This Charity dated back to the enclosure of the land in England.                              Reg. Charity No: 217321     

 

The ‘HORSINGTON AWARD’ is dated 1775 and there is a special paragraph that deals with the herbage of the roads it states:

‘And we do order and direct that the grass or herbage in and upon several public roads in the said Manor and Parish of Horsington except the public road passing through the lands allotted Richard Elmhirst shall at all times hereafter be vested in the Overseer or Overseers of the Poor of the said Parish of Horsington and their successors for the time being in trust for the said poor, and that the said roads shall be occupied and depastured with milk cows and calves by the said poor only, and the said road shall not be stocked or depastured with any other cattle or stock whatsoever, and that the overseer shall take care that the said poor shall provide and find a proper person to attend and keep the said cows and calves from doing any damage and if the said cattle shall be found grazing the roads without proper person to attend them they shall be liable to be impounded.’

 

In 1993 the PCC transferred the documents and books from the Parish Chest and deposited them in the Lincolnshire Archives. The items included the vestry account books dating from 1682 – 1891, which contained accounts of the Vestry meetings held over this period. 

These meetings were called mainly to settle the concerns of the poor and there are numerous references to the applications made by the poor of the parish for permission to graze livestock on the lanes. 

This practice continued well into the late 1920’s when TB in cattle led to a change in farming practices and the demise of the House cow.

At this point a Charity was formed and the grass was let for hay.  The income from the lettings was used to buy groceries, milk and coal for the needy of the Parish.  Account books exist dating from 1934 – 1953 that lists the income from rent of the lanes, rent paid by the Drainage Commissioners and the amount of charity paid out.

 

The charity lapsed for a few years in the mid eighties when the main trustee suddenly left the village and the record books disappeared.  A new board of Trustees was formed in 1994 when the Parish Council was formed and the verges were let every year to be mown for hay.  The income was used for the benefit of the parishioners.  

 

The Charity has once again closed due to the loss of width because of the planting of trees on the Verges by LCC and the amount of litter dropped from cars making it unsafe for farmers to feed the Hay to livestock. 

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Compiled by Lynne Needham