Charities of the Parish of Eton - The Baldwin's Bridge Trust

The other early parish charity was the Baldwin's Bridge Trust. The original bridge must have been built by the early Middle Ages, but the Trust to ensure its maintenance was not founded until the year 1592. Thirteen parishioners made up the original trustees and among them were three members of the Bell family, Henry, John and Matthew, all possibly from the Wick. In the centuries since other members of the village have served, both as trustees and Bridgemaster (Chairman of the Trust); William Woolhouse in the eighteenth century, Edward Pote Williams in the nineteenth and Mrs Florence Wilson in 20th century.

The income of the Trust comes from the rent of houses built on land owned by the Trust just south of the bridge in Eton High Street. The trustees are empowered to spend the money on repairing the bridge and its surface or erecting a new one when necessary, and to spend any excess money 'in such ways as seem to be best and to the most advantage of the inhabitants and parishioners of Eton'.  For many decades there was apparently no balance to spend, in fact not until 1668 when the apprenticeship fees of four boys were paid. There followed another long period of inactivity until the middle of the eighteenth century, when for a short period bundles of flax were bought and given to needy parishioners for spinning. This was not a very common method of giving help, but had been tried for many years with varying degrees of success in Windsor. In 1714 and 1764 twenty six families were given gifts of food and later in the century £20 was expended on the poor. At the turn of the century flour and faggots were given to the workhouse and a few years later clothing and blankets were sent to cottagers suffering from the floods.  As the century progressed the number and variety of causes helped by the Trust increased considerably. Many of the old causes are now  irrelevant to the modern way of life, but numerous clubs and societies have benefited from financial help from the Trust, and in 1947 many people were grateful for contributions from it to alleviate the damage caused by the floods of that year.

Since 1773 the trustees have also been responsible for disposing of the interest from the £150 left in the will of Joseph Benwell, and since 1787 for the interest from Joseph Pote's legacy. The way in which Benwell's money is spent is at the discretion of the trustees and was usually expended in providing coals for elderly people. On the other hand Joseph Pote directed that the income from his legacy should be spent twice yearly on bread to be given to poor parishioners attending particular church services. For well over sixty years the terms of the will were complied with literally, but during the last century this became unpractical and instead the bread was distributed to the houses of the poor. Today, with the change in the value of money, the combine income from the two legacies is too small to do even that. In recent years further donations have been received and they, together with money from the Baldwin Bridge Trust itself, is used so that over a hundred senior citizens each year at Christmas receive a voucher which can be spent at one of three shops in the parish selling not only bread but also other groceries.

A history of the Baldwin's Bridge Trust of Eton was published in 1976 by F.I. Wilson. Mrs Wilson became Bridgemaster in 1956, the first woman to be appointed to the post.

A list naming most of the Bridgemaster can be found on the Baldwin's Bridge Trust website 

The Eton Wick Newsletter - April 2017 - `Our Village' Magazine

Local Charities and a deadly consequence 

Surely many of Eton Wick's senior citizens will agree with me in acknowledging with gratitude the goodwill and generosity of the community and its organisations during the past winter. Some of course depend upon our own participation in happenings or clubs, and even the awareness of our existence. 

For me it started with a bag of harvest goodies donated and delivered by Eton College lads and followed by a Christmas tea and Christmas dinner at Bekynton, Eton, by the College and the Eton Charteris Day Centre respectively; another Christmas dinner at the 'Greyhound' pub by the village Over 60's Club,' and the Rotary Club provided a car driven evening trip to Squires Garden Centre where a band was playing carols, refreshments were free; and each of us given a card with cash to spend. 

Villagers kindly donated 'shoe box' packages of goodies which were delivered by the village scout movement, and then came vouchers from the Pote, Benwell and Simpson Trust and Eton's Baldwin Bridge Trust. The vouchers were to be redeemed at the village grocery, Eton's grocery or pharmacy. (Some details of the afore mentioned trust fund I find so interesting that I will try to impart some of the facts in this article.) The village school invited 'seniors' to their Christmas functions, and undoubtedly there were other welcoming activities by the three churches and organisations. In this era of 'always in a hurry, with no time for involvement' it is right to acknowledge this abundance of seasonal kindness. 

To the best of my village memories of years before WW2 there was very little such generosity apart from the Baldwin Bridge Trust and immediate neighbours. Outpourings of goodwill were perhaps toward the young, and this mostly through Sunday Schools or choir. For a few years from 1955 some boys from the village Youth Club collected wood and chopped up logs for delivery to the older residents. This was still at a time when central heating was not available to all, and with most homes having open fires. One year. over 11,000 logs were chopped and delivered, and letters of 'thank you' received sixty years ago are still around. This received public acclaim, and the club was awarded the Saturday Hospital Fund Cup. Club girls were always on hand with cups of tea for the workers. Eton Urban Council and the College notified the club when tree boughs were available, but this was expecting too much when they said a large elm had fallen at Black Potts (Datchet Road). A few years later the Youth Club was delivering Christmas goodies to some of the village veterans, causing one to reflect that since the mid 1900's there has often been a generous giving. 

Returning to Pote/Benwell/Simpson Trust it is perhaps necessary to reflect on circumstances of long since past, and the early years of the Baldwin Bridge. There is no evidence to my knowledge of why it is known as Baldwin's or Barnes Pool Bridge. History tells us there was a bridge in Eton hundreds of years ago. The  place of Eton had water courses from and to the Thames, and the road from the north (now Slough); although only a muddy track, had to cross those water courses to get to Windsor. Originally bridges were of wood and needed constant maintenance, as of course the muddy tracks did also. Today the unfamiliar may well ask where is the bridge; or perhaps observe that it seems an elaborate bridge doing very little. Not so, as it spans a substantial stream, or 'rivulet', that left the Thames just west of the Eton Brocas, flowing up Meadow Lane, where it is now piped under the road; and on through Eton's Barnes Pool; and back to the river. 

