Reprinted from Gloucestershire History No. 6 (1992) pages 7-9

BIBURY CHARITIES by John T. Holland

In common with most other villages in this area, Bibury has monastery staff, but also to a number of charities, some of them so small that, in terms of labourers being laid off when present day values, they hardly seem worth bothering about. they were unfit for work or in However, if they are traced back to the original benefactor, it times of depression. will be seen that they were often considerable acts of generosity. The more commercial at- For example, Hugh Westwood (d. l 559) left capital and income titude of the new landlords and 1"! l» from his estate sufficient to provide an almshouse to house, and the beginning of land enclo- .=,"*s--1', income to support, ‘four of the most impotent and poor men of sures led to a great increase in Bibury‘. In terms of present day costs this would amount to a capital the general prosperity of the endowment of over £100,000 and, had the almshouse not been sold countryside, and the change in I902, its value would still have been of this order. over from wooden houses to In 1899, under an order of the Charity Commissioners, the the now traditional stone management of the Charities was vested in a body of Trustees buildings dates from this pe- under the title of "The United Charities". Under this body the riod. But this prosperity arose various Charities have since been administered, keeping their in part out of increased effi- separate identities, and being as far as possible directed in ac- ciency, with agriculture be- cordance with the wishes of the original donors. As permitted coming less labour intensive. under the Charities Act 1985, however, it has been decided that This was bound to result in all the very small charities, ie all except the Church House Charity, an increase in destitution, fé and the Alfred Kennedy Trust, should be combined under a single which was acknowledged by ;'§,;~ title. Charities, such as the John Smithyer Trust, without their own the appointment et'Beadte5 of Bibury Church courtesy of the endowments, are also excluded. Begge-1'3‘ to keep Vagrant Gloucestershire County Library. The purpose of this essay is to provide a short description of strangers away, and by the in- the village charities and, incidentally, to keep alive some memory troduction of a poor rate to subsidise the unfortunates belonging of the donors. Also included is some background to the great to particular parishes. changes at the end of the middle ages which rendered necessary It was during this period that many of the grammar schools the earlier benefactions. were founded in towns such as Northleach. The first village school in Bibury seems to have started in 1568. The vacuum left by the BACKGROUND dissolution of the monasteries also provided the background which In the middle ages and up to the dissolution of the monasteries led to some of the better-off members of the community estab- in around 1536-38, the church had been by far the largest landlord lishing charities for the poor in Bibury and other villages. in Gloucestershire, owning a third of the cultivable land. The revenue from these estates was used to maintain the ecclesiasti- WELFARE BENEFACTIONS cal system but also to provide education and a degree of social Almshouse Charity of Hugh Westwood security to the poor. Hugh Westwood (d. 1559) left a charge on the rents of his lands The manors of Arlington and Bibury were held for most of the in Ampney St Peter, Ampney Crucis and Ashbrook, amounting period l 130 to 1538 by the abbey of Osney in Oxford and during to £18 per annum, to provide weekly payments to ‘four of the most this time a flock of approximately 400 sheep was kept in the parish, impotent and poor men of Bibury‘. He also made provision for the with other farming activities on a comparable scale. building of an Almshouse to accommodate the four men. Arlington Row was one long building, used by the abbey to Hugh Westwood came from Chedwotth, and in 1554 he bought store fleeces and other agricultural produce. the manor of Bibury (Northumberland), adding the manors of With the dissolution of the monasteries most of the church's Bibury (Osney) and Arlington soon after. Apart from his chari- educational and charitable work came to an end. Church lands were table bequests, he left his estates to his nephew Robert Westwood, sold to the King's supporters or to the highest bidders, such as the who tried without success to misappropriate the charity endow- Duttons, Masters and Hicks who tended to take a more commercial ment, and ended up in the Fleet Prison! line in running their estates than the monasteries had. This resulted, In 1600 the estate passed to Robert's son William who in 1625 not only in a degree of unemployment amongst former