Horseheath Parochial Charities

Historical background

The Horseheath Parochial Charities were brought together under a Vesting Order made on 8^th April 1936 by the Charity Commission (a copy of the Vesting Order and other papers detailing the history of the Charity can be found on www.horseheath.info). This Order provides the governance for three local charities which had previously existed independently for the benefit of the parishioners of Horseheath.

On his death in 1626 the local rector Thomas Wakefield(1589-1626) left in his will £50 to purchase land from which the rent was to be distributed to the poor of the village. By 1630 nine acres had been bought and in 1668 £2 10s rent was received. By 1783 rent was being received on 5.6 acres of land just outside Balsham. This appears to have been a separate benefaction but is generally considered to be part of Thomas Wakefield’s Charity and known as  the Balsham Land. The income was distributed to the poor of Horseheath at Christmas. In 1702 Dorothy, the widow of Lord Alington in her will left £60 to buy land to provide bread each Sunday for the twelve poorest churchgoers in Horseheath. The land was sold in 1921 and £179 was added to the Wakefield Charity.

The third element of the charities comes from a piece of land known as Town Green comprising six acres lying on the eastern edge of the village and over which the parishioners had the right of common. At some stage, probably before the 17^th century, the Lord of the Manor of Horseheath, believed to have been Lord Alington, enclosed Town Green and agreed thereafter to pay the sum of £5 each year by way of compensation to the parishioners.

In 1936 the Charity Commission at the request of the Trustees of the three charities made the Vesting Order under the terms of which the Horseheath Parochial Charities are now collectively administered by the body of Trustees. The Balsham Land was vested in the Official Custodian for Charities and that remains the case to this day. The Rent Charge has recently been redeemed for a lump sum paid by the land owners of Town Green in accordance with the provisions of the Rent Charges Act 1977.

The Objects of the Charity

The Vesting Order provides that the income of the Charity “shall be applied by the Trustees in making payments…….. for the benefit of the poor of the Parish of Horseheath generally, or of such poor persons resident therein, and not in receipt of poor-law relief other than medical relief, as the Trustees select for this purpose, and in such a way as they consider most advantageous to the recipients, and most conducive to the formation of provident habits”. The Order goes on to provide that the Trustees may make subscriptions or donations to hospitals or other establishments treating or accommodating poor people from Horseheath parish. These objects were drafted at a time when the welfare state did not exist, when the population of Horseheath comprised a significant proportion of people working on the land. The Town Green rent charge had originally been distributed to the parishioners generally but the Charity Commission decided it should be applied for the poor in the same way as the Wakefield and Balsham Land charities.

The Trustees

The Vesting Order provides that there shall be three trustees, two Representative Trustees appointed every four years by Horseheath Parish Council plus an ex-officio Trustee who is the Rector for the time being of Horseheath. The current Representative Trustees are Christine Newman and Tom Harrison and the current Rector is the Reverend Ian Fisher.

The Assets of the Charity

The Charity still manages the Balsham  Land which is currently let to a local farmer on an agricultural tenancy for £420 a year ( £394.80 net of commission). The land is valued at approximately £28,000. The remainder of the assets are invested with Barclays Bank (£1,163.70 as at 14/04/2021) and COIF Charity Funds ( £4,300.00). The total value of the Charities assets is currently in the region of £33,463). The Trustees keep the investments under periodic review and ensure that they are invested in appropriate low risk assets.

The Income of the Charity

The annual income from the land and funds referred to above is currently approximately £408 per annum. The rent on the Balsham Land was increased to it’s current level in 2012 and the Trustees take advice periodically on rent reviews, most recently in March 2019.

Distribution of Income

For many years the Trustees have had difficulty in identifying appropriate beneficiaries as identified in the Vesting Order. This because the population of  Horseheath has declined over from its peak of about 600 towards the end of the 19^th century and is relatively old and wealthy compared to the national and county averages.

For some time now the Trustees have made modest distributions of £10 every two years to those households accommodating anyone of state pensionable age save those obviously not in need of relief or who decline payments.  The Trustees have advertised for applications for relief during the current Covid pandemic but have received none. There are many similar local charities for the relief of the poor who have  encountered the same problem of identifying appropriate beneficiaries.

The Trustees have taken independent legal advice and  are currently exploring ways of addressing the situation. Possible options include  widening the objects of the Charities to allow donations to people or organisations other than those living in the parish of Horseheath or by merging with another similar charity. The Trustees are communicating with the Charity Commission and continue to consult with the Parish Council and parishioners as to the best way forward.

25^th June 2021

Tom Harrison