With today's lower water table, and much silting, the flow is not what it once was. Even in my time as a pupil of Eton Porny School in the 1930's, the Headmaster often gave a seasonal warning of not being tempted onto the ice covered pool to retrieve coins that the College Boys tossed on to the ice In the hope of seeing a few soakings. Upkeep and repairs to the bridge have depended on a trust fund that, through much generosity and legacies, established properties that produced a regular income. Bridge maintenance is the prime concern of the Trust, and in times of a surplus income, other deserving Eton causes have been generously financed by that Trust through its twelve local trustees, chaired by their elected Bridgemaster. In the 17th century a brick structure replaced the oft repaired wood, and in 1883 this was duly replaced by an iron bridge. 

Now the Pote, Benwell and Simpson Trust. Just as those early bridges needed constant attention, so did the highways. Without national financial support the responsibility for maintenance was always a local one. Again this needed generous support, and invariably more than was given, until slowly a series of what came to be known as 'Turnpikes' were established along stretches of major roads. All highways had become in a terrible state and in the mid-16th century an Act was introduced requiring all parishes to maintain their section of the roads with obligatory labour of four to six days for all male residents, using their own tools, carts and horses as necessary. This was not a satisfactory scheme, and about a hundred years later the first 'Turnpikes' were sanctioned. In practice this required a number of wealthier persons forming a trust and having the authority to improve and maintain a particular stretch of road and to charge for the use of that stretch. It perhaps took decades for an entire highway to become covered by the Turnpiked lengths. The Bath Road from London had its first turnpike in 1707 but it was 1756 before it was completely extended. 

Our story concerns the Colnbrook Turnpike Trust that was the fifth of twelve Bath Road Turnpikes. It was first sanctioned in 1727 and was responsible for the road between Cranford and Maidenhead Bridge, passing through Slough. After becoming established they were persuaded to undertake extending their responsibility, to cover the Slough to Eton road. Among the Colnbrook trustees were Joseph Pote, a local antiquarian bookseller and Joseph Benwell a draper. Both men were of some standing as Baldwin Bridge trustees and either had or would be Bridgemaster (1783 and 1762 respectively). 

The Colnbrook Turnpike held regular meetings at one of a small number of inns and customarily concluded with a dinner, which some may think was a feast. In March 1773 the meeting was held at an inn by Slough's Salt Hill. The meal starting with soup, then fresh water fish of pike, perch and eel, fowl, bacon and vegetable, cutlet of veal, pig's ear ragout, mutton and salad, lamb and cucumber, crawfish, sweet, Madeira wine and port. Apart from Joseph Pote all the diners were taken ill and within a few days at least six had died. At the start of the meal Pote had absented himself because he disliked turtle soup. Some unsavoury characters had been present and it was concluded they had somehow transmitted the cause of the illness and death. Joseph Benwell was among the deceased, and in his will was the bequest of £150 to the poor of Eton. Joseph Pote survived another thirteen years and his will added £50 to that of Mr Benwell, expressing that bread be given to Eton's poor on two specific days of the year. The first being March 29th; the date of that fateful dinner; expressing his wish that praise to the Almighty be chanted in gratitude for his good fortune in 1773. Years later a woman on her deathbed confessed that she had been the wife of the inn keeper at that fateful time, and that a chef from London had been hired to make the turtle soup which he duly did overnight, intending to let it slowly simmer for those hours. Unfortunately he fell asleep and on waking found the fire out and the soup cold. He re-kindled and restored the temperature, but alas the pot was copper and acids had formed a verdigris. The tragedy was not the fault of unsavoury dropouts and even Kings can get it all wrong at cooking, or so we are told of King Arthur and the cakes. The Pote, Benwell and Simpson fund includes a recent donor, Bernard Simpson, again an antiquarian book seller of Eton High Street. 

Today's generous shop vouchers bearing the names of the Pote, Benwell & Simpson Trust together with that of the Baldwin Bridge Trust is obviously much supported by the latter trust.

Submitted by Frank Bond 

Click here to read Our Village April 2017.

This article was originally published in the Eton Wick Newsletter - Our Village and is republished with the kind permission of the Eton Wick Village Hall Committee. Click here to go to the Collection page.

The Baldwin Bridge Trust

The other early parish charity was the Baldwin Bridge Trust. The original bridge must have been built by the early Middle Ages, but the Trust to ensure its maintenance was not founded until the year 1592. Thirteen parishioners made up the original trustees and among them were three members of the Bell family, Henry, John and Matthew, all possibly from the Wick. In the centuries since other members of the village have served, both as trustees and bridgemaster (Chairman of the Trust); William Woolhouse in the eighteenth century, Edward Pote Williams in the nineteenth and Mrs Florence Wilson in this century.

The income of the Trust comes from the rent of houses built on land owned by the Trust just south of the bridge in Eton High Street. The trustees are empowered to spend the money on repairing the bridge and its surface or erecting a new one when necessary, and to spend any excess money 'in such ways as seem to be best and to the most advantage of the inhabitants and parishioners of Eton'. For many decades there was apparently no balance to spend, in fact not until 1668 when the apprenticeship fees of four boys were paid. There followed another long period of inactivity until the middle of the eighteenth century, when for a short period bundles of flax were bought and given to needy parishioners for spinning. This was not a very common method of giving help, but had been tried for many years with varying degrees of success in Windsor. In 1714 and 1764 twenty six families were given gifts of food and later in the century £20 was expended on the poor. At the turn of the century flour and faggots were given to the workhouse and a few years later clothing and blankets were sent to cottagers suffering from the floods. As the century progressed the number and variety of causes helped by the Trust increased considerably. Many of the old causes are now irrelevant to the modern way of life, but numerous clubs and societies have benefited from financial help from the Trust, and in 1947 many people were grateful for contributions from it to alleviate the damage caused by the floods of that year.

Since 1773 the trustees have also been responsible for disposing of the interest from the £150 left in the will of Joseph Benwell, and since 1787 for the interest from Joseph Pote's legacy. The way in which Benwell's money is spent is at the discretion of the trustees and was usually expended in providing coals for elderly people. On the other hand Joseph Pote directed that the income from his legacy should be spent twice yearly on bread to be given to poor parishioners attending particular church services. For well over sixty years the terms of the will were complied with literally, but during the last century this became unpractical and instead the bread was distributed to the houses of the poor. Today, with the change in the value of money, the combine income from the two legacies is too small to do even that. In recent years further donations have been received and they, together with money from the Baldwin Bridge Trust itself, is used so that over a hundred senior citizens each year at Christmas receive a voucher which can be spent at one of three shops in the parish selling not only bread but also other groceries.

