44 
JOURNAL OF THE PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION. 
Elize Stert, and their heirs in trust, to employ the same in some 
godly, pious, and charitable uses. They gave £500 1 and £20 a 
year about 1640 for the benefit of poor children in the Hospital of 
Poor's Portion; and in 1649 John Maynard and Elize Stert, the 
survivors, definitely applied the profits of certain of the lands for 
" the maintenance of poor children to be placed and educated in 
and preferred from the Hospital of Poor's Portion." Subsequently 
£2000 left by John Lanyon, under his will, September 15th, 1674, 
for the benefit of the poor people of the Hospital of Poor's Por- 
tion, was laid out in the purchase of properties in Plymouth, the 
rentals being applied in the maintenance and education of children, 
as with Hele's Charity, and the two being managed by the same 
set of trustees. Hence originated what is now known as Hele and 
Lanyon's School, but in the last century as the Eed and Blue 
Boys — those brought up on the Hele Charity being dressed in blue, 
and those on the Lanyon in red. It was a purpose of the original 
scheme of the Hele Charity that children of " extraordinary parts 
of memory and otherwise" should if possible be sent to the 
universities. On other Hele foundations this has been done, but 
never in Plymouth. 
To trace the history of this Hele and Lanyon Charity fully 
would require a paper to itself. Among all the endowed Charities 
of Plymouth not one has been so muddled, so wrested from its 
original intention. Hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds have 
from time to time been wasted in litigation and the solving of legal 
quibbles; while about £300 went early in the century by the 
insolvency of the then steward, Mr. Cleather, through whom 
various Charities of Plymouth lost over £1500. Much of the 
difficulty in the management of the Hele Charity has arisen from 
the fact that there are three sets of parties interested — the heredi- 
tary trustees, who are the heirs of Sir John Maynard ; the official 
trustees, in whom the Lanyon property is also vested ; and the 
Guardians; and at different times various schemes have been 
drawn up to settle points in dispute between them. In this way 
a Charity intended for the elevation of pauper children has been 
1 The £500 was to be invested in lands ; and after payment of £10 each 
yearly to certain ministers, one child was to be maintained for each £8 of 
income — the Mayor and governors of the hospital appointing three, and the 
trustees the fourth. One year's income might be allotted to place each 
child out. 