monks and sold it to Sir Thomas Sackville, the builder of Bibury Court. In 7 1641 Richard Westwood (William's son?) unsuccessfully claimed pikeman. The indication of military training may mean no more the patronage of the Bibury living, after which the family seems than that he was one of the men of the village selected for three to have had no further contact with the village. years service in the county militia. The Almshouse was built about 1605, and from then until the Hinton House, Ablington, dated 1753, seems to have been built year 1900 the charity was operated much as desired by the donor, by the Samuel Tawney who was buried in 1756, so by that date apart from its extension to women towards the end of the 19th the family must have been fairly well off, but there is no clue in century. However, by 1900 the building was empty and in a poor Men and Armour or elsewhere, as to their background. state of repair, and it was therefore proposed by the Trustees that It seems possible that our Thomas Tawney was either a son of the Almshouse should be repaired and modified so that it could the William Tawney, who appears in Men and Armour or his be let to provide an increased income to the charity. younger brother. The Trustees were anxious to ensure that the appearance of what was one of the oldest houses in the village should not be The John Smithyer Trust drastically altered but, as these alterations and repairs would have By his will in 1621 John Smithyer left £10 for four poor cost £100, the Charity Commissioner felt that the property should widows of Bibury. This was borrowed for the use of the church be sold. It was therefore disposed of for £115 to the Sherbome in 1691, and the churchwardens have since then been responsible estate, the sale proceeds and cash balance of £70 being invested for the payment of ten shillings (50p) per annum for the widows. in India 3% stock. Not a great deal is known about the Smithyers. Some mem- The Almshouse was, in fact, substantially altered and all that bers of the family appear in the Bibury parish burial records, but remains of the charity is an income of about £4-4 per annum, which these are very difficult to read, and no trace of John Smithyer could has been applied to the provision of small annuities to two pen- be found. Possibly a study of the birth and marriage records would stoners. tum something up, but as he does not appear in the Record Office index it seems a slim chance. The Sackville and Cresswell Charity In Men and Armour Richard and Matthew Smithyer, sons of Katherine Sackville (d.1760) left £100 for the poor, to be Elizabeth Smithyer, are recorded as living in Arlington. They were managed by her niece Anne Cresswell, who at her death in 1791 then aged between 40 and 50. There is also a reference in the added a similar sum to the endowment. Victoria County History to a John Smithyer the younger of The interest on £200 was distributed intermittently through the Arlington as having been alive in 1607 and 1625. Unfortunately, years up to 1899, when the charity consisted of £229 17s. 8d., these references appear in deeds which are now in the Shropshire invested in Consols to give an annual income of £6 6s. 4d. The County Record Office, where most other Arlington deeds of the current income is approximately £15 per annum. period are to be found. Probably John Smithyer the elder is our Katherine Sackville was a great granddaughter of Sir Thomas man. Sackville, the builder of Bibury Court. The Bibury estate passed to Elizabeth, her elder sister, whose daughter Anne married The Eric William Bowman Vaughan Charity Thomas Estcourt Cresswell, and was the second donor to the trust. By a trust deed dated October 12 1926, William Vaughan left Anne and Thomas Cresswell had a son, Estcourt Cresswell, a sum invested in 2‘/2% Consols to provide an income of £5 per MP for Cirencester 1766-74, who sold part of the estate to Lord annum. The object of this Charity was to provide firewood at Sherbome, in 1816. Estcourt Cresswell died in 1823 heavily in Christmas for 32 elderly people. debt, and his will was the subject of a long Chancery law suit which Eric Vaughan is still remembered by some of us as living in is said to have given Charles Dickens the idea for his Bleak House. the Swan Hotel in the 1920s. ln 1829 Lord Sherbome purchased most of the rest of the estate from Estcourt Cresswell's son Richard Estcourt Cresswell. The Coxwell Charity The last connection of the Sackville/Cresswell family with Bibury seems to have been the Revd. Sackville Cresswell, who Charles Rogers Coxwell (d.1893) by will established a was vicar from 1808 to 1843. Christmas charity for the benefit of the poor of Ablington. The income of the charity is now about £7 pa. which is administered by the United Charities Trustees.