This is an extract from The Story of a Village: Eton Wick 1217 to 1977 by Judith Hunter.

This is the final part of the serialisation of The Story of a Village - Eton Wick - 1217 - 1977. The Eton Wick History Group is most grateful for the kind permission of Judith Hunter's husband to publish her book on its website.

Old Days of Eton Parish - The Eton Bridges

CHAPTER III

FROM matters connected with the Church we turn for the present to other points of local interest. 

Eton seems to have been always subject to floods, and even at ordinary times the crossing of so many intersecting streams must have made the bridges not merely a con­venience, but in some cases an absolute necessity. The first mention of any of the Eton bridges occurs in a docu­ment called the Hundred Rolls, dated 1274, i.e., 167 years before the College was founded. In this it is stated: "The whole township of Eton from Baldwin Bridge to Windsor Bridge was accustomed to give toll of fuel in vessels and all the royalties appertaining thereto.1" This toll was probably in the form of blocks of wood or faggots cut from the copses in the parish. It was given in aid of the royal revenues, which were much impoverished in the time of the Crusades. Baldwin Bridge, for it was originally called, is again mentioned in the Founder's plans for the College.

1.         This was probably the earliest of the bridges and was naturally required to connect the town with its farms and woods in other parts of the parish.

At an early period several houses seem to have sprung up along Baldwin Shore,some of them of a substantial size, and from thence they extended along the right side or the long walk' to what is now Savile House in Weston's Yard.

Who Baldwin was is unknown, but it may be presumed that he was founder of the bridge and its endowment.

It is not called Barns Pool Bridge till the latter part of the sixteenth century. Barns Pool may have been a landing wharf. It has been suggested that it was so named from the barns in which goods were stored.

In Queen Elizabeth's reign steps were taken to secure, for the maintenance of the bridge, the title to certain property, consisting of a house adjoining the bridge, and other land. This, in 1592, was conveyed to thirteen Feoffees or Trustees, being inhabitants of Eton, "for erecting or repairing and from time to time amending and maintaining for ever the said bridge."

By the terms of the trust, the Feoffees are empowered, after spending what is necessary on this purpose, to bestow the remainder "in such ways as seem to be the best, and to the most advantage of the inhabitants and parishioners of Eton."

They are instructed to meet yearly at Pentecost at the Bridge House and appoint two of their number, called the Bridge Master and the Bridge Man, to carry out the objects decided by the majority.

In accordance with these instructions, we are told that in the year 1658 "the bridge called Barnspool Bridge, alias Baldwin Bridge, was pluckt upp and new built." In 1676-9 the house adjoining the bridge is described as the Town House, and the land all round, Town land. A commodious room was built in 1793 for the meeting of the Feoffees, also for the meeting of the inhabitants on the common business of the parish.

In 1687 the last mentioned bridge, which was made of wood, was superseded by one of brick, and in 1884 the present iron bridge was constructed.

By a careful improvement of the Bridge Estate property, its annual value has been considerably increased. In 1676 it was £4 10s; in 1876 it had become £311 10s. 6d., and in 1901 produced a rental of £554 11s., and many persons and institutions have received considerable benefit thereby.

II. In (303 a flood demolished Spitelbrigge, now known as Beggars' Bridge, close to Willowbrook.

In consequence of this an injunction was issued to the Sheriff of Buckingham reciting that the

A History of the
Baldwin's Bridge Trust
by F.I. Wilson
Published 1977

bridge was broken down and destroyed "to the injury of the adjacent country and manifest danger of travellers," and an enquiry was held at Eton, before two commissioners and a jury of twelve persons, to ascertain to whom the duty of repair belonged.

The bridge would seem to have been built about fifty years before by one Walter de Teb, with voluntary gifts collected in the town and neighbourhood, and the commissioners made return upon oath that the said bridge being one half in Eton and the other half in Upton, no obligation lay on the people of Eton to sustain it. It must be rebuilt by begging for contributions. Hence the name it now bears.

III. Long Bridge or Fifteen Arch Bridge is said to have had once fourteen narrow arches of brick, and one central arch of stone. Six of the centre arches were destroyed by flood in 1809 and replaced by three only. The present bridge dates from 1843.

IV. Windsor Bridge perhaps should not properly come into a history of Eton, as it has been always the exclusive property of the Windsor Borough, but for three reasons a short summary of its history can hardly be omitted altogether.

1. The opening of this means of communication with the Castle must have contributed very considerably to the trade and convenience of Eton.

2. Eton must always have helped largely, by the tolls taken from its inhabitants, towards the maintenance of the bridge.

3. The final freeing of this bridge was due to the determined and self-sacrificing efforts of an Eton townsman.

As far as can be ascertained, no bridge existed before the reign of Edward I. Previously to this, communication was by means of ferry. The river was most likely crossed ►se days from what is now River Street on the Clewer side to Meadow Lane in Eton, whence a road ran towards Cippenham, once an important place, and Burnham. On September 18, 1281, King Edward I. granted a charter for a bridge to the Burgesses of 'New Wyndesore,' as the town which had been rising for fifty years under the Castle walls was now called.

This charter carried with it the control and profits of certain waters and fisheries on the Thames, which in later days became the property of Eton College. It also gave the Burgesses the right to take pontage or toll for the upkeep of the bridge.

This latter right was renewed from time to time, and certain other grants were made by Henry VI. in the twenty-third year of his reign, when a new bridge was built.

In the time of the Great Rebellion (1642), which was largely supported by the County of Bucks, the then existing bridge was broken down to hinder the march of the Parliamentary Army.

In 1707 the Burgesses leased the bridge to John Herring, requiring him to repair and renew it whenever needed, but owing to complaints as to the heaviness of the tolls, and the dangerous state of the bridge, an Act was obtained in 1734 for a fixed schedule of tolls, with the power to enforce them and to use them for the purposes of keeping up the bridge. This was renewed in an Act, July 1819, George III., when power was given to build a new bridge of stone and iron, in place of the timber bridges built hitherto, and to continue and levy certain tolls for twenty-one years. This permission was subsequently extended and did not finally come to an end till 1872. Under this Act, tolls were only to be paid by the same vehicle once in the day and were to be diverted to no other purpose or use whatsoever than the necessary expenses of the bridge.

