About The Charity
Did you know that there are three Charities, known collectively as Flitwick Combined Charities? The principal function of the Trustees is to provide Educational Grants and Relief in Need. These are for students who completed one year at University or in an apprenticeship and are about to start the second year, and whose home is in Flitwick. If you feel you qualify, apply for an application form. For Relief in Need please either download a form or use the contact us page to gain advice on how we can seek to provide support.
Do not be put off by the archaic names as two Charities called The Deacons Dole and The Poors Moor charities are ancient names and are retained for “sentimental” reasons as they date back to the 16th and 17th centuries. All the charities are still providing help today under the banner of Flitwick Combined Charities. The Deacons Dole arose from the Will of Thomas Deacon in 1725 and via a charge over a cottage at Denel End allowed 5/- per year for ever , to provide “bread for the poor people of Flitwick” The bread was at one time thrown from the upper windows of The Swan Inn at Church End and scrambled for. Later on it was distributed with more decorum by the Trustees. The Poors Moor charity was established in the 17th century and gave suitable inhabitants of the Parish the right to gather peat, turf and furze (dried bracken) from what is now Flitwick Moor. In 1983 the Moor was sold to the The Beds and Hunts Wildlife Trust and the proceeds invested. Both of these charities have modest investments and income but are retained for their ancient status. The major fund is The Town Lands Charity of which there are records going back as far as 1671. The Trust owned land at Denel End (off Steppingley Road and Windmill Road) which was sold off in the 1980’s and invested under the guidance of The Charity Commission and forms, by far, the greatest part of the invested funds.
A hundred years ago payments were for bread and fuel but now, under the Trust, are used for Educational Grants and Relief in Need. The former are paid once and the latter every year.
The current Trustees are Mr Paul Cranmer - Chair, Mrs Ann Lutley - Treasurer, Mrs Sheila Smith, Mrs Catherine Hursthouse and Revd Claire Harald. All Trustees are approved by Flitwick Town Council and are responsible to the Charity Commission.
Deadlines:
Next Trustee Meeting: 1st November, 2024
Student Grant Application Deadline: 30th September 2024
Relief in Need Deadline: 31st October 2024
If you have any other requests, they should be sent to any trustee in time for the next Trustee meeting.
Do not be put off by the archaic names as two Charities called The Deacons Dole and The Poors Moor charities are ancient names and are retained for “sentimental” reasons as they date back to the 16th and 17th centuries. All the charities are still providing help today under the banner of Flitwick Combined Charities. The Deacons Dole arose from the Will of Thomas Deacon in 1725 and via a charge over a cottage at Denel End allowed 5/- per year for ever , to provide “bread for the poor people of Flitwick” The bread was at one time thrown from the upper windows of The Swan Inn at Church End and scrambled for. Later on it was distributed with more decorum by the Trustees. The Poors Moor charity was established in the 17th century and gave suitable inhabitants of the Parish the right to gather peat, turf and furze (dried bracken) from what is now Flitwick Moor. In 1983 the Moor was sold to the The Beds and Hunts Wildlife Trust and the proceeds invested. Both of these charities have modest investments and income but are retained for their ancient status. The major fund is The Town Lands Charity of which there are records going back as far as 1671. The Trust owned land at Denel End (off Steppingley Road and Windmill Road) which was sold off in the 1980’s and invested under the guidance of The Charity Commission and forms, by far, the greatest part of the invested funds.
A hundred years ago payments were for bread and fuel but now, under the Trust, are used for Educational Grants and Relief in Need. The former are paid once and the latter every year.
The current Trustees are Mr Paul Cranmer - Chair, Mrs Ann Lutley - Treasurer, Mrs Sheila Smith, Mrs Catherine Hursthouse and Revd Claire Harald. All Trustees are approved by Flitwick Town Council and are responsible to the Charity Commission.
Deadlines:
Next Trustee Meeting: 1st November, 2024
Student Grant Application Deadline: 30th September 2024
Relief in Need Deadline: 31st October 2024
If you have any other requests, they should be sent to any trustee in time for the next Trustee meeting.
