FAMILY


‘‘There is also the £2,500 Rudston Bursary awarded in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University to a newly qualified primary school teacher who is beginning their career at a local Rotherham school. ’’


This year’s recipient is former Wales High School student, Hannah Jones, who has begun a physics degree at Collingwood College at the University of Durham.


The second is the Feoffees Scholarship which is awarded to a student who is going to study English, history or a foreign language at university. This year’s recipient is Cora Lancashire who went to Thomas Rotherham College and is now studying history at the University of York.


There is also the £2,500 Rudston Bursary awarded in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University to a newly qualified primary school teacher who is beginning their career at a local Rotherham school. Split over three years, the bursary supports new teachers in the first few years of their career.


Last year’s recipient, Poppy Bowen-Green said: “I never for a moment imagined I would be completing my NQT year during a global pandemic. Undoubtedly, this year has taught me so much that I will take forward in my future years of teaching.


“The funding provided from the Rudston Bursary by the Feoffees has helped me greatly in my first year of teaching. I used some of the funds to purchase a large supply of books for my classroom in the hope of encouraging ‘Reading for Pleasure’ with my class. During lockdown, the funds also enabled me to purchase resources to use with my key worker and vulnerable children who remained at school.”


The Feoffees are also hoping to launch two new apprenticeship awards over the coming year to support young people who are learning in a work-based environment.


“It is important to us that we are supporting young people across the education spectrum. The scholarship recipients who are going off to university may never come back to Rotherham, so we also make a conscious effort to award those who do choose to find employment within the local area, too,” says John Bingham, another feoffee.


Along with regular awards, the trustees also help organisations on an ad-hoc basis and this May they donated a sum of money to Crossroads Care Rotherham to help their fellow charity continue to support local carers affected by Covid-19.


Through the plague to the pandemic, the Feoffees of the Common Lands of Rotherham continue to work not for them, but for everyone.


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Feoffees Established in the