A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



i8i2; (iv) marriages 1754-1806; (v) marriages 

 1806-12. 



The advowson of Rushden was 

 ADFOWSON granted by William Peverel to the prior 



and convent of Lenton, a cell of the 

 abbey of Cluni,' and was seized by Edward II in 1324, 

 and on various other occasions when England was at war 

 with France.- At the Dissolution the rectory was valued 

 at j^i2 yearly.^ The advowson remained in the possession 

 of the Crown until 1649,*' though Sir Lewis Pemberton 

 presented for one turn in 1630;' and it was granted 

 during the Interregnum to John Ekins.* He surren- 

 dered his grant at the Restoration, petitioning for a 

 fresh one from the king,' apparently unsuccessfully, as 

 the Crown presented in 1665.* The hving was in the 

 gift of the Lord Chancellor in 1873, but afterwards 

 passed to the Church Pastoral Aid Society, the present 

 patrons; its net value is ^[444, including the residence 

 and 6 acres of glebe. The vicarage was stated, in the 

 17th century, to be 'provided for ^^60 per annum 

 besides major tythes'.' In 1324 the parson, Hugh de 

 Willoughby, had enjoyed 'the greater and lesser tithes, 

 profits, and fruits, and all tenements belonging to the 

 church'; but this was only by virtue of a special lease 

 made to him by Geoffrey the prior and the convent of 

 Lenton for five years from i August 1324, in considera- 

 tion of the release of an ancient debt of 200 marks ob- 

 tained by them from his father. Sir Richard de Wil- 

 loughby.'" The church had been valued at £j.o in 

 1 29 1." The chantry certificates of Edward VI's time 

 record a gift of land and rents to the value of \\d. 'by 

 divers persons' for the maintenance of lights in Rushden 

 church. 



By his will dated 24 May 1619 

 CHARITIES William May gave ^100 to be laid out 



in the purchase of land for the benefit 

 of the poor. Upon the inclosure of the parish 10 acres 

 of land at Wollaston was allotted in lieu of the land pur- 

 chased. This is now let at £;io per annum. 



A yearly sum of ^^3 is paid by the trustees of Parson 

 Latham's Hospital in Barnwell agreeably to the direc- 

 tion of Nicholas Latham the founder, who died about 

 1620. 



A sum oi £1 yearly, usually called the Bull Money, 

 was originally given by a Mrs. Mary Greaves (date 

 unknown). This rentcharge, which issued out of cer- 

 tain land in Rushden, was redeemed by the transfer in 

 1905 of ;{^I20 Consols to the Official Trustees of 

 Charitable Funds. The above-mentioned charities are 

 administered by a body of trustees known as the 

 Parochial Trustees in conformity with the provisions 

 of a Scheme of the Charity Commissioners dated 29 

 May 1877. The income is applied in doles of 5/. each 

 to aged poor and for the benefit of the local hospital. 



Parish Clerk's Charity. For upwards of 250 years a 

 piece of land containing an area of 222 i sq. yards with 

 dwelling-house situate in Newton Road, Rushden, was 

 held for the benefit of the Parish Clerk. The property 

 was sold in 1923 and the proceeds invested, producing 

 j^38 10/. bd. yearly in dividends. The charity is ad- 

 ministered by the rector and churchwardens. 



By his will proved in P.R. i May 1855 John Ward 

 gave j^4oo Consolidated Bank Annuities, the interest to 

 be applied in the first place in keeping in repair the 

 tomb of his late father situate in the burial ground of 

 the Baptist chapel, and the surplus to be applied in the 

 repair of the chapel and towards the general expenses 

 of the chapel. The endowment consists of ^^400 

 Consols producing j^^io yearly in dividends. In 1922 

 £4 I 5/. was spent in repairs to the tomb. 



Wm. Henry Wilkins by his will proved in P.R. 

 28 September 1905 gave to the Rushden Parochial 

 Trustees two ^50 4 per cent, mortgages of the Rushden 

 and Higham Ferrers District Gas Co. the income to be 

 applied for the benefit of the Rushden Nursing Associa- 

 tion. 



The same testator gave part of his estate to his wife's 

 sisters, Mary Ann Foskett and Susan Ehzabeth Foskett 

 for life and directed that after the decease of each sister 

 a sum of /^200 should be paid to the Park Road Baptist 

 Church and the residue to the parochial trustees, the 

 income to be applied for the maintenance of any 

 cottage hospital or nursing institute in Rushden. He 

 also directed that the foregoing charities founded by 

 him should be known as 'The Foskett Wilkins Charity'. 



Miss Susan Elizabeth F"oskett by her will proved in 

 P.R. 25 February 191 1 gave ^£50 and Miss Mary h-M\ 

 Foskett by her will proved in P.R. 21 December 191 8 

 gave ^300 in augmentation of the charity for the 

 Cottage Hospital. The endowments of these charities 

 now produce an income of about /^loo. 



The Wilkins Foskett (Cemetery) Charity was 

 founded by Declaration of Trust dated 28 June 1922. 

 The endowment consists of ;^io original stock of the 

 Rushden and Higham Ferrers District Gas Co. and the 

 income is applied by the parochial trustees towards the 

 upkeep of the cemetery for the parish of Rushden and 

 particularly the graves of the Wilkins F'oskett family. 



By his will proved in P.R. 12 January 1924 Jere- 

 miah Knight gave the interest on ^^1,000 and his house 

 in Denmark Road, Rushden, to his niece Florence 

 Cowley for hfe, and directed that upon her death the 

 property should form part of his residuary estate, which 

 he bequeathed to the trustees of the parochial charities 

 for the support of a cottage hospital or nursing institute. 



By codicil to his will proved in P.R. 1 1 January 1924 

 Joseph Arthur Loval Dearlove gave ;{^ioo i\ per cent. 

 Consolidated Stock, the income arising therefrom to be 

 applied by the rector and churchwardens in keeping the 

 Rushden churchyard in good order and particularly the 

 grave of the testator's parents. 



The Skinner (Cemetery) Charity was founded by 

 Declaration of Trust dated 12 February 1925. The 

 endowment consists of ^^120 z\ per cent. Consolidated 

 Stock and the income therefrom amounting to ^'X, 

 yearly is applicable by the parochial charity trustees in 

 the repair of the cemetery and the graves therein. 



The several sums of stock are held by the Official 

 Trustees of Charitable Funds. 



The four almshouses built in 1883 to the memory 

 of Frederick Maitland Sartoris are supported by his 

 family. 



' Cal. Chart. 1300-26, p. 316; V.C.B. 

 Notts, ii, 96. 



^ Cat. Pat. 1 324.-7, p. 63; 1338-40, 

 p. 51; 1340-3, pp. 64, 148, 464, 486; 

 1422-9, p. 391. 



3 Dugdale, Mon. v, 117. 

 •< Pat. 1 1 Jas. I, pt. xiii 

 pt. iv;Inst. Bks. (P.R.O.). 

 5 Inst. Bks. (P.R.O.). 

 * Cal. S.P. Dom. 166 1-2, p. 156. 



' Ibid. 

 2 Chas. I, 8 Inst. Bks. (P.R.O.). 



^ S.P. Dom. Chas. I, ccccviii, no. 140. 

 "> Cal. Pat. 1324-7, p. 63. 

 " Tax. Eccl. (Rec. Com.), 40. 



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