TETLOW’S
CHARITY
John Tetlow, of
Cross, by his will, bearing date August 10, 1704, gave, after the
decease of his wife, all the land which he had purchased from John
Cooper, to the poor of the town of Oldham, for ever, the yearly profits
thereof to be disposed of by the then Minister of Oldham, and the yearly
Churchwarden and Overseers of the Poor of the town of Oldham. The
child of some poor necessitous parents to be yearly bound apprentice to
some sufficient trade or calling, and the overplus to be given yearly to
the poor of the said town, on St. Thomas's day, for ever.
An Indenture, dated October 23, 1724, declared, that
John Chadwick stood seized of the four closes of John Tetlow, lying near
Broadway-lane, for the use of Alice Buckley for life, and after her
decease for the use of the Minister, Churchwarden, and Overseers of the
Poor of the township of Oldham, and their successors, for ever, for the
purposes expressed in the will of John Tetlow. On the 24th May,
1735, the Rev Samuel Townson, then Curate of Oldham, and the then
Churchwarden and Overseers, leased the closes comprised in the will of
the said John Tetlow, to John Wallwork, for the term of 1000 years, at
the clear rent, payable to the said Curate, Churchwarden, and Overseers,
and their successors, of £4 per annum, and an additional rent of £1
1s. at the end of every twenty-one years, to be applied in the manner
directed in Mr. Tetlow’s will. The Trustees of the Poor's Field
Charity, however, considered this arrangement a most disadvantageous one
for the recipients of Tetlow's bounty, and in the year 1736 they agreed
- with the consent of the Curate, Churchwarden, and Overseers - for the
purchase of the residue of the said term of 1000 years in the said
lands, from the parties then interested in the lease, namely, Thomas
Birley, Richard Bains, and Isabella Lawson, for £130, being money
accumulated out of the rents of the Poor’s Field; the said Curate,
Churchwarden, and Overseers to receive the rents and profits of the said
premises, and dispose of the same amongst the poor, as desired by the
donor. This sale was effected February 28th, 1785.
By the award of the Commissioners, for inclosing the
waste lands of Oldham, in 1804, a plot of land, upon North Moor,
containing 3r. 6p. was allotted to the Trustees of this Charity, under
the name of Street’s Charity. The Trustees, appointed in 1804, were
the same as those appointed for the Poor’s Field Charity. On the 29th
of May, 1833, another appointment of Trustees took place, the following
gentlemen being elected: - Robert Gregg Hopwood, Esq., James Starkie,
Esq., Peter Heron, Esq., John Taylor, Esq., George Gee, Esq., Harry
Heron, Esq., James Rowland, Esq., William Jones, Esq., Andrew Schofield,
Esq., John Lancashire, Esq., Jonathan Hague, Esq., James Lees, Esq.,
Greenbank, James Lees, Esq., Clarksfield; and Horatio Nelson, Esq. The
first five of these gentlemen have since died. It does not appear that
there has been any conveyance of the freehold interest in these lands,
since the levying of the fine in 1724.
The property constituting this Charity consists of a
farmhouse and outbuildings, a cottage and three closes, formerly four
(the Lower-field and the Clough having been added together) in the
township of Oldham, adjoining a lane, called Honeywell-lane, near
Broadway-lane, containing nearly five acres, customary measure of seven
yards to the perch, occupied at a fair rent (1826) of £30 per annum,
and it now lets for £27, deducting income tax. The expenses of repairs
of the buildings are defrayed out of the rents. An allotment on North
Moor, containing 3r. 6p. statue measure, is in the occupation of the
Messrs. Rowland, as yearly tenants, at a rent of £3 per annum,
The principal object of this benefactor was the
apprenticing of poor children, which is done occasionally, as
applications are made to the trustees. The whole of the clear rents, and
the residue of those of the Poor's Field Charity, after the payment to
Royton, are laid out by the Overseers in the purchase of blankets,
linen, and calico, which are distributed on St. Thomas' day, amongst
poor persons of the township of Oldham, recommended by the principal
inhabitants. One general account is kept of the receipts and
disbursements of this and the Poor's Field Charity, and of the names of
the poor persons that participate in the distribution.
In the year 1849 a sum of
£140 was received by the late incumbent of Oldham, the Rev. Mr
Fallowfield, for a small quantity of coal got from under the estate.
This sum was placed out at interest by the trustees, and at five per
cent produces now £7 per annum to the charity. On St. Thomas’s day
last, the Trustees voted £70 to be distributed amongst the recipients
of the two charities - Poor's Field and Tetlow’s - and that sum was
given to each according to their respective proportions.
