Henlow Charities

Between the late 18th century and the early 20th century a number of Henlow residents made charitable provisions for the people of the village.

In 1795 James Wilson left £100 in his will to be invested with the income to be used for the distribution of a bread-legacy. With money from the rates the 1906 dividend totalled £3 18s 8d allowing 240 large and 200 small loaves to be distributed. Items relating to the Wilson Bread Charity held here include a volume containing lists of recipients and the number of loaves received.

In the mid-19th century three separate gifts were made to support education in the village. In 1847 George Nigel Edwards left £1,100 in his will to provide £25 per annum for a schoolmistress with the rest to be used for schoolhouse repairs. Thomas Alexander Raynsford provided, in 1853, a home for the schoolmaster along with £1,000 to provide £25 per annum for the schoolmaster and the rest for schoolhouse repairs. Finally in 1857 Major General Hanbury Raynsford conveyed an adjoining cottage as an addition to the schoolhouse.

Ellen Mary Holesgrove, the widow of a former Vicar of Henlow, Reverend William Holesgrove, paid for the building of the ‘Vicar’s Club Room’. In 1904 she left £1,000 in her will, the income from which was to be used to maintain the building and carry on its work.

In 1919 William Larkin left a bequest of £200 as a fund for distributing coals annually at Christmas to the poor of Henlow who were aged over 60 and had lived in the Parish at least 5 years. The money was to be invested in a 5% War Loan. Records of this charity held by Beds Archives include a list of recipients of coal from 1919-1965. A Charity Commission Scheme covering both the Wilson Bread Charity and the Larkins Coal Charity was drawn up in 1969, and in 1989 the assets of the two charities were merged and they were amalgamated into the William Larkin’s Charity.

References

• CHAR55/1:  File of items relating to the E M Holesgrove Charity
• E/PS3/2:  Material relating to educational charities including the gifts of George Nigel Edwards, Thomas Alexander Raynsford and Major General Hanbury Raynsford
• Z805/1:  Records of the Wilson Bread Charity
• Z805/2:  Records of the Larkins Coal Charity
• Z805/3:  Charity Commission Scheme for Wilson Bread Charity and the Larkins Coal Charity
• Z805/4:  Records of the William Larkin’s Charity (following merger of Wilson Bread Charity and Larkins Coal Charity)