From the Preface of the Index to Birmingham Charities 1983.
Giving to beggars and to the poor seems always to have been accepted as a moral and proper way of life, and charity was accordingly urged as one of the guiding principles of life. What is - or is not - charity, a charitable purpose or a charitable object are therefore questions which have troubled philosophers, religious leaders and the like for many centuries.
The earliest recording of charitable dispositions for Birmingham folk seems to be for Yardley, when in 1335 John de Yeardley made over all his lands to the poor, and soon after, several other gifts were donated and some two hundred years later, in 1531, the Yardley Great Trust came into being. The Gild of the Holy Cross was founded in the reign of Richard II (1377 - 1379) and, after the Reformation, Edward VI restored the endowments of 1552 and utilised them for the Grammar Schools which bear his name. that period produced several other charities for Birmingham folk, viz. Lench's Trust in 1525, Rodes in 1527, and Thomas Bromwich in 1579, all of which survive today. In Sutton Coldfield the Bishop Vesey Grammar School (1527) and other Charities are also still extant.
The Statute of Charitable Uses was passed in 1601, under which Act ad hoc local committees were appointed to enquire into abuses, breaches of trust, etc. By 1786, the Old Parliamentary Reports contained much information about Birmingham charities, and in the first part of the 19th Century, Parliamentary Commissioners were appointed to enquire into every charity in the land, and several extracts from their Reports to Parliament which refer to ancient Birmingham Charities are included in this treatise.
In 1853 The Charitable Trusts Act set up both the Charity Commission and the Official Trustees of Charity Lands and Funds, and by the end of the century, the Charity Commissioners were playing a very important role in the shaping of charities and the use of charitable funds.
Giving to beggars and to the poor seems always to have been accepted as a moral and proper way of life, and charity was accordingly urged as one of the guiding principles of life. What is - or is not - charity, a charitable purpose or a charitable object are therefore questions which have troubled philosophers, religious leaders and the like for many centuries.
The earliest recording of charitable dispositions for Birmingham folk seems to be for Yardley, when in 1335 John de Yeardley made over all his lands to the poor, and soon after, several other gifts were donated and some two hundred years later, in 1531, the Yardley Great Trust came into being. The Gild of the Holy Cross was founded in the reign of Richard II (1377 - 1379) and, after the Reformation, Edward VI restored the endowments of 1552 and utilised them for the Grammar Schools which bear his name. that period produced several other charities for Birmingham folk, viz. Lench's Trust in 1525, Rodes in 1527, and Thomas Bromwich in 1579, all of which survive today. In Sutton Coldfield the Bishop Vesey Grammar School (1527) and other Charities are also still extant.
The Statute of Charitable Uses was passed in 1601, under which Act ad hoc local committees were appointed to enquire into abuses, breaches of trust, etc. By 1786, the Old Parliamentary Reports contained much information about Birmingham charities, and in the first part of the 19th Century, Parliamentary Commissioners were appointed to enquire into every charity in the land, and several extracts from their Reports to Parliament which refer to ancient Birmingham Charities are included in this treatise.
In 1853 The Charitable Trusts Act set up both the Charity Commission and the Official Trustees of Charity Lands and Funds, and by the end of the century, the Charity Commissioners were playing a very important role in the shaping of charities and the use of charitable funds.
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