Poor Man's Piece
(John Clark Charity) : Registered
Charity No: 233750 |
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An area of 2R 27P (2 Rods 27 Perches or
Poles), managed by a body of Trustees,
is to be let for the use of good
husbandry and grazing only. The tenant
is responsible for the upkeep of the
hedges and ground.
From the recital in a feoffment, bearing
the date 11th January 1710, it appears
that a “little piece or quillet of land,
containing by estimation half an acre,
called the Poor Man’s Piece, lying in
the borough of Week St. Mary, given by
John Clark, was conveyed, in trust, for
the use of the poor, decayed, lame,
impotent and decrepid people of the same
parish for ever. The profits to be taken
by the collectors and overseers of the
poor for the uses of the aforesaid.”
This land is let yearly and produces a
rent of variable amounts which is then
distributed among the poor, in small
sums, by the churchwardens at Michaelmas
and Christmas. |
The rent in 1786 was £1 1s 0d (1
guinea); in 1835-6 was £5; in 1863-4 the
income was down to £4 3s 0d and by the
1890s it was £2 10s 0d. The present rent
is paid at Lady Day and varies slightly
as the land is put out to tender every
three years.
The records of the charity had been kept
in the Parish Council Minute Book since
its inception after the Local Government
Act of 1894 until it was pointed out in
1969 that it was legally out of order to
do so. From that time the records were
entered into a separate book and the
Parish Council were advised to nominate
two members as Trustees of the charity,
then they could continue to receive
reports pertaining to the accounts of
the said charity.
It is remarkable that the income from
such a piece of land should continue to
be made available for the poor for
nearly 300 years but it must be noted
that on more than one occasion
discussions were made regarding the
possible sale of the land. It has been
noted that such a sale, if approved by
the Charity Commission, could only be
sanctioned if the funds received are
only used to follow the basic philosophy
as set out in the original terms of the
founders wishes.
The 1985 Charity Act does allow a change
of direction if the charity is
considered to be obsolete and in such
cases the new nature of the charity must
still be considered to be in the spirit
of the original gift. |
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