In a recent post I mentioned “The Twelve Capital Burgesses and Commonalty of the Town and Parish of Sheffield in the County of York”.
This historic, if not convoluted title, is a charity now known as the Church Burgesses Trust, serving Sheffield for over 450 years, and religion played a big part in it coming to being.
If we go back to 1297, Thomas De Furnival, as Lord of the Manor of Sheffield, granted lands to the town’s freeholders, and for an annual rent, the lands provided funds to support a parish church and its priests, maintain local roads and bridges and to support individuals and worthy causes. The freeholders who administered the land and donation became known as the Town Trustees.
After Henry VIII’s death in 1547, his son, Edward VI, wanted England to remain a Protestant country and set about removing all traces of the Catholic faith and improve Royal finances. He seized land and property across the country, including that belonging to Sheffield, to which the town protested but to no avail.
When his half-sister, Queen Mary Tudor succeeded him, a petition was presented by William Taylor and Robert Swyft asking for the return of the lands. This she granted on 8 June 1554 in a royal charter which gave the land and property in trust to a new corporate body: “The Twelve Capital Burgesses and Commonalty of the Town and Parish of Sheffield in the County of York”.
Rental income from the lands was used to pay the stipends of three assistant priests at the parish church together with the costs of worship. Whatever was left over was to be used towards the repair of the church; repair of highways and bridges in Sheffield; and the relief of the poor and needy of the parish. Down the years the charity carefully stewarded the resources entrusted to it so that it now has annual disposable income of more than £1 million.
In addition to supporting Sheffield Cathedral (the former parish church), it puts money towards the building of churches and payments towards Anglican clergy stipends throughout Sheffield.
All Burgesses meet four times a year to consider the work and the business of the Trust. In between times, sub-committees meet to review applications for grants and to oversee the assets of the Trust, which comprise both property in Sheffield and stocks and shares. The Trust is led by the Capital Burgess, who is one of the twelve Burgesses appointed to serve for one year in the role of Chairman.
sheffielder.net 