to the directions of the ordinances and statutes for the nomination of one alms man or woman to be placed in the hospital in the room of A. B., deceased, we met together in the parish church of G. on and after examination taken of all the poor inhabitants that are by the founder's institutions capable of places in the hospital, we have nominated C.D., aged years, whom we know to be of honest life and a person in all points qualified according to the intention of the pious donor, and fit to receive that relief which he hath provided for them, and therefore present to you to give order that may be admitted into the place now void."

Signed by the—

Vicar.

Churchwardens.

Sidesmen.

Overseers of the Poor.

I find that in the nominations from the parish of Lewisham, the certificate was that the nominees were "inhabitants of our parish for many years past who have received parochial relief."

In a certificate of nomination from the parish of Charlton, one nominee was stated to be a fit and proper person, "excepting that he cannot say the articles of the Christian belief and the Ten Commandments of God in English."

The appointment of the Master of the Rolls is made by a nomination in writing containing the name only.

The disbursements of the governors on account of the estate are—

The account of the charity estate for the year 1860 began with a balance against the charity of 78l. 7s., and the greater expenditure of that year for new windows and other works left a balance of 322l. 0s. 6d. against the charity estate on the 31st of December in the same year. It will be observed that the ordinary income for the future will exceed the ordinary expenses by about 60l. a year.

The 50l. a year for the demise of the land in South Street (No. 21 in the above table) had not come into the account of receipts.

Some leases of property in Queen Elizabeth Row, Greenwich, will expire in 1863, and some increase of rent is expected.

In addition to the 45s. per month and the other benefits above stated, the almspeople receive 16s. 3d. a year from Macey's Gift, and about 6s. a year each from Stanton's, Watton's, Chappel's and Tallis' Gifts.

Macey's Gift.

Joseph Macey, by his will of the 29th July 1791, gave all his stock in the 3l. per cent. Reduced Annuities, 4l. per cent. Consolidated Annuities, 5l. per cent. Annuities, and 3l. per cent. Consolidated Annuities, subject to certain life estates to Queen Elizabeth's College for the poor people there.

The present state of the stock standing in the Company's name to the account of this Charity is as follows:—

Dividends.

This sum is distributed amongst the 40 almspeople in the college, in half-yearly payments, it affords 8s. 1½d. half-yearly or 16s. 3d. per annum to each, and 1s. 2d. extra to the matron.

Walrond's Gift.

Edward Walrond, by his will of the 28th November 1720, gave to Queen Elizabeth's College 1,000l. South Sea Stock. This was part of the 4,200l. like stock mentioned in the Reports of the Commissioners of Inquiry (vol. 32, part 2, p. 402). Upon the payment of the South Sea Stock the fund was invested in 4,764l. 14s. 9d. 3l. per cent. Reduced Annuities. In December 1857 the Company sold out 3,500l. stock, which produced 3,271l. 6s. cash, and was applied towards the expense of building additional almshouses.

There remain the sum of 1,264l. 14s. 9d. 3l. per cent. Reduced Annuities as stated in the table of the present property given above (p. 38).

Rookby's Charity.

Ralph Rookby, by his will of the 14th June 1594, gave 100l. to the poor of Queen Elizabeth's College. This sum, which I presume came to the possession of the Drapers' Company, bears interest 5l. a year, which is paid by the Company, and is brought into the account to the credit of the college.

In respect of this gift on the annual visitation by the governors (usually composed of the visitation committee of the Company) a sufficient sum is added to the 5l. to make up 10s. 6d. to each of the poor in the College.

Stanton's Gift.

William Stanton, by his will of the 12th June 1610, gave (inter alia) 40s. towards the better relief of the poor people harboured and kept in Queen Elizabeth's College.

On referring to the accounts of the trustees of Hatcliffe's Charity, who are the trustees also of Stanton's Charity, it appears to be stated that payments of 2l. per annum to the inmates of Queen Elizabeth's College are made. As the personal inspection of the college and other institutions under the management of the companies has not been considered necessary (except under special circumstances) I have not had an opportunity of inquiring of the almspeople whether they receive this sum. The clerk of the governors (Mr. Sawyer) has no knowledge of it, but he proposes to make inquiry on the subject at the next visitation.

Watton's Gift.

Peter Watton, by his will of the 13th June 1722, gave 50l. to be laid out in some estate of inheritance, and the rents distributed among eight poor people of Queen Elizabeth's College.