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<5 1-J 4° r R .._,. 3‘?-'*‘.I=-;, - Q 13»;,1-/~it QQ‘ .947‘?,,_ ' '5/Vi.‘ =r'¢Y‘;.*.~.-, . -1 ear» "t-mt * ‘ ‘ = ‘ This Report ofthe late 19th century gives details ofthe Alrnshouses, Poor é ~-1‘ viflgxv .='*_5.i,-*_.!§§ s '/t't@I*?=t 4. '4~x, "1e=ii-gilt?“, %_ff Widow's Money, Tawney 's Charity and those relating to Catherine ' it ‘ =.. 1*‘ >\_ . - 3*, ‘J v an ‘.re.":1r~"‘ta ”rr-~‘ , i V‘ _ git 1 s -§t§;*"i5:.§ ‘Q -.. f 1 ' “ti” 1'y r ., ' J -." Q»~ " r , r\ i Mi» ‘ _ least‘-_,,,s “bi: *s-*‘{:a~E*i Q’ ii“‘_. , Sackville and Anne Cresswell. ,"".. . 1- " ,> grt » ' ‘£7?» .. , -- :§~‘*i"*~ “Q - , 7 “‘5 . ,\ ’ ;, 1' tr? J Q_ It - 3:,‘ : _ _,.<- . _ A; ;_.-_ _. i. I‘ ' |- § 1.3; z; ‘ A‘ \\ _ kw, 55 H Q 5"’’-\""r 2; ‘ , 5 _‘ 5 6%,‘ I - Q ,4 .\ ,\ _ - ‘ < _. _~ vi er.- , ll‘ _"L=~l . 5" l 1“ ‘ ; a fig' ywfi ‘_ ‘ , g -bf‘ ‘ _‘ 1;.*" . ‘ f . rt‘ ' -' iv ’1l Q,‘ . ' ~ H‘ 7 ' I.‘ Ihlyfig"‘ ' ‘Q ‘Qt’.-* -'=- ’* ak’ cwfit ‘< e E The Charity of Thomas Tawney ~> "" i ‘ 1"I9*_ . _ I .u ‘° ‘ “S ‘I 8 ’3 O n w‘ __ i \',.».- ,3“,v\ ‘F , . tgK,“K| .23 _ ‘-I w ‘ ’I‘ “Q .....7»; 7‘ _ - I \ u t II :. ‘ _ . 3:‘ i ~ ,‘__~ _- .\. ‘ _ we ; 1*1- . ,<$~"-="““:....%5$t* ,.-I-..-Q Thomas Tawney died in 1676 leaving £50 for the use of the - \ . - “Q ',-‘I,_,9’.-.'/'.. Q-a%-'I.\=U~ _»*¢ ‘ls’ _ .- ‘ - , \:R‘1u dz-.‘ ~, » 1 ¢ * "5; ‘. -. FJQ4-2'I 1-.,.;’-,,,-f6Z,{*;, i * ‘5l%.$'*§t - ‘its t .1 »__~ ;-- Q ‘Q I t 3 _. , '“\ poor of Bibury. In 1725 this sum was misapplied to the repairing =» :{Q=:_~.§‘~F§_~__§‘?_""',, V _:r;!I;, t ‘5§‘1~.a\--...,;,},§,Q$1‘ >x* . .;;__.1*_§§;.t. ~ ._ -*6 .- i ‘ 0 _‘_ I -rs..--.\. t - ,3; - 5;, '_< 3; i*r;s- ft -s=<§=g-,i1» -< r =2\ 1. - I \1. '5 ~3 W.\'_ of the church, but subsequently it was agreed that the church should Q"Q1.€;‘;.9_Q€‘_(A..3 |.r§t‘82tgw=-,..,s1 ' 3 :g\‘§>- i‘ §;%?€@t§r§‘*tt-sierritiilrg '-v-8"1'Q}"' litstirittfi. is -F J ‘ ~ we ‘’rt’;»=.-<*'~._ \ .3 _ at \Ci 1 _ -_ , ‘k tr L": accept an annual charge of £2 10s. 0d. for the purchase of linen W ‘*.4'-+—-pfihfteztgtiI ., .» 1 -?*‘i%i\“t*‘.i‘fir 3.7 at-at . /94'kJ"4>., we-1.I "“I.‘§~M-‘el I 9' - :';:tZh(£' ii " _ \ _. ,8 1‘ H] If-27*47 ‘Ii V "-‘lye-algwitr '-'1“'§..>.;4§~, for poor old women at Easter. This payment of £2.50 is, according iiTr‘212,"?»2.-ctr<1;"1'-tee.» ts gvfiag‘In’,A E \ $4 a _';?*“‘§ %i~g';_'\.““ ‘ ‘ > w, “‘ ._ ; H1;7 n ‘I C - ,,,.M‘81 "atarea? mama» Q Cs w £9.or to the Charity Commissioner's schedule, due to be paid by the %r e€§C ‘$- 1% , .~ - J A . _ J?"_ I-9 rEM, xv , g ,;§, ,,.m_'% .;_ _.; _ . QL Church, but is no longer received by the Trustees. Q ‘ ”* Not much seems to be known of the Tawney family. 1n 1533 Ablington Rectory t .1830 when Revd. Charles Coxwell was the incumbent. William Tawney was vicar of Bibury and there are gravestones Courtesy of the Gloucestershire County Library. in the churchyard commemorating John Tawney (d. 1736), Thomas Tawney (d.l740) and Samuel Tawney (d. 1756). In Men and Armour for Gloucestershire, 1608, John Tawney The Coxwell family acquired Ablington Manor in 1565, and William his son are shown as living in Bibury. John is shown continuing to own it until 1915, when Richard Coxwell Rogers was as of middle age, with military training, and tall enough to be a killed in action, and the estate sold by his sister. 8 INDIVIDUAL CHARITIES dwelling in the Parish of Bibury‘. Village Hall Benefactions Later the income from the charity was applied to church The fabric of the Village Hall is maintained by income from purposes, much to the annoyance of the writer of an undated and the Alfred Kennedy Trust and the Church House Charity. unsigned note which has been found amongst the Trust's papers. The Church House Charity is an amalgamation of the origi- However, at the time this may not have been so unreasonable, since nal Church House Charity and the Church Lands Charity. Both the local govemment of the village had during the l7th and 18th charities date back to the 17th century, or possibly earlier. centuries gradually moved over from the manorial courts to the Vestry. Included amongst the duties of the Vestry were the The Alfred Kennedy Trust maintenance of the highways and, as late as the middle