The foundation of this Charity has already been referred to Appendix I, and proofs given of its antiquity. An official report of it was drawn up by the Rev. Wm. Corser, in 1792, and presented to the Corporation; after a very careful investigation into its history. In this, he states it as his opinion, that it was first established and supported by the members of the Religious fraternity of the neighbouring College in St. Leonard’s Church Yard; though the management of it, and the right of appointment to it, was vested entirely in the Corporation. The objects of the Charity were originally poor persons, of either sex,—“the Alms Houses being open to poor Burgesses’ wives; but, for the last hundred years, the Charity has been confined to poor women,” the widows, or unmarried daughters of Burgesses, seven chosen from the parish of St. Leonard’s, and five from the parish of St. Mary’s. The management of the Charity is placed by a late Act of Parliament, in the hands of “the Trustees of General Charity Trusts.”
About This Book
A local antiquarian account surveys the town's origins and built remains, combining topography, documentary transcriptions, and illustrations. It traces alleged Saxon defenses attributed to Ethelfleda, the later Norman castle and medieval charters, churches, hospitals, friaries, local trades, and civic institutions; recounts royal visits, sieges across the centuries and the town's destruction during the Civil War, with capitulation terms and proclamations printed in full. The narrative draws on manuscript collections, municipal records, and private archives, and includes an appendix of related materials, antiquarian notes, and view plates to guide readers through the borough's physical and documentary heritage.