Charities
Most towns and rural villages have a number of local charities set up to help the sick and needy, dating back to a time before the provision of state benefits such as pensions, free education, or access to free medical treatment. Chelveston is no exception.
Click on the links below to see details of the Charities that operate (or operated) within the parish.
Active Charities
There are a number of active local charities operating in the Parish. The Parish Council has the right to appoint or nominate Trustees to most of these.
For more information on the general working of charities, please check the Charity Commission website for details.
- The Charity of James and Thomas Sawyer (created 1708).
Set up by the Will of James, and his son Thomas, Sawyer. Originally providing 4 almshouses in Chelveston, the modern charity now provides funds for those in distress within the parishes of Chelveston and Raunds.
- Educational Foundation of Abigail Bailey and Ann Levett (created 1760)
Originally set up by two ladies from South Derbyshire to fund schooling for the parish, the modern charity operates the village hall and provides educational grants.
- Friends of St John the Baptist Church (created 2010)
Set up to provide funds for maintenance, repairs and improvements to the fabric of the St John the Baptist Church.
- Chelveston Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund Trust (created 2014)
This trust was set up to distribute funds from the Chelveston Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund to the four parishes in which the Wind Farm site lies - Chelveston-cum-Caldecott, Dean & Shelton, Hargrave, and Melchbourne & Yelden.
- Michael and Christine Foulger Charitable Trust (created 2015)
Set up by the Will of the late Michael Foulger, this charity provides funding to the four beneficiary organisations - The Parish Council, the Parochial Church Council of St John the Baptist Church, the Educational Foundation that owns and operates the Village Hall, and, until its disbandment in 2024, the Chelveston branch of the Women's Institute
Closed Charities
Thomas Neale's Charity for the poor & needy (1765 - 2003).
Thomas Neale in his Will (dated 5 January 1765) left a legacy of £20, the income from which was to be distributed on Christmas Day at the church by the minster and Churchwardens to the poorest and most necessitous people of the parish. By 1849 the income was 20s (£1) per year, dropping to 12s (60p) in 1937. The charity was wound up in 2003 and has been removed from the register of charities.
George Wyldes's Charity for the provision of coals for poor widows (1931 - 2003)
George Wyldes [1846-1931] was a farmer & wheelwright in Chelveston, recorded at Top Farm from 1890-1914. Prior to this he had been a farmer in Newton Bromswold in 1881. In 1890 he was also recorded as the Assessor of Taxes for this parish.
His Will (dated 8 November 1929 and proved 26 March 1931) provided £75 to be invested and required that 2/3rds of the income derived went toward the maintenance of the church, whilst the remaining 1/3rd be spent on providing coals for the poor widows of the parish. The charity was wound up in 2003 and has been removed from the register of charities.
Chelveston Village Hall Association (1977 – 2010).
The charity was created to run a new village hall in the former school rooms, following the closure of the school and the demise of the Village Institute (see below). The Association charity leased the school rooms from the Educational Foundation charity (who owned the building). In 2010, following several years of problems between the two charities, the parishioners requested the task of running a village hall be transferred to the Educational Foundation alone, and the Association charity was wound up and has been removed from the register of charities.
Chelveston Village Institute (1980 - 1997).
The charity was actually created in order to sell off the former Village Institute land, after it had collapsed in the snow of March 1970. When the committee decided to sell off the land, they discovered there was no formal body that held the title to the land. Advice from the Charity Commission was to create a new charity, which would accept and register the assets of the committee and could then legally sell the land. The charity was wound up in 1997 and has been removed from the register of charities.