Plymouth, Hospital of the Orphan's Aid

PLYMOUTH
DATA

The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History

HOSPITAL OF THE ORPHAN'S AID

The founder of the Hospital of the Orphan's Aid was a Mr William Laurence, a merchant living at 'Foxhole' or Vauxhall Street. In his will dated December 3rd 1612 he bequeathed to Thomas and Nicholas Sherwill, notable local merchants, a hundred pounds, to be paid at the return of his ship "Jonathan".

Within seven years of his death, the Sherwills were to use the money to erect almshouses in Plymouth for poor people and to educate and bring up poor children or orphans within the Borough. In addition, he bequeathed to the Mayor and Commonalty (the Corporation) a sum of four pounds annually out of his lands and tenements at Tor and £20 for equipment for the poor to work at.

The grim entrance to the Orphan's Aid in Plymouth

A number of other gifts were made and the Sherwills set to and erected the building on a site in Catherine Street, opposite the west end of St Andrew's Church, granted by the Corporation on April 14th 1615. The deed poll of foundation was dated July 17th 1617. The total cost was just under £760. The entrance carried the date 1615 over the door, as can be seen in the above photograph.

One of the supporters was Robert Rawlyn, a sea captain, who left large sums to the poor in the area, including two houses in Batter Street and the residue of his own property to the Orphan's Aid. His charity was to benefit the poor of not only Plymouth but also Stonehouse, Stoke, Egg Buckland, Weston Peverell, Compton Gifford and Saltash. His portrait was displayed in the schoolroom.

Although the original intention was to house poor female children, it did in fact house only boys. At the time of the 1851 census, the Matron was Mrs Mary Ann Hayes, a 49-years-old widow from Ugborough in South Devon. There were eight boys in residence: William J Jimmot; William T Oxford; Charles P Tatherly; John L T Charters, who was the eldest, at 11-years of age; John A Horn; John T Kiarly; John W Looseman and Samuel Nolling. It is always claimed that they wore green coats and thus the Orphan's Aid School was known as the Green Coat School but in 1851 the boys were attending the Public Free School in Cobourg Street, whose uniform was also green, so one wonders if this claim gives a false impression.

A document dated 13th March 1855, being the 'Terms and Conditions offered by the Charitable Trustees of the Borough of Plymouth to the Persons about to be elected the Female and Male Superintendents of the Charity called the Orphan's Aid' gives us some idea of the meals that were provided out of the three shillings per week per boy from the Charity.

Breakfast, and also Supper, were to consist of 'A half Pint of Milk made into Milk Broth so as to produce a Pint for each Boy and half Pound of Bread for each Boy.'

Dinner on Sundays and Thursdays was to be of 'Half a Pound of Beef or Mutton either Roasted or Boiled with One Pound of Potatoes.' On Mondays and Fridays Dinner was to be 'a Pint of Peas Soup with two Ounces of Pork or Bacon therein' while on Tuesdays and Saturdays the meal was 'A Pint of Ox Cheek or other good Soup.' On Wednesdays only Dinner consisted of 'Half a Pound of Flour with Suet made into a Pudding.'

The Terms and Conditions also reveal that the Superintendents were to reside and sleep in the house, free from any payment of rent or taxes, and that while the female was to devote the whole of her time and attention to the establishment, the male Superintendent was only part-time. Presumably this was so that he could earn a living elsewhere and save the Charity having to support the Superintendents as well as the children.

Prayers were to be said every morning and evening and the children had to be taken to Church twice every Sunday.

By this time their accommodation and education was being paid for out of an endowment of houses and land that was yielding £200 per year.