THE LANGFORD LEGACY HISTORY

The Langford Charities provide a long lasting Legacy

An historical introduction by Mark Smith

The Langford Charities have sought to provide assistance to those most in need in the parish.  Their history goes back hundreds of years.

Historically charitable bequests were made to the poor of the village by members of wealthier families such as the Broderwicks and Pruneses.  These took the form of endowments and one off donations, such as Mary Prunes who died in 1610, and ordered the distribution of £20 worth of meat and drink at her funeral and a further £20 in cash to be distributed to the poor of Langford, Little Faringdon and Grafton.

Land and social reforms in the early 19^th Century affected Langford residents, in particular those that made a living form grazing and farming common land and smaller plots of farmland.  There were various acts of enclosure passed across the country in which small, often spread out plots of farmland and pasture were re-grouped to provide larger more economical fields. These were more often than not occupied by the larger more influential farmers and landowners.  This resulted in tenant farmers, and those that had previously made a living off the common land being displaced and reduced to working for the larger landholders. Enclosure came to Langford in 1808 and the parish was allocated a 4 acre plot along the Broughton Poggs road as an allotment area, this was divided up into smaller plots that were rented to villagers. This allotment scheme is still very much part of the Langford charity and provides an income each year to the charity from the rents.

In general the costs of supporting poorer members of the community fell on the parishes and various rates were levied on those wealthier in order to cover the costs of such relief.  This expenditure varied in accordance with the economic climate and given that Langford was an agricultural area any down turns soon impacted on the poor.  Various acts of parliament were passed nationally to address the issues of poor relief.  In 1834 responsibility for Langford’s poor was passed to the new Faringdon poor-law union, this existed alongside the charity as support for those most at need in the community. 

The current Langford charities are an amalgamation of the Langford coal charities, the ‘Poor’s allotment’, and Robert Day’s charity.

Robert Day bequeathed the sum of £100 in his will when he died in 1869, this was to be administered by the vicar and churchwarden of Langford and was for the purchase and distribution of coal to be divided equally among 12 widows and widowers selected by the vicar and churchwarden on or around the 23^rd of January, each and every year. The charity was enhanced some years later in 1960 by a donation from Miss Edith Hobbs who left the sum of £300 in her will.

The United Charities as of 1915 were administered by a group of five trustees, one of whom was normally the current vicar of the parish. Appointments were for a term of four years and at least two meetings had to be held during the year, the minimal attendance being two trustees.  At such meetings the accounts and other business was discussed in order to comply with the requirements of the Charity Commission.

The charity has had to change with the times and in 1992 it was agreed by the trustees that the Robert Day charity would amalgamate with the Langford United Charities to form the charity that we know today.  This amalgamation was for ‘broadening the purpose from the distribution of coal to the provision of financial help in meeting the cost of heating and lighting to those most in need.’ This amalgamation proposal was submitted to the Charities Commissioners and was agreed the following year.

In 2022 the trustees decided it want to make the Charity more approachable and rebooted the fund as The Langford Legacy which provides a better description of its origins and purpose.

Legacy Documents

This document archive includes key registration documents that date back to the 1800’s, a Cash Book covering the years 1845 – 1988 and various Meeting Minutes and Accounts.

Its a electronic document archive of all the physical documents that are held by The Langford Legacy – and are able to be put in the public domain.

No attempt has been made to do anything other than scan the documents and host them on this page

Stephen Kemp – 26Jan94 Stephen Kemp – 26Jan94 (2) Stephen Kemp – 22Sep93 Stephen Kemp – 21Sep93 Stephen Kemp – 15Nov92 Stephen Kemp – 8Feb93 Stephen Kemp – 6Jul93 Stephen Kemp – 3Mar94

Stephen Kemp – 2Aug93 Robery Day Charity – Annual Return – 24May94 Robert Day Charity Robert Day Charity – Asset Transfer – 22Dec92 Robert Day Charity – Accounts to 31Dec93 Robert Day Charity – Accounts to 31Dec92 Robert Day Charity – 22Dec92 Robert Day Charity – 6Apr93

Robert Day Charity – 6Apr93 (2) Robert Day Charity – 24Sep 1869 Rev C G Wodehouse – 2 April 1900 Resolutions – 22Dec92 Press Clippings on Water and Power Costs – Jan88 Note about White Crops on the Allotments – cant date Langford Parish Council – 21Jul92 Langford Coal Charity – Statement of Account with Lloyds – 31Dec70

Langford Coal Charity – Meeting Minutes – 18Jul85 Langford Coal Charity – Lloyds Statements 71-72 Langford Coal Charity – Accounts to 31Dec77 Langford Coal Charity – Accounts 63-77 Langford Coal Charity – 1914 Langford Coal Charity – 25 May1897 Langford Coal Charity – 15 June 1897 Langford Coal Charities – 19Sep93

Langford Coal Charities – 11Aug93 Langford Coal Charities – 2Jul15 Langford Charity Cash Book 1956 – 1988 Langford Charity Cash Book 1924 – 1955 Langford Charity Cash Book 1858 – 1923 Langford Charity Cash Book 1845 – 1857 Langford Charity Cash Book – Addenda Land Compulsory Purchase – 22 September 1897

Extract – Will of Miss E M Hobbs – 16May61 Charity of Unknown Donor – Registration Application – 10Nov94 Charity Commission Annual Return – 24Nov93 Charity Commission – 30 July 1897 Charity Commission – 29 July 1897 Charity Commission – 28Jul93 Charity Commission – 26Jan93 Charity Commission – 22Oct93

Charity Commission – 21Jul93 Charity Commission – 20Jul93 Charity Commission – 19Jul93 Charity Commission – 19Jan94 Charity Commission – 18Nov92 Charity Commission – 18 February 1937 Charity Commission – 15May14 Charity Commission – 15Apr14

Charity Commission – 14Apr94 Charity Commission – 2May14 Charity Commission – 1st March 1937 Allotments – Supervision – 25Sep93 Allotments – Rent Notice – 13Mar95 Allotments – Rent Increase – Apr93 Allotment Availability – 25Jan94 United Charities

United Charities Meeting Minutes – 8Dec93 United Charities – Trustees Meeting – 5Aug92 United Charities – Registration Application – 10Nov94 United Charities – Meeting Minutes – 26May92 United Charities – Meeting Minutes – 11Aug93 United Charities – Meeting Minutes – 9Dec92 United Charities – Meeting Minutes – 7Oct92 United Charities – Meeting Minutes – 6Oct93

United Charities – Meeting Agenda – 3Feb93 United Charities – Annual Return12Aug93 United Charities – Annual Return – 18May94 United Charities – Accounts to 31Dec93 United Charities – Accounts to 31Dec92 United Charities – 21Jul93 United Charities – 19Apr93 To the Charity Commission – 5May14

United Charities – Meeting Minutes – 5Aug92 United Charities – Meeting Minutes – 3Feb93 United Charities – Meeting Agenda – 26May92 United Charities – Meeting Agenda – 9Dec92 United Charities – Meeting Agenda – 8Dec93 United Charities – Meeting Agenda – 7Oct92 United Charities – Meeting Agenda – 6Oct93 United Charities – Meeting Agenda – 5Aug92

Thames Water – Services Quotation – 7Oct93 Thames Water – Application for New Supply – Jun-Sep93 Stephen Kemp – Notes on Allotments – 15Aug89 Stephen Kemp – Charity Amalgamation – 25Nov92 Stephen Kemp – Charity Amalgamation – 16Nov92