It appears by reference to the accounts of Captain Peter Watton's Charity, rendered by the minister and churchwardens of Greenwich, that the sum of 206l. 5s. New 3l. per cent. Annuities stands in the names of certain persons of the parish, and that of the dividends 2l. a year is paid to the inmates of Queen Elizabeth's College. I have not personally visited the college, such visitation being deemed by the Board unnecessary unless specially called for, and as to the fact of this payment I can only make the same observations as on the case of Stanton's Gift.

Chapel's Gift.

Mrs. Dennis Chappel, by her will of the 30th June 1769, bequeathed all the residue of her estate to be laid out in the public stocks, and the dividends distributed to the poor of Queen Elizabeth's College.

It appears by reference to the accounts of this charity, rendered by the minister and churchwardens of Greenwich, that the sum of 231l. New 3l. per Cents stands in the names of certain persons of the parish, and that the dividends of 8l. 1s. 8d. are paid to the inmates of Queen Elizabeth's College.

Mr. Sawyer, the clerk of the Company, will make inquiry as to the payment of this rentcharge.

Tallis' Gift.

Joan Tallis, by her will of the 12th June 1587, gave to the poor of the hospital 10s. yearly for ever.

It appears by reference to the accounts of the parish of Greenwich that a rentcharge of 10s., issuing out of premises late the Old Greyhound Inn, Stockwell Street, Greenwich, was received by the churchwardens in 1856, and by them distributed to the inmates of Queen Elizabeth's College, but that since that time it has not been received by them.

Lucas' Hospital at Wokingham, Berks.

Henry Lucas, by his will of the 11th June 1663, gave his residuary estate, which he believed would be about 7,000l., for building, founding, and endowing an hospital or almshouse in Berks or Surrey for the relief of old men, and a master to be their chaplain; the said master to have 10l. a year, the said poor men of the poorest inhabitants of the forest division in the county of Berks and of the bailwick or reputed bailwick of Surrey in or near the forest, to be nominated after the death of his executors by the Drapers' Company. The foundation is recited and confirmed by letters patent of the 18th January in the 18th year of Car. 2. (1666), wherein the purchase of land and the erection of a hospital and chapel at Wokingham is stated, together with the investment of the endowment money in the purchase of lands in the county of Bedford by the executors. The letters patent contain a license in mortmain to the master and brethren who are thereby incorporated, together with directions for the future appointment and removal of the members. The executors, Robert Raworth and Thomas Bush, on the 12th March 1666, made and signed statutes for the government of the hospital, an abstract of which is set out in the Report of the Commissioners of Inquiry (vol. 32, part 2, pp. 412– 413). The brethren are by these ordinances (clause v.) to be 16 besides the master, and it thereby ordained that "such poor and impotent persons decayed in estate by sickness and other misfortunes, and not by their own wicked, wasteful, and riotous courses, not having of their own to the clear value of 20l. to relieve themselves, as shall be born or inhabiting by the space of three years at least, in some of the parishes in the forest division in the county of Berks, and bailwick or parishes within the late bailwick of Surrey, shall be from time to time for ever hereafter elected and chosen brethren of the said hospital, and for avoiding of disputes and questions, how many shall be taken out of one county and how many out of the other (because the forest division in the county of Berks is of a greater extent, and contains more parishes and poor than the now or late forest division in the county of Surrey), we will and ordain that for ever hereafter nine of the said 16 brethren shall be elected out of the said forest division in the county of Berks brethren of the said hospital; and the seven residue of the said 16 brethren shall be elected out of the said now or late bailiwick of Surrey brethren of the said hospital. And out of every parish successively and alternately, so that one may be taken out of every parish from time to time if there to be had."

The estate of this charity is as follows:—

Bedfordshire.

The chapel, hospital, and master's house and gardens at Wokingham or Oakingham:—

The hospital forms a block of buildings with two wings, one being the master's house and the other the chapel, and having fuel house behind.

The hospital is composed of 12 brethren, but there are rooms for 16, being one room for each. The rooms are over each other. In the elevation shown to me there appears to be attics, but I have not ascertained how they are occupied.

The allotment of 30 acres arose under an award of the 3rd July 1817, by an Act of 53 Geo. 3., intituled "An Act for vesting in His Majesty certain parts of Windsor Forest in the county of Berks, and for inclosing the open commonable lands within the said forest."

