The Springett Almshouses Trust

On the 17th March 1866, Eliza Springett established a Deed of Foundation for the building of Almshouses, in memory of her late husband John Springett and her late daughter Margaret Springett.

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On the 25th September 1871, Jesse Piper of Conghurst, Jesse Piper “the younger”, Edward Piper and Edward Young created an indenture which stated that they wished to convey four cottages, gardens and land to the use of four farmers, agricultural labourers or other single or married persons who are in “decayed” circumstances and have lived in the parish of Hawkhurst for at least ten years. The cottages and land were to be known as “The Springett Almshouses”. The sum of £3,070 was put into a trust fund, which was to be used for the building of further almshouses if possible, as well as providing a maintenance to the almspeople.

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The original terms and conditions of the trust are contained in a leather-bound book, much of which is beautifully hand-written. Almspeople could be removed from their home if they broke any one or more of a list of rules, including the keeping of a public house, gin shop or beer shop, or selling wines or ales, or if they displayed habitual drunkenness or displayed other disreputable conduct, kept disorderly hours, or in any way disturbed the peace and comfort of any of the other inhabitants.

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A weekly maintenance allowance was payable to the almspeople, initially set at 8 shillings per week, though this could be increased or decreased, depending upon the number of almspeople and funds available, having paid all other outgoings.

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The original trustees could be replaced by new trustees as and when necessary, subject to trustees being resident landowners of Hawkhurst. A mortgage in the amount of £3,100 was taken out through the Hastings Cottage Improvement Society, with the almshouses as collateral. This money was then invested and produced sufficient income to pay for all the maintenance and other expenses, including the weekly payments to the residents. At the first meeting of the new charity, held at the Sir Thomas Dunks School on 18th January 1873, it was decided to increase the amount payable to each resident from 8 shillings per week up to 9 shillings. Mrs Doubell was appointed as clerk and it was agreed to pay her £1 per year.

 

The first repairs were carried out to the almshouses in 1875, including a bill for £5 for painting and another bill for 15 pounds and 15 shillings for an iron fence to be erected. An annual trustee meeting was held, always on the 3rd Saturday in January. The first survey of the property was carried out in 1879, which  included discussion about the drainage. Later that year the drainage was apparently fixed, for £35. In addition a new roof was installed over the water closets. Also in 1879 was the first change in residents, when one of the four original residents moved on and was replaced by “Kemp and wife”. In 1880 various costs were incurred in relation to the provision of nursing care for two of the residents.

 

At the 1885 trustee meeting, it was agreed to increase the total sum insured for the almshouses from £500 to £1,000. The annual meetings continued to be held at Dunks, until 1899 when it was held for the first time at Victoria Hall (now the Kino cinema), but the following year the meeting was back at Dunks. Some of the names of the residents are names which are still familiar today – Rootes, Santer and Davis to name just three.

 

The long-standing treasurer of the charity Jesse Piper the younger died in 1906 and was replaced by Mr R. Piper. Up until this point, the charity’s investments were held in the names of individual trustees, but following the death of Jesse Piper, it was resolved to transfer at least some of the assets to the Charity Commissioners. A weekly allowance of 9 shillings per flat continued to be paid to the residents, but in 1912 it was agreed by trustees that residents who were eligible for the newly created Old Aged Pension Act of 1908 should receive a reduced weekly allowance from the charity of 4 shillings and 6 pence.

In June 1914 the mortgage that had been held since 1872 was paid off. Mrs Doubell had now been clerk to the charity for the past 42 years and had continued to be paid £1 a year. At the trustee meeting held in January 1915 she requested an increase of salary, but “after discussion it was resolved that the trustees did not consider that at the present time the circumstances of the case would justify any increase”.

By 1917 though, perhaps not surprisingly, Mrs Doubell had now vacated the position of clerk. However, her replacement was  also paid the same salary, of one pound per year. At the same 1917 meeting, it was decided that “so long as the war lasts, and the present high prices of the necessaries of life are maintained, the allowance to the almspeople should be increased by means of a bonus of one pound six shillings per quarter”.

 

An interesting note was included within the Minutes of 1922, stating that the vicar was authorised to “act in the case of emergency at the almshouses”. No further explanation was attached. In 1927 the vicar and two trustees met at the almshouses to discuss the possibility of running water being laid on. Up until this point in time, water was obtained through a hand pump.

