Mrs Martha Lovibond gave £750 in 4% Bank Annuities for “educating and clothing the poor chidren of the parish whose parents are members of the Church of England”. The Rector of Hadleigh and the Archdeacon of Essex were appointed trustees and the charity was to be known as the Hadleigh (Essex) Sunday School Fund despite the fact that it was not just a Sunday school. The fund was intended firstly for instruction but the remaining sum was to be spent providing warm clothing for the children at Christmas.
Living in harsh conditions, by modern day standards, many of the Hadleigh villagers must have been enthusiastic about Mrs Lovibond`s school especially since she offered cloaks, bonnets, ribbons and shoes. According to Mrs Lovibond herself the school began life with eighty pupils. The amount of clothing given at Christmas depended on the dividends accruing from the stock but among the items distributed were coarse straw hats, garter blue ribbons, warm grey cloth cloaks, flannel petticoats, worsted stockings and shoes. In 1821 Mrs Belcham provided nearly £8 worth of cloaks. William Greenham, the grocer, was responsible for hats, woollens and ribbons in the early days and Mrs Prentice provided bonnets. Shoes were obtainable from various shoemakers including William Rod of Rayleigh and William Summers and John Foster of Hadleigh. Thus it was not only the children of the parish who were helped by Mrs Lovibond`s money.
The teacher, appointed by the Rector, was to work under the direction of the Rector for six hours every Saturday and was to instruct in reading and spelling. On Sundays he was supposed to give religious instruction by catechism. Mrs Lovibond also insisted on no corporal punishment but that rewards should be given for punctual attendance and good conduct at school and church. Every child was given the use of a Common Prayer Book and on leaving, if there had been one year`s regular attendance a child would receive a bible.
The first teacher appointed was Swan, the parish clerk, and, unhappily, by 1824 Mrs Lovibond had cause to regret this appointment. In March 1824 the Archdeacon of Essex received a letter from Elijah Barwell Impey, Martha`s brother, to whom she had written complaining bitterly of events in Hadleigh. Elijah quotes his sister at length. It seems that the new curate had reduced the number of pupils from eighty to twenty. The clothes were being given wrongly to those who attended near Christmas (deliberately) instead of to the regular attenders. Martha is also greatly disenchanted with Swan, “master of that plausibility that secured him the place”. She admits he had been initially successful but was now in need of more vigilant superintendance. His duties had been “greatly neglected since our residence” and he had stopped instruction. His salary was £3.. 5s per quarter. The School Accounts in 1825 show that the complaint had paid off as a new teacher, Rawlins had taken over.
The Curate who appears to have taken much of the blame at this unhappy time was none other than the Rev. J.F.Squire, the very man who had written such praise for Mrs Lovibond in the parish register. A close study of the School Accounts Book reveals that one or two pages have been cut out from the year 1827. On the next whole page the following note has been written and signed by Archdeacon Jones,
“These leaves contained some very improper remarks of Mr Squire, the late Curate, and were cut out by my direction.”
What a shame. Had the pages been left we would have learned a little more perhaps and had an unusual insight into the character of the Curate.
Despite these teething problems and the absentee Rector [see John Mavor], the school survived and grew. By 1829 the bill for cloaks had risen to 10 guineas. The next teacher was William Gardiner, first mentioned in the Account Book in September 1828 and he stayed until his death in 1837, longer than any of the previous teachers. His will shows he lived in a moderately comfortable manner. He left small sums of money totalling £150 to his wife, his son and six grandchildren and several good pieces of furniture, silver spoons and a quantity of books.
Reports: More about Mrs Lovibond in the Archive
READING MERCURY Mon. 1 Apr 1793 +
BATH CHRONICLE & WEEKLY GAZETTE Thurs. 28 Mar. 1793
MARRIAGES
George Lovibond Esq. ; nephew to the late Lord Viscount Boyne to Miss Impey, daughter of Sir Elijah Impey
MORNING POST Mon. 4 Jun 1810
The undernamed FREEHOLDERS of the COUNTY of MIDDLESEX have signed the Declaration agreed to at the Freemasons` Tavern, on the 16th of May, and which has already been published in this Paper.
G. Lovibond, Manchester-sq [among several hundred signatures]
MORNING POST Mon. 13 Feb. 1815
Mrs Lovibond gives a ball and supper on Wednesday next, the 15th of February. [This is included in a long list of society engagements]
MORNING CHRONICLE Tues. 28 Jan 1817
DIED
At Bath, on the 21st instant, George Lovibond Esquire, of Manchester Square, London.
MORNING CHRONICLE Mon. 24 Nov. 1817
FASHIONABLE CHANGES
G.T.M. Lovibond Esq., Mrs Lovibond, from town, on their way to Madeira.[among a list of high society individuals and families]
MORNING CHRONICLE Weds. 29 Jul. 1818
DIED
On the 2nd instant, at Funchal, Island of Madeira, in the 21st year of her age, to the inexpressible grief of her surviving parent and brother, fondly regretted by all who were intimately acquainted with her, Harriet Catherine, only daughter of the late George Lovibond Esq., of Manchester Square.
Parish Register of Hadleigh – Baptisms and Burials 1767-1812 – last page
In the year of our Lord 1821 Mrs Martha Lovibond, formerly a Resident of this Parish very munificently gave in her life-time the sum of 750£ 4per cent Stock – producing 30£per ann: for the purpose of educating and clothing the poor children of the parish, appointing the Archdeacon of Essex and the Rector, Trustees for ever of the said Charity, at the same time like a true Xtian declining to have her name introduced by being painted on the walls of the church or otherwise – But that so excellent an example might not be altogether lost, the present Curate has thought it fit to insert this Memento.
John Franklin Squire Hadleigh August 4th 1821
More information about Mrs Martha Lovibond is included here.
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