of the 19th century, they were still appointing a ‘Way Warden‘ to supervise Judge Alfred Kennedy KC lived at Ablington House. He was this work. After this the Highways Authority took over. one of the United Charities Trustees and, latterly, chairman of the The Church House itself was a three storied house, with Village Hall Management Committee. The Village Hall, and the lodgings for l0 poor people. In addition there seem to have been activities carried out in it, were his particular interest. five cottages, the rent from which was used, when not appropriated By his will Judge Kennedy left Hinton Cottage in Ablington by the church, to support the l0 poor people and maintain the to the Bibury Charity. This rather imprecise description was, house. however, accepted as referring to the United Charities, the cottage The minutes of Vestry meetings in the 19th century are much was sold, and the proceeds, amounting to £3,450, handed over to taken up by questions relating to the letting of cottages and rooms the Charity Commission for investment. in Church House and it is clear that rents were being charged for This sum forms the endowment of the ‘Alfred Kennedy Trust‘, the Church House rooms, and that if they were not paid, resolu- for the benefit of BibLu'y Village Hall. The income from the charity tions were passed to eject the occupant. One occupant was a now amounts to approximately £900 per annum. woman whose husband was in prison, but she had to vacate the The Church Lands Charity room as soon as he came out. Presumably many of those ejected ended up in the work house. It is not clear when this charity was set up, but there are 17th In 1878 the Church House and adjacent cottages werein a very century leases in the Record Office, one of which states that the poor state of repair and at a Vestry meeting on May l4 1878, it was income is ‘for only use benefit and behoof of the parish of Bibury‘. proposed and agreed that they should be pulled down and replaced This is referred to by the Charity Commissioner in his letter of by a reading room plus accommodation for four tenants. Lord November 13 1896, in which he suggests that the income from the Sherborne had agreed to pay for the new construction, but ‘Church Lands‘ ought to be applied to secular purposes, such as maintenance was to be covered by income from the Church Lands the increase in the income of the Hugh Westwood Trust, instead (and presumably from the rents of the remaining cottages, although of being appropriated by the Church. this is not mentioned). There are references to the sale of the agricultural land in the The Reading Room has now become the Village Hall, and it Trustee's minutes of March 23 1926 and April 12 1927 and the reached its present configuration in 1966, when £890 was spent cottages were sold off between 1959 and 1964, with the proceeds on extending the caretakers cottage and other alterations. This was invested by the Charity Commission on behalf of the Trustees. financed out of the £1,250 proceeds from the sale of the cottage One of the cottages in Arlington was sold for £250 in 1959, and shop next to the Almshouse mentioned above. and the shop and cottage on the comer next to the Almshouse The Charity Commissioner, however, insisted that the interest fetched £1,250 in 1964. from the remaining balance should be reinvested until the £890 had been replaced. This has now been achieved in time for the The Church House Charity Trustees to finance the substantial repairs to the roof and chim- This also is a very old charity, with a large number of 17th neys which have recently become necessary. century deeds and leases in the Records Office. The current income of this charity is approximately £450 p.a. In a lease deed of 1719 the income of the charity is stated to Thus it may be seen how the long history of charities in be ‘for the purpose of the Reparations and Amendments of the the Bibury area have benefitted and continue to benefit both King's Highways in the Parish of Bibury, and in the sustenation the individuals and the community over a considerable period of and maintenance of the poor men and women inhabiting and 1IllTl6.

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