When the right expired in 1872, the Corporation was advised by Counsel, either to go back on the prescriptive right of the first charter, or to apply for a fresh Act of Parliament. They chose to take a course of their own, and adopted a modified scale of charges without applying for an Act, and meanwhile farmed the bridge and made about £500 a year, which was used to the relief of the rates. A few people disputed their claims, but no one was bold enough to oppose them till 1895, when Mr. Joseph Taylor took up the matter, and obtained Counsel's opinion to the effect that the Act of George III. finally destroyed the old prescriptive right.

In September that same year Mr. Taylor drove up to the bridge, and, refusing to pay the toll, it was barred against him.

On January 30, 1896, he renewed his attempt, and paid the demanded toll under protest. This led to a trial at Queen's Bench in May 1897, when the Lord Chief Justice gave judgment in favour of the Corporation.

Just when Windsor was congratulating itself on its victory, it was announced that Mr. Taylor had decided to appeal.

The case came on in the High Court of Appeal in October, and a unanimous judgment was given in favour of Mr. Taylor's contention. Whereupon the Corporation appealed to the House of Lords, and in November 1898 another unanimous judgment was given, and the case was finally won, and the bridge freed from toll for ever.

The bridges not on the high road are as follows: In the Playing Fields Sheep's Bridge, built 1563 to replace one of wood. On the river towing path Bargeman's Bridge and Cuckoo Weir Bridge, both over streams from Cuckoo Weir. Higher up the river at Upper Hope is Long Bray Bridge—and higher still, opposite Eton Wick, Boveney Bridge, which crosses the stream separating Eton from Boveney.

Note 1 Hence, in Lysons' Magna Britannia, 1813, the town is designated ‘Eton Gildables,' or more correctly ‘Geldable,' or liable to tribute, as distinct from some land which was free from taxation.

OLD DAYS OF ETON PARISH by The Rev. John Shephard, M.A. was published in 1908 by Spottiswoode and Co Ltd. The text is has been copied from the original book that is now out of copyright.

 

Old Days of Eton Parish - CHAPTER X - SOME ETON BENEFACTORS.

In 1695 Dr. Godolphin became Provost and Rector. He was noted for his liberality. The College owes to him the statue of the Founder which stands in the Schoolyard, and the parish is indebted to him, as the Table of Benefactors in the Church porch informs us, for having " built alms-houses at his sole expense, on ground held by lease under the Dean and Canons of Windsor, for the reception of ten poor women, to be appointed by the Provost of Eton." This has proved of great value to many a hard-working woman and secures a comfortable home and freedom from care in old age.

Part also of the property held by the Eton Poor Estate, viz, the close at Eton Wick called Wheat Butts, was purchased by the help of his gift of £50, added to a legacy left by Dr. Heaver, and other money.

It appears also that he subscribed £I,000 towards a fund for altering and re-arranging the Church, " so that the children of the Schole (the Eton boys we now call them) may appear under one view, and likewise that all the people of the parish may be so conveniently seated as to hear with ease all the public offices of the Church, which at present by reason of their number, and the ill disposition of the place, they cannot possibly do." The said alterations seem to have been affected with miserably bad taste, and most signs of them have long disappeared, but at any rate the intentions were good.

A few more particulars about the Eton Poor Estate may be of interest. This Trust seems to have been originated early in the seventeenth century with certain legacies, left for the benefit of the poor, by Fellows of the College. John Chambers left £40, Adam Robyns £20, Matthew Page £40, with which sums two houses were bought in Thames Street, Windsor, and are still the property of the Trust. In 1685 land was purchased at Langley Marish with £20 bequeathed by Robert Allestree, £20 by John Rosewell, and £50 by Mr. Searles.

Further additions were made to the Trust under the will of Dr. Heaver, who left £50 specially for the purpose of apprenticing boys, and Provost Godolphin added to this another £50. Out of this Trust, besides apprenticeships to boys, and clothes for girls entering service, a substantial sum is now contributed annually towards the maintenance of the District Nurse, and towards a few old-age pensions.

The generosity of the above benefactors encouraged others to follow in their steps, and these, although belonging to a somewhat later date, may be conveniently chronicled in this chapter. In 1729 a certain John Bateman left £100, to be spent in the purchase of lands or tenements for the benefit of the poor of Eton. This was carried out in 1733, and the rent is annually received by the overseers, and expended in March. By the will of Joseph Benwell, who died in 1773, £150 was left to the poor, to be disposed of at the discretion of the Baldwin Bridge Trustees. A little later, 1787, an old parishioner, Joseph Pote, who had taken great interest in the Trust and its records, left to the same trustees £50 to be put out to interest, and the proceeds distributed by equal portions in bread twice a year, on the first Sundays after the 29th of March and the 7th of November, " to each poor parishioner who shall attend divine service, if not disabled therefrom by distress, age or other incident." The will further directs " that on each of those days the tooth Psalm with the Gloria Patri be then sung by the congregation and poor attending this, as a thankful acknowledgment of peculiar instances of divine protection at those periods and other parts of my life."

For a long time the terms of the will were literally complied with, and the bread was brought to the Chapel for distribution. Since 1855 the Bridge Master has had the distribution carried out at the houses of the poor. 

At a later date still, in 1810, Provost Davies left £700 in 3 per cent reduced, for apprenticing two boys annually at £10 guineas each, and he also bequeathed £1000, the interest to be divided into four portions of £7 10s. and to be given yearly as pensions to two men and two women of sixty years of age. He further left £500, of which the interest was to be devoted to the almswomen.

All these gifts however were eclipsed by a bequest of greater importance still.

It is to Antoine Pyron du Martre, best known by his adopted name of Mark Anthony Porny, that the parish has most reason to be grateful. He was born at Caen in Normandy, and came from France in 1754 when a young man of twenty-three. After a severe struggle to maintain himself, he settled down as French Master in Eton in 1773, and occupied this position for thirty-three years.