 

In 1931 the trustees applied to the Charity Commissioners for permission to provide two additional almshouses and an architect was appointed, Mr H.J. Benians of Goudhurst, but this was postponed in 1932 for a further year. The following year Mr Davis the builders inspected the land on which it was proposed to build further almshouses and confirmed that it was suitable. The clerk was directed to arrange for an interview to take place between the trustees and the Charity Commissioners at their office in London in order to obtain permission to carry out the building work. The meeting duly took place and the trustees were given permission to proceed, provided that there was sufficient money left over after the new building had been paid for, in order to continue being able to give the residents a reasonable allowance, as well as the setting up of a fund to pay for extraordinary repairs. However, the trustees also decided at this time that they would discontinue the additional weekly payment made to residents that had been in place since 1917.

 

Five tenders were obtained for the building of two new almshouses, with the lowest tender coming from Mr J.T.E. Davis in the amount of 865 pounds 8 shillings and 5 pence. This tender was accepted by the trustees, which included Mr J.Davis as one of the trustees. At the same time, it was unanimously agreed that the existing four almshouses should be wired for electricity at the same time as the new almshouses were built. Quotes for the wiring were obtained and one was accepted in the amount of 26 pounds 7 shillings, plus an additional 15 pounds 6 shillings for the Weald Company to lay and connect the mains cable.

In 1953 the insurance cover was increased to £8,000. Each time that a flat became vacant, it is interesting to note that many applications were received to move in to the vacant flat and that it was usually couples, as opposed to single people, who wished to move in. At the February 1954 meeting, the treasurer alerted trustees to the fact that expenses were outstripping receipts and it was therefore proposed that the weekly amount payable to residents should be reduced to 6 shillings a week. This was agreed. Two years later this was further reduced to 5 shillings, due to a continuing overdraft, then in 1962 the trustees agreed to remove the weekly payments altogether.

 

Trustee meetings were by now taking place at least twice a year. In 1968 it was agreed to join the Almshouse Association, at an annual membership fee of £6. The following year the Association was consulted about the possibility of charging a rent from the residents and whether this should be means-tested. It was decided that the almshouses, which now constituted ten separate dwellings, should be updated, with bathrooms, toilets and kitchens. The outhouses would no longer be in use but were kept on as storage units for the residents. Due to the upheaval of modernising the flats, Dunks Almshouses agreed that they could temporarily accommodate residents from Springetts as each flat was worked upon. A new Scheme of Government for Springetts was suggested by the Charity Commissioners and the trustees started to work upon putting this into effect. Minutes of meetings were now being typed for the first time, with the typed page being glued in to the Minutes book.

 

The weekly rent in 1975 was increased from £3.50 to £4 per flat. The buildings insurance had now risen to £100,000. The Almshouse Association gave each resident a Christmas gift of some sweets. A Cyclical Maintenance Fund was established to deal with regular maintenance costs. In December 1976 it was decided to have the loft spaces insulated and the water tanks lagged. Two years later the old outhouses behind the buildings were demolished and the area tidied up.

 

Local estate agents Geeting & Colyer approached the almshouses in 1978 to say that Avards Farm were offering to sell a piece of land approximating two thirds of an acre to the almshouses. However, the trustees decided that as there was little likelihood of the land ever being developed, the trustees weren’t interested. Three years later the trustees considered their response to two planning applications for development of the same land, one being for eight houses and the other being for ten light industrial units. The trustees decided to object. In 1984 TWBC refused planning permission for any development.

 

Gas central heating was installed throughout the buildings in 1988. The insurance value was increased to £300,000. In 1989, a developer of the Avards farmland approached the charity to ask if a deal could be reached regarding the developer providing some land for the exclusive parking of Springetts residents, in return for a different piece of land currently owned by the charity.  In any case, planning permission was refused again in 1990. Weekly rents were raised to £17 per flat. The stair-lift was installed.

 

Planning permission was finally granted in 1993 for what was to become the Avards Close development. The trustees were happy to accept an offer by the developers of a fence and gate.

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The leather-bound Minutes book which was mentioned at the beginning of this history, stretches from 1866-1995. All the above information has been gleaned from that one book. The subsequent Minutes, from 1995 onwards, are preserved in a variety of different formats, including electronically.