Victorian
In the summer of 1897, villages across the country were preparing to mark Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, and this community was no exception. The question of how best to celebrate was debated at a public meeting held on 11 May that year, attended by somewhere between eighty and a hundred local people. Out of that gathering came two very different legacies: a day of festivities for everyone to enjoy, and a lasting gift of housing for elderly women in need.
It was agreed that a sports day would form part of the celebrations, fixed for 6 July 1897. The Green was the first choice of venue, although in the event the festivities, with teas served to those attending, took place in the grounds of Hall Place. The change gave the day a handsome setting, and spending was kept firmly in check: no more than £25 was to be laid out on the whole affair.
The more enduring memorial to the Jubilee was to be a pair of almshouses, offering a secure home in old age. For women with no other means of support, such a provision could make all the difference. The houses were to be available rent free, and were intended for widows over sixty years of age; spinsters were later added as eligible tenants too.
Much of the practical work fell to the village's established committees, which covered the School Managers, the Leigh Institute, the United Charities and the Parish Council — although these bodies sat separately from the Council itself. Samuel Hope Morley usually took the chair at their meetings. Other familiar figures played their part as well: Dr Fraser served on the committees, Mr Boby was the school head, and Mr Goodwin came from Paul's Hill Farm. The Rev. Hugh Collum, the long serving Vicar, was closely involved throughout. The man who so often chaired the meetings would later be raised to the peerage as the first Lord Hollenden.
The two cottages themselves were estimated to cost £306, a figure that covered drainage and sewers. Heating was provided for the bedrooms, and a second bedroom was included as an extra.
The service was presided over by the Rev. Collum, and the foundation stone was laid by Mrs Hope Morley, using a special silver trowel prepared for the occasion.
The legal side of the project proved a happy stroke of fortune. The deeds were drawn up free of charge by Dr Fraser's brother, who practised as a solicitor — a kindness that saved the Committee somewhere in the region of £15.
Not everyone connected with the scheme showed the same generosity of spirit, however. The Charity Commissioner recommended that tenants should pay a minimum rent of five shillings a week.
The first lady tenants were able to move in on Tuesday 20 September 1898, some months after the buildings had been dedicated on Wednesday 22 December 1897.
A small balance of £13-7-4d remained outstanding when the committee held its last meeting on 2 October 1900, and Mr Hope Morley offered to pay this sum himself, bringing the Jubilee scheme to a generous conclusion.
This account of the Jubilee scheme was published in the Parish Magazine in October 2001.