Henricus Octavus Roe

Henricus Octavus Roe was the son of Ellen and Samuel Roe, he was born in Stotfold in 1762. Samuel Roe was vicar of Stotfold from 1754 to 1780.  Henricus Octavus Roe lived largely at Weston, near Baldock over the border in Hertfordshire but established a number of charities in Stotfold, including endowing the boys' school, establishing the Clerk's Charity and the almshouses. He did similar things in Weston too. Roe died in 1854 and is buried at St. Mary’s churchyard. Bequests left in his will included: "£1500 each to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts; £200 to the Sons of the Clergy; £500 to the Governors of the Corporation for the Relief of Poor Widows and Children of Clergymen; £500 to the Incorporated Society for Promoting the Enlargement, Building and Repair of Churches and Chapels; £200 to Bedford Lunatic Asylum; £500 to the Bedford Infirmary; £500 to the Hitchin Infirmary; £100 to Addenbrook Hospital, Cambridge; £400 to the Baldock Almshouses; £1000 to the Almshouses at Stotfold; £500 to the Infant Orphan Asylum, Wanstead” as well as many more individual items.