It seems that, about 1790, steps were taken by Provost Roberts to establish a Charity and Sunday School for the children of the parish. A committee of twenty-two was appointed and subscriptions were collected, which enabled the good work to be carried on in a small way from year to year. This was the first attempt, since the College was founded, to give the children of the poor a religious and elementary education, and Mark Anthony Porny was much interested in it; but few knew how great his interest was, or anticipated his noble intentions.

It is, however, pleasant to learn that his worth of character was otherwise recognized, and that, towards the end of his life, he was appointed by George III. one of the Poor Knights of Windsor, and on his death in 1802 was buried on the south side of St. George's Chapel, where his grave is still to be seen with its Latin inscription.

By the hard work of teaching and writing school books, he managed to put by about £4000, and on his death it was found that " in gratitude for the little property he had acquired in this free and generous kingdom he had bequeathed the bulk of it upon trust unto the Treasurer of the Charity and Sunday School established in Eton in the County of Bucks, to be applied by the Trustees or Committee or by whatsoever name they may be designated for the time being, towards carrying out the laudable and useful designs of its institution." Mr. Charles Knight, Printer and Bookseller of New Windsor, was appointed his executor. There was some delay in carrying out this bequest, in consequence of a lawsuit instituted by some distant French relatives, and meantime the money was out at interest and had become worth £8,250. But at last the plaintiffs were defeated in their attempt to upset the will, and in 1813 steps were taken to build a Master and Mistress's house, now known as 129A and B High Street, with two schoolrooms behind which now serve as the Parish Room.¹

The ideas of suitable school accommodation were much more limited than in these times, but, in the local press of the day, they are described as "neat and convenient buildings, in conformity with plans submitted to the Court of Chancery." They were built by contract for £1723 by Mr. Tebbott of Windsor.

The school was opened on April 26, 1813, the management of it being vested in the Provost and Fellows and eight other inhabitants of the parish, who were called Porny Trustees. After paying the cost of building, there still remained an endowment of £5200, the interest of which enabled the Porny Trustees to give a free education to ninety children. According to the old rules these scholars were elected from the Sunday schools, being the children of parishioners of Eton, born in wedlock, having been not less than one year in the Sunday school, and regular and punctual in their attendance.²

The Porny Trustees used to meet on the first Tuesday in each month except during the holidays. Every Porny scholar who reached the age of 14, and left school with a good character, received a Bible and Prayer Book.

The latter custom still survives, but in a later page some serious changes forced on the Trustees by altered circumstances will have to be recorded. 

1 A board bearing an inscription is still over the archway leading to the Parish Room.

2 The school hours in those days were in summer 8 to 12 and 2 to 5, in winter 9 to 12 and 1.30 to 4. On Sundays 8.30 a.m. and in the afternoon 2 to 5, or 6 in summer. 

OLD DAYS OF ETON PARISH by The Rev. John Shephard, M.A. was published in 1908 by Spottiswoode and Co Ltd. The text is has been copied from the original book that is now out of copyright.

Old Days of Eton Parish - CHAPTER X - SOME ETON BENEFACTORS.

In 1695 Dr. Godolphin became Provost and Rector. He was noted for his liberality. The College owes to him the statue of the Founder which stands in the Schoolyard, and the parish is indebted to him, as the Table of Benefactors in the Church porch informs us, for having " built alms-houses at his sole expense, on ground held by lease under the Dean and Canons of Windsor, for the reception of ten poor women, to be appointed by the Provost of Eton." This has proved of great value to many a hard-working woman and secures a comfortable home and freedom from care in old age.

Part also of the property held by the Eton Poor Estate, viz, the close at Eton Wick called Wheat Butts, was purchased by the help of his gift of £50, added to a legacy left by Dr. Heaver, and other money.

It appears also that he subscribed £I,000 towards a fund for altering and re-arranging the Church, " so that the children of the Schole (the Eton boys we now call them) may appear under one view, and likewise that all the people of the parish may be so conveniently seated as to hear with ease all the public offices of the Church, which at present by reason of their number, and the ill disposition of the place, they cannot possibly do." The said alterations seem to have been effected with miserably bad taste, and most signs of them have long disappeared, but at any rate the intentions were good.

A few more particulars about the Eton Poor Estate may be of interest. This Trust seems to have been originated early in the seventeenth century with certain legacies, left for the benefit of the poor, by Fellows of the College. John Chambers left £40, Adam Robyns £20, Matthew Page £40, with which sums two houses were bought in Thames Street, Windsor, and are still the property of the Trust. In 1685 land was purchased at Langley Marish with £20 bequeathed by Robert Allestree, £20 by John Rosewell, and £50 by Mr. Searles.

Further additions were made to the Trust under the will of Dr. Heaver, who left £50 specially for the purpose of apprenticing boys, and Provost Godolphin added to this another £50. Out of this Trust, besides apprenticeships to boys, and clothes for girls entering service, a substantial sum is now contributed annually towards the maintenance of the District Nurse, and towards a few old-age pensions.

The generosity of the above benefactors encouraged others to follow in their steps, and these, although belonging to a somewhat later date, may be conveniently chronicled in this chapter. In 1729 a certain John Bateman left £100, to be spent in the purchase of lands or tenements for the benefit of the poor of Eton. This was carried out in 1733, and the rent is annually received by the overseers, and expended in March. By the will of Joseph Benwell, who died in 1773, £150 was left to the poor, to be disposed of at the discretion of the Baldwin Bridge Trustees. A little later, 1787, an old parishioner, Joseph Pote, who had taken great interest in the Trust and its records, left to the same trustees £50 to be put out to interest, and the proceeds distributed by equal portions in bread twice a year, on the first Sundays after the 29th of March and the 7th of November, " to each poor parishioner who shall attend divine service, if not disabled therefrom by distress, age or other incident." The will further directs " that on each of those days the tooth Psalm with the Gloria Patri be then sung by the congregation and poor attending this, as a thankful acknowledgment of peculiar instances of divine protection at those periods and other parts of my life."

For a long time the terms of the will were literally complied with, and the bread was brought to the Chapel for distribution. Since 1855 the Bridge Master has had the distribution carried out at the houses of the poor. 

At a later date still, in 1810, Provost Davies left £700 in 3 per cent reduced, for apprenticing two boys annually at £10 guineas each, and he also bequeathed £1000, the interest to be divided into four portions of £7 10s. and to be given yearly as pensions to two men and two women of sixty years of age. He further left £500, of which the interest was to be devoted to the almswomen.

