For Wargrave Local History Society’s May meeting, the history of the Polehampton Trust was recounted by Andrew Cardy and James Fort – both having previously been its chairman.
The charitable trust owes its existence to the will of Edward Polehampton, who had died in 1722.
Although the name Polehampton is well-known in Twyford, surprisingly little is known about Edward himself. It would appear that he was born in about 1650, although his birthplace is not recorded.
The legend is that as a nine-year-old Edward was making his way to London in freezing cold weather to seek his fortune when he was found on the doorstep of the Rose and Crown public house in Twyford. The landlord took him in and cared for him, before Edward continued his journey.
He became a painter – especially of carriages, completing his apprenticeship in 1676 and joining the Worshipful Company of Painters and Stainers – an old City Livery Company.
His business was clearly successful, taking on apprentices by the 1680s but little is known of his private life.
Edward made his will on July 27, 1721, leaving a large part of his assets to the benefit of the people of Twyford. His assets included property in various places, including Smithfield, in the City of London, Hampton, and parcels of land at Twyford.
He provided for a schoolmaster to be paid £40 per year to teach 10 poor boys, up to the age of 15. Edward died in 1722, but High Court legal proceedings into the 19th century meant little happened other than the.
In 1885, the distinguished lawyer Sir Henry Verey set about getting Parliament to pass the Polehampton Estates Act, which gave the charity a proper legal basis upon which to work, and setting out how it was to be run.
The Victorian school building on Trust land provided education for boys up to 13, and remained in use until the early 1970s.
In 2012, it was suggested that the old Polehampton Boys’ School be adapted to be a village library, and that project is nearly completed.
Apart from that, the trustees are able to distribute funds for the benefit of the people of Twyford, making grants under three categories. Firstly to help those in need in a time of crisis; secondly, grants are made for educational purposes, either to the schools – Polehampton Infants, Polehampton Juniors, the Colleton School and The Piggott School, or to individual students to buy books or a computer; and thirdly grants is to community groups in Twyford, Ruscombe and Charvil, such as the village football teams, the Brownies or the local branch of Age Concern.
For more information about the society, visit our website at https://www.wargravehistory.org.uk
PETER DELANEY
