BRISTOL MUNICIPAL CHARITIES
- ORCHARD STREET
BS1 5EQ BRISTOL, AVON
Phone: 0117 9300303
Fax: 0117 9253824
E-mail: Send messagewww.bristol-mc.co.uk
Short profile:
The Trustees of Bristol Municipal Charities were formed as a result of the Municipal Corporations (Reform) Act of 1835 and their first meeting was held in November 1836. They assumed responsibility for the administration of the Charities which, until that date, had been under the control of the Corporation of Bristol. Since then the administration of many other Charities has been taken over by the Trustees. The old charities were largely confined to the ancient City of Bristol, but by Orders of the Charity Commission, and in one instance by Act of Parliament, their benefits have been extended to the modern City boundaries and more recently to within a ten mile radius of the City Centre. One or two charities have countrywide application and a few extend their benefit areas into Gloucestershire and Somerset.
Detailed description:
The first Trustees were appointed by the Court of Chancery in 1836. Subsequent appointments were made by the Court of Chancery and then by the Charity Commissioners. In recent years this has been replaced by deeds of appointment, those retiring are released by the continuing Trustees and others appointed to take their place. The list of Trustees and the various Committees is included each year in the published accounts. A large part of the capital of the Charities was at one time invested in country property, but during the boom in agricultural land which followed the 1914?18 War, the Trustees sold over 4, 000 acres of land and the proceeds were invested largely in government securities. During the Second World War, 123 of the Trustees' properties sustained war damage, 33 being total losses.
Compensation for some of the damage was received from the War Damage Commission. After the war forty of the Trustees' properties were compulsorily acquired by the City under the City and County of Bristol Declaratory Order of 1947. This included sites in Wine Street area. Since the 1939?1945 War the Trustees have disposed of all the remaining country property and have reinvested the proceeds of sale in renovating or acquiring new City property. Old Market Street which was severed from the City Centre by the building of the inner ring road, suffered serious deterioration of a number of the Trustees' properties.
In the past, the Trustees met more frequently. Until 1950 their meetings were held weekly. The Trustees now meet monthly. The Homes & Grants Committee and the Investment Committee also meet on a monthly cycle.
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