All these gifts however were eclipsed by a bequest of greater importance still.

It is to Antoine Pyron du Martre, best known by his adopted name of Mark Anthony Porny, that the parish has most reason to be grateful. He was born at Caen in Normandy, and came from France in 1754 when a young man of twenty-three. After a severe struggle to maintain himself, he settled down as French Master in Eton in 1773, and occupied this position for thirty-three years.

It seems that, about 1790, steps were taken by Provost Roberts to establish a Charity and Sunday School for the children of the parish. A committee of twenty-two was appointed and subscriptions were collected, which enabled the good work to be carried on in a small way from year to year. This was the first attempt, since the College was founded, to give the children of the poor a religious and elementary education, and Mark Anthony Porny was much interested in it; but few knew how great his interest was, or anticipated his noble intentions.

It is, however, pleasant to learn that his worth of character was otherwise recognized, and that, towards the end of his life, he was appointed by George III. one of the Poor Knights of Windsor, and on his death in 1802 was buried on the south side of St. George's Chapel, where his grave is still to be seen with its Latin inscription.

By the hard work of teaching and writing school books, he managed to put by about £4000, and on his death it was found that " in gratitude for the little property he had acquired in this free and generous kingdom he had bequeathed the bulk of it upon trust unto the Treasurer of the Charity and Sunday School established in Eton in the County of Bucks, to be applied by the Trustees or Committee or by whatsoever name they may be designated for the time being, towards carrying out the laudable and useful designs of its institution." Mr. Charles Knight, Printer and Bookseller of New Windsor, was appointed his executor. There was some delay in carrying out this bequest, in consequence of a lawsuit instituted by some distant French relatives, and meantime the money was out at interest and had become worth £8,250. But at last the plaintiffs were defeated in their attempt to upset the will, and in 1813 steps were taken to build a Master and Mistress's house, now known as 129A and B High Street, with two schoolrooms behind which now serve as the Parish Room.¹

The ideas of suitable school accommodation were much more limited than in these times, but, in the local press of the day, they are described as "neat and convenient buildings, in conformity with plans submitted to the Court of Chancery." They were built by contract for £1723 by Mr. Tebbott of Windsor.

The school was opened on April 26, 1813, the management of it being vested in the Provost and Fellows and eight other inhabitants of the parish, who were called Porny Trustees. After paying the cost of building, there still remained an endowment of £5200, the interest of which enabled the Porny Trustees to give a free education to ninety children. According to the old rules these scholars were elected from the Sunday schools, being the children of parishioners of Eton, born in wedlock, having been not less than one year in the Sunday school, and regular and punctual in their attendance.²

The Porny Trustees used to meet on the first Tuesday in each month except during the holidays. Every Porny scholar who reached the age of 14, and left school with a good character, received a Bible and Prayer Book.

The latter custom still survives, but in a later page some serious changes forced on the Trustees by altered circumstances will have to be recorded. 

Notes

1 A board bearing an inscription is still over the archway leading to the Parish Room.

2 The school hours in those days were in summer 8 to 12 and 2 to 5, in winter 9 to 12 and 1.30 to 4. On Sundays 8.30 a.m. and in the afternoon 2 to 5, or 6 in summer. 

OLD DAYS OF ETON PARISH by The Rev. John Shephard, M.A. was published in 1908 by Spottiswoode and Co Ltd. The text is has been copied from the original book that is now out of copyright.

Old Days of Eton Parish - CHAPTER XV. - CHIEFLY ABOUT THE PARISH SCHOOLS.

ETON had several opportunities in the nineteenth century of showing its loyalty to the Royal Family. 

One memorable occasion was after the marriage of Queen Victoria, when she and Prince Albert drove through from Slough on their way to the Castle. Eton street was adorned with triumphal arches, and the royal pair was enthusiastically welcomed. 

So again in 1863, on the occasion of the Prince of Wales' marriage, the whole town was likewise decorated. Mr. Thomas Hughes gave a fat sheep, which was roasted whole in the Brocas, and zoo children were regaled with hot roast and boiled beef, pudding and beer. After-wards each child was presented with a cup of wine and retained the cup in memory of the event. This was before the days of the Temperance Movement!

A tree called the Alexandra Elm was also planted in Brocas meadow by Mr. Hughes, but has since dis-appeared. A nut tree planted the same day stands in the grounds of the Crown and Cushion Inn. 

But the crowning festivities were on the occasion of Queen Victoria's Jubilee in 1887, when for a whole week both Eton and Windsor kept up continual festival in splendid weather. In spite of the excitement and the enormous crowds, the general behaviour was all that could be desired ; good humour, good temper, and good manners marked this genuine rejoicing. 

But to return to matters which directly concerned the parish. In October 1858 a further step was taken to meet the wants of the increasing population. The Porny Schools, built in 1813, only afforded accommodation for thirty-three boys and thirty girls, and there was but a small Infant School which held twenty scholars. It was accordingly arranged to exchange the school premises for a site belonging to Mr. Penn, then Lord of the Manor, and on this to erect a complete set of suitable buildings. The plans were prepared by Mr. Street, and the building was carried out by Mr. Hollis of Windsor at a total cost of £3000.

Hitherto all measures for the education of the poor had been carried out, here as elsewhere, solely by the voluntary efforts of the Church-people. Now for the first time the State was open to an appeal. The Educational Committee of the Privy Council, which at this time had assumed the care of elementary education, made a grant of £554; the rest was raised by local subscriptions including £250 from Eton College and £100 from Baldwin's Bridge Trust and the National Society. The new schools were placed under the management of a Committee of thirty-two which was to include the existing Porny Trustees. These schools were opened in 1863, their trust deed being drawn in accordance with the regulations of the National Society for the Education of the Poor in the principles of the Church of England. It is on that ground that they are termed the Eton National Schools. The title implies that they are Church Schools under Church management. 

In these new schools the seventy Porny Scholars continued to receive their education free: for the rest of the children weekly payments were made by their parents at varying rates from twopence per child. 

It will be convenient here to recount briefly the nature of the changes introduced since. 

