RICHARD WATTS AND THE CITY OF ROCHESTER ALMSHOUSE CHARITIES

CH46

c.1579-2005

fonds

During 1978 and 1979 Mrs. Alison Cresswell of the Kent Archives Office catalogued the original charity deposit and two smaller additional deposits. The remainder of the collection, however, remained uncatalogued until June 2007, when the Charities employed Dr.James M. Gibson to re-catalogue the entire collection, including all previous deposits and all pre-1977 records still in the administrative offices of the Charities. With the assistance of Dr. Helen Wicker between January 2014 and August 2015 this comprehensive catalogue of the records of the Richard Watts Charity and the City of Rochester Almshouse Charitiees was completed in 2017. With the assistance of Dr. Helen Wicker between January 2014 and August 2015 this comprehensive catalogue of the records of the Richard Watts Charity and the City of Rochester Almshouse Charitiees was completed in 2017.

The archive catalogue can be searched via the Richard Watts Charity website (under 'History'): https://www.richardwatts.org.uk/. Please contact archives@medway.gov.uk to make an appointment to view material. The Richard Watts Charity was established in 1579. Other contemporary charities in the City of Rochester included the Charity of Robert Gunsley in 1618, the Charity of Sir John Hayward in 1635, the Charity of Arthur Brooker in 1675, and the Charity of Sir Richard Head in 1689. In the 18th century the medieval St. Catherine’s Hospital was further endowed by the Charity of Robert Bailey in 1752, the Charity of William Fruin in 1778, the Charity of Joseph Wilcocks in 1788, and the Charity of Thomas Tomlyn in 1790, and in the early 19th century by further gifts from Susannah Kettle ina 1816 and Susanna Day in 1820. Until the 19th century the Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Rochester had for the most part administered these charities through their ancient officer the Provider for the Poor and through the Committee for Charitable Uses established in 1693. Although the beneficial area was originally concentrated on the Parish of St. Nicholas, Rochester, in 1680 a High Court of Chancery decree divided the charitable receipts of the Richard Watts Charity into 30 parts and assigned 6/30ths to the parish of St. Margaret’s, Rochester and 4/30ths to the parish of Strood. A further High Court of Chancery decree in 1828 divided the charity’s receipts into 32 parts and awarded the additional 2/32nds to the part of the parish of Chatham that lieswithin the boundaries of the City of Rochester, an area known as Chatham Intra. Following the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 and another order of the High Court of Chancery on 14 December 1836, the Trustees of the Rochester Municipal Charities were established to administer many of these Rochester charities that had formerly been administered by the Mayor and Aldermen, including the Charity of John Hayward, the Charity of Arthur Brooker, the Charity of Robert Bayley, the Charity of Thomas Tomlyn, and the Charity of William Fruin. Following lengthy legal proceedings the considerable assets of the Richard Watts Charity were also transferred to the Rochester Municipal Charities by yet another order of the High Court of Chancery dated 14 July 1855. During the 20th century additional local charities were brought under their control, while others passed into the control of independent trustees. In 1955, the Chatham Intra Charity of Richard Watts was transferred to the Trustees of the Rochester Municipal Charities. In 1966, the newly established William Mantle Trust also became the responsibility of the Trustees of the Rochester Municipal Charities. However, in 1959, the charities of Robert Bayley, William Fruin, and Thomas Tomlyn were transferred to the St. Catherine’s Hospital Charities, and in 1965 the Arthur Brooker Charity was divided into the Arthur Brooker Charity for Bread and the Arthur Brooker Charity for Sermon, the former transferred to The Vicar and Churchwardens of St. Nicholas, Rochester and the latter eventually discontinued in 1993. Finally, in 1977 a new, comprehensive Charity Commission scheme dissolved the Rochester Municipal Charities and vested the administration of the Rochester almshouse charities in a new body known as the Richard Watts and the City of Rochester Almshouse Charities. In his will dated 22 August 1579, Richard Watts directed that the annual rents and interest from his estate should be expended in the provision of materials to enable the poor to work, and for the expansion and upkeep of the almshouse beside the market cross in the High Street. The almshouse was to offer overnight accommodation for six poor travellers, who would also each receive a stipend of fourpence upon leaving the next day. In addition, an agreement dated 1615 established that 16 poor children would be educated in the almshouse. In 1858, new almshouses were built in Maidstone Road to house ten men and ten women, five of whom were to be nurses who would provide a nursing service for the almshouses as well as generally for the poor of Rochester. The Nursing Service was extended in 1858 when the Charity provided £4,000 for building St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, New Road, Rochester. Although the establishment of the National Health Service in the 20th century rendered the provision of private nursing care redundant, the Charity continued to provide care and assistance in the community in the form of outpensions, home help, and gardening services. In 1979 the charity added 11 bungalows to the Maidstone Road site, followed in 1994 by a block of 14 flats known as Donald Troup House. In 1983 the charity also acquired the adjacent Reeves House in Watts Avenue, providing an additional seven flats.