PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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JOHN MORSHEAD'S GIFTS Mr John Morshead by his will dated March 30th 1750 gave to the vicar and churchwardens of St Andrew's Church fifty guineas (£52 10s). The interest earned by this sum was to pay for bread that was to be distributed to the poor of the parish on or about each New Year's Day. In 1820 this money was held by the vicar of St Andrew's, the Reverend Doctor Gandy, who had since 1780, when he received the money from the representative of Mr Morshead, paid £2 12s 6d as interest to the churchwardens. This represented a return of 5%. Mr Morshead bequeathed the same amount to the vicar and churchwardens of Charles Church for the same distribution of bread to be undertaken in that parish. The churchwardens used it to purchase a small piece of ground adjoining the church-yard from which they received an income equivalent to a 5% return. They distributed 3d loaves of bread on New Year's Day. At some time after 1821 the fifty guineas given to St Andrew's was converted into £54 2s 8d of Consols and on February 24th 1865 that sum, along with money from the Williams's Charity, was transferred to the Official Trustees of Charitable Funds. In 1907 the dividend received amounted to £1 7s and as the result of a scheme created by a Charity Commission Order dated May 20th 1864 this was apportioned between the five parishes that now made up the former parish of St Andrew's (i.e. Christ Church, Holy Trinity, St Peter's and St James the Less). In the case of John Morshead's gift to the parish of Charles, the church-yard was closed in 1854 but the yearly sum of £2 10s was paid out of the churchwardens' general account to the vicar of Charles. He then used the money to pay for 64 2-lb loaves of bread for the inmates of the almshouses in Green Street and gave the balance to provide bread for poor parishioners on New Year's day. Principal Source:
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