In 1864, these schools were placed under Government Inspection, but no grant was made, on the grounds that the Porny Endowment of £156 a year was sufficient without Government aid.

In 1865 the Porch to the Girls' and Infants' departments was built, in memory of Mark Anthony Porny. 

In 1866 the Infants' School, as not covered by the endowment, was allowed a small Government Grant—and in 1871 the grant was extended to all the departments. 

In 1870 under Mr. Forster's¹ guidance the State made its first serious effort to extend the school system, and Board Schools were started, where required, at the ex-pense of the rates, and in these no catechism or distinctive religious truth was to be taught. This is known as the Cowper-Temple clause.² The Voluntary Schools were to be maintained, side by side with the Board Schools³, under state supervision receiving certain state aid, on the condition that any parent might withdraw a child from religious teaching under a conscience clause. 

No grant was to be given for a child who had not made 250 attendances in the year. 

In 1870 to 1875 while Board Schools were growing and drawing largely on the rates, increased demands were made on Voluntary Schools for improved buildings, better apparatus and smaller classes. 

In 1876 school attendance was made compulsory, and arrangement was made for the payment of school fees for poor parents, without thereby depriving them of the franchise. 

In the same year restrictions were placed on the employment of children, before they had reached a certain age. 

In 1883, in the Eton schools, a new classroom to accommodate sixty pupils was added to the. Boys' department. 

In 1889 a new code was introduced, by which individual examination was abolished, and increased expenditure in school buildings was enforced; in the following year our school buildings were repaired throughout, and a block floor laid in the Boys' school. 

In 1891 admission to schools became free from October 1; and, in lieu of the children's pence, the Government gave a Fee Grant of 10s. a head. The introduction of free schooling proved of doubtful advantage to the Eton children. Many parents being relieved of payment were less careful to keep their children regular, and a still further loss to the finances of the schools was entailed by the withdrawal of part of the Porny Endowment from the ordinary income of the schools. It was to be devoted to the instruction of the children in cookery and such like subjects, and towards evening classes, prizes and exhibitions. A portion how-ever was reserved for Sunday school purposes, and for the repairs of school buildings. 

In 1895, to carry out the scheme of the Charity Commissioners, three representatives of subscribers of 5s. and two representatives of parents, and two of the local authority, were elected and added to the old body of Trustees. 

Cookery classes were established in 1897, and the first Porny Scholars under the new scheme were elected. In 1898 a considerable sum was raised by a voluntary rate and both the Boys' school and Infants' school were enlarged, and the playgrounds extended and re-fenced, and better offices arranged. The Lord of the Manor gave the additional ground. 

In 1900, the attendance necessary to earn a grant was raised to 35o; and other stringent regulations were also made. 

The Act of 1902 brought about greater changes still. Under that Act the terms Board' and Voluntary' were discontinued, and henceforth schools were distinguished as ' provided or Council schools,' and non-provided.' The former were those built and maintained entirely by rates and taxes. By the same Act the supreme control of the Eton non-provided schools was vested in the County Authority, whose business it became to settle the number and quality of the teaching staff and to provide for all other working expenses out of the rates. 

In consequence of this, the large body of managers, which under the trust deed had carried on the schools, was superseded, and its place taken by the small body of six persons. This included four foundation managers, the Vicar being ex-officio, and three churchmen to be elected by the subscribers to the schools, and two others representing the ratepayers generally, one being chosen by the Urban District Council, and the other by the County Council. 

The duty of this body was to carry out the instructions of the County Authority, to select teachers subject to its approval, and to see that the interests of both teachers and scholars were duly cared for, and the schools kept in good order. 

By what was known as the Kenyon-Slaney clause,' this body was to assume control of the religious teaching, instead of the responsibility, as in the trust deed, resting on the Incumbent only. An amendment, made in the House of Lords, secured that the authority of the Bishop should decide whether the religious instruction given was in due accordance with the trust deed. While the expenses in all secular matters were to be met by the county rate, the Church was still to be responsible for keeping the fabric of the buildings in good repair, and for any structural alterations which the County Authority might deem necessary. 

Several improvements were ordered by the Authority, one of the chief being better cloak rooms for the girls, and the schools started on their new career on October I, 1903. The new Foundation Managers were the Vicar, Messrs. Ainger, Devereux and Walls. The Manager elected by the County was Mr. R. I. Drake, and by the Urban District, Mr. Heygate. 

A similar board of Managers was appointed for Eton Wick schools. 

Notes

1 Mr. W. E. Forster was Vice-President of the Committee of Council on Education when Mr. Gladstone was Prime Minister. 

2 It was left to each Board to decide whether there should be any religious teaching at all. 

3 The object, as expressed by Mr. Forster, was "not to supplant but to supplement" Voluntary Schools. 

OLD DAYS OF ETON PARISH by The Rev. John Shephard, M.A. was published in 1908 by Spottiswoode and Co Ltd. The text has been copied from the original book that is now out of copyright.

Eton College: Tudor rights and responsibilities

The Tudor period, brought to Eton College rights and responsibilities never envisaged by the Founder. These came about as a result of the new and increasing number of civil duties imposed upon the parishes by numerous Acts of Parliament. Already many parishes had vestries, that assembly of rate paying parishioners who managed the ecclesiastical affairs of the parish. Now under these Acts the parishes became responsible for the maintenance of law and order, the relief of the poor, the upkeep of the roads, and many other minor duties.  In many parishes the vestry became the unit of local government, replacing the manor court, though in others, like Eton, the two functioned side by side. In many parishes the incumbent acted as chairman at the vestry meetings, but the Provost was often a national figure, a man with responsibilities beyond that of parochial affairs, and one must suspect that the affairs of the parish took a back seat compared with those of the College and his other interests.