The allotment was made—

Unto and for the Rev. William Bremmer and his successors, the master and chaplain of the hospital or almshouse founded by Henry Lucas, one parcel of land situate on the Great Heath, numbered on the map 163, containing 30 acres (15 acres part thereof having been taken as part of the allotment directed by the said first-mentioned Act to be made to His Majesty as compensation for forestal rights), bounded on the north by allotments to Brackley Woods, George Clay, and William Goodchild respectively, on the east by the Finchhampstead Road, on the south by the parish of Finchhampstead, and on the west by the parish of Barkham. The boundary fences of this allotment on the east and south and west parts thereof are to be made and for ever maintained by the said master and chaplains and his successors for the time being. And it was declared that such allotment should be in trust for the supply of fuel for the chaplain and poor men residing in the said hospital, to be there used and consumed and not elsewhere.

The Drapers' Company have an offer of the sum of 500l. for the purchase of the foregoing allotment, which they propose to accept if the step be sanctioned by the Commissioners. It is now unproductive. There are a few fine trees, and the rest is gorse or furze from which fuel is cut by some of the brethren, but of which others make no use. The brethren have no fuel but what they purchase, except from this ground. If the land be sold it may be a question whether the 500l. should be allowed to purchase coals for the almspeople, or whether it should be made a portion of the capital fund to raise the numbers of brethren to the full complement of 16. The dedication to the purpose of fuel in the allotment is not, I suppose, a binding dedication of the charity property so as to exclude the Commissioners from such an appropriation as they should conceive more beneficial to the objects of the endowment. I believe some questions on the effect of the allotments of land on this common and their charitable character were brought before the Commissioners in my report on the Chertsey Charities.

The disbursements on account of this estate are—

I. Charges on the Estate.

II. Hospital Expenses.

The income of the charity therefore exceeds the expenditure by about 60l. The balance of cash against the trust 31st December 1860 was 2l. 7s., but 100l. Consols had been purchased in that year at the cost of 94l. 10s.

The nominations are made by the parishes in turn. The brethren must be single men of 50 years of age at the least. The Master sends notice of the vacancy to the parish next in turn, to present according to a rota exhibited in the table below.

The first nomination of brethren specified in the letters patent was of persons of "Finchampstead; Wokingham, Easthampstead, Clewer, Old Windsor, Bartham, Arberfield, Bindfield, Hurst, and Ruscomb, in the county of Berks, within the division of the Forest of Windsor; and of Chertsey, Egham, Chobham, Thrimley, and Bagshot, in the bailiwick of Surrey, being the most poor of the parishes and places aforesaid."

At the time of the last inquiry the number was reduced to 13. They have since then been 12 in number.

The parishes stand in the rolls of the Company in the following order:—

Berkshire.

Wokingham.

Arborfield.

Wokingham Town.

Finchampstead.

New Windsor.

East Hamptead.

Clewer.

Old Windsor.

Barkham.

Binfield.

Hurst.

Ruscombe.

Bray.

Sandhurst.

Winfield.

Swallowfield.

Sunninghill.

Surrey.

Chobham.

Chertsey.

Bisley.

Purford.

Wainborough.

Egham.

Frimley.

Bagshot and Windham.

Stoke.

Thorpe.

Purbridget.

Warplesdon.

Byfleet.

Woking.

Horsell.

The nominee of the parish appears before the court of assistants with a presentation on the following form:—

"Whereas a late brother of the said hospital, and some time an inhabitant of the parish of, died some time since. And our parish of being next in succession to nominate and recommend a fit person to be admitted into the said hospital in his stead, we, the minister, churchwardens, overseers of the poor, and other inhabitants of the said parish of, do therefore present to your worships A.B. of our said parish of, he being a person of sober and honest life and conversation, a single man above 50 years of age, and as we verily believe not worth 20l., and duly qualified in all other respects, according to the ordinances and constitutions of the said hospital to be admitted a brother thereof. And we therefore desire your worships to admit accordingly.

As witness our hand this day of

(Signatures)

He is thereupon sworn and admitted a brother of the hospital by the court.

The lands of the charity appear by the letters patent to be vested in the "Masters and Brethren of the Hospital of the foundation of Henry Lucas." The estates have, however, been always let, and the rents received by the Draper's Company, and the stock arising from surplus rents has been invested, and stands in the name of the Company. The allotment of the land on Wokingham Common was, however, accurately allotted to the master and brethren.