Hyde & Mossop Charity

Brief History of the Charity

The Charity of Rev. John Mossop and Rachel Hyde has been in existence for a long time. The Rachel Hyde Charity was founded in 1707. This involved four cottages in Sutton St. Mary

being left to the village, the rents to be used for educational purposes. (Two cottages unaccounted for). The remaining two cottages were sold in 1944 with the money being

invested in Treasury Stocks the interest from which was drawn annually.

The Rev. John Mossop Charity was founded in 1833 in which a three-acre field situated along Cross Road, Langtoft was left to the Parishes of Langtoft and Baston. The yearly rent is

shared equally between the two villages.

The two Charities were merged in 1892 and registered with the Charity Commission. This new and amalgamated Charity was administered by four Trustees (now five). The original

Trustees in 1892 were the Rev. Henry Holden, Mr. Henry Atter (Churchwarden), Mr. George Peasgood and Mr. Joseph Frank.

The money from the Charity was originally administered on St. Thomas’s Day. “Books were given as prizes to the children and gifts of cash to the poor and needy”.

In the mid 1960’s the position held by the Churchwarden was reviewed by the Charity Commission and it was decided the position should be held by two people nominated by the

Parish Council, each for a four-year period. The other Trustees, the Vicar and two co-opted residents of Langtoft (each for a five year period), remained the same.

The current trustees are: Reverend Carolyn Bailey, Mrs. Debbie Hallam, Mrs. Sarah Castley, Mrs. Velma Denniston and Mrs. Diane Valentine. The Clerk is Mrs. Yvonne McCulloch.

Nowadays the charity provides token gifts to the village primary school leavers (Y6) in the summer, and token gifts to nominated senior members of the village at Christmas.

The money from the original 1944 sale of the two cottages is now invested in fixed interest securities via the Blackrock Charinco Fund for charities and the field is still let.

The Charity has a small regular income from these investments but relies on donations from local organisations to maintain the level of gifts distributed.