However, there was a vestry in Eton though few of its records have been found. Passing references in other documents reveal that it met at different times at the workhouse, the Town House owned by the Baldwin's Bridge Trust and in a room used by the Magistrates. These meetings may well always have taken place at Eton but the Wick was an integral part of the parish and villagers took their place in serving as parish officers, albeit unpaid and perhaps unwilling. The most important and hard worked of the officials were the Overseers of the Poor. Two, and later three, were needed in the parish and in the late eighteenth century, when he was a tenant farmer at Saddocks, John Atkins served in this capacity. Perhaps other villagers took their turn, for they changed each year, but the records are few; most, however, would have paid their poor rates and quite a number will have received some kind of dole or relief from the overseers when times were hard.  During the eighteenth century the number of poor needing help from the parish increased yearly and the level of rates rose correspondingly. An unfortunate few would have had to go into the workhouse.   Such workhouses were set up after the Act of 1722, and for many decades one stood in Eton; but early in the nineteenth century a new one was built on the outskirts of Eton Wick on the site of the present College sanatorium. This was soon demolished when Eton combined with other parishes in south Buckinghamshire and provided a Union Workhouse in 1836. Today this is the Upton Hospital.  Lists of pauper inmates show that a few came from the village.


The constable and tithingmen (that is petty constables) were probably still manor officials, but again people from Eton Wick can be found serving their year.  Henry Moody, who lived at Dairy Farm from the end of the seventeenth century, was a constable and Henry Sexton, another farmer, a tithingman some half century later. One can only wonder how many of their neighbours they had cause to present to the justices or even to set in the stocks or at the whipping post, such as those that now rest outside the Cockpit at Eton. These particular stocks came from Clewer, but Eton's own stood in the High Street until the middle of nineteenth century.

The churchwardens of Eton had no responsibility towards the fabric of the Chapel or the behaviour of the clergy for these were in the charge of the College but for at least two centuries they were concerned with those who did not attend church or see that their children were baptised and confirmed. In 1686 Matthew Paine of Eton Wick, with his wife and others, was presented to the Bishop as not attending church regularly, and session after session at the Quarter Sessions they were fined for being recusants (Roman Catholics).

Not surprisingly, in the four centuries or so of parochial self-government, the parish was important to its inhabitants to an extent that is difficult for us to understand today living as we do in a world of easy communications, education for  everyone, standardization and relatively impersonal local government.  It was essential to know in which parish one lived and in which each and every plot of land lay. This was not only because these were separately rated but because it was the parish officials who levied the rates and to whom they were paid.  The most important of these rates was the poor rate, but there were others such as the highway rate and the church rate.   For part of this period Acts of Parliament made it impossible for the poor to receive parish relief except in the parish in which they had settlement, in effect usually the one in which they were born, and the Quarter Sessions’ records tell the sad stories of several families removed from Eton (and Eton Wick?) by order of the justices because they had become paupers.

This is an extract from The Story of a Village: Eton Wick 1217 to 1977 by Judith Hunter.

From the Parish Magazine - Eton Wick History Group Meeting - The Original Christopher Inn

A report on the December 1997 meeting held at the Village Hall.

The 1998 programme of talks was issued at the Group's meeting on the 10th December, promising yet another year of interesting topics; the Committee never seems to run short of subjects, despite the fact that this meeting marked the end of the 7th year of the Eton Wick History Group. The 1998 programme appears separately in this magazine. Mary Gyngell has had her hip operation and is home - we wish her well. (Needless to say, she made the cakes again!). Congratulations to Vi Millis and her husband who celebrate their 60th Wedding Anniversary and Vi's 90th Birthday last month. A man in Canada had sent Frank Bond an 1897 map of Boveney New Town and one of Windsor and a £1 note! 

Tony Cullum then entertained the Group with a talk on the original 'Christopher" Inn, which was situated opposite College Chapel in Eton. Mr. Cullum used the opportunity to take us on a journey through history, commencing with the Inn at Bethlehem at which there was no room and easing us through time, touching on maps of the 6,000 miles of excellent Roman roads in Britain, Hadrians Wall and the other wall from the Clyde to the Forth. 

Soon we had left Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula and Claudius behind and were into stage-wagons, drawn by six or eight horses; and then the spring suspension stage coach, high-perch phaetons, cabriolets and landaus - a trip from London to Bath would probably have been a three to four day journey - hence the need for coaching inns like the "Christopher". 

 And, did you know the difference between a tollgate and a turnpike gate? (A turnpike gate is sturdier and had spikes on the top!). 

There was talk of Thomas Telford and also of john Macadam - who found that the secret of a good, lasting road was to dig down to a depth of 12" , fill with granite chippings and leave it to the horses" hooves to grind it down into a solid base. And there were plenty of horses hooves pounding away, with over 1,000 vehicles leaving London every day in the early 1800s.

 Stagecoaches would leave Windsor at 7 a.m., 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and, in good conditions, would take about 4 hours to get to London. There is mention of 'The Christopher' in 1511, when it was a shown as a large complex of buildings with land leased with it "contained within 1 acre and occupied by Ruth Cox". The Inn has held various landlords including in 1636 Francis Dickin, from 1753 to 1775 a George King and, when the Inn finally closed, the landlord was a Jack Knight. 

For some time it was the only ale house in Eton which could offer bedrooms. In September 1803 a Baldwin's Bridge Trust dinner was held there at a cost of £5.6s.6d. plus 10/- for extras.

In 1665 College boys were forbidden to go there, but it later became very popular with them and they would claim that they had to go there to meet friends coming from London, or to collect parcels from the mail. Eton's 'Pop' boys used to enjoy the food and ale there, particularly a drink (a bit like punch) called 'Bishop' at 12 shillings per barrel. 

Under the then Head Master, Dr. Hawtrey, the College obtained possession of the site in 1842 and it was used first as a French Pupil Room and then as a boarding house. Jack Knight, the former landlord, moved into 131 High Street and set up shop selling drinks to the boys; in 1871 his lease and goodwill were taken over by a Mrs. Emily Brown and in 1872 it was moved o the present Rowlands/Tap. The present 'Christopher' was opened in 1846 at 110 High Street and owes its existence to the closure of the old 'Christopher' - now called Hodgson House. 

Extract from John Denham's index of Eton Traders

For the remainder of the evening, the Group repaired to the Small Meeting Room to enjoy a splendid buffet meal and Christmas punch. 

The next meeting took place on 21st lanuary when the topic was the 'HISTORY OF SALTERS STEAMERS' and the speaker, Keith French. 

During the 1990's the Parish Magazine of Eton, Eton Wick and Boveney reported on the meetings of the Eton Wick History Group. A member of the audience took shorthand notes in the darkened hall. This article was published in the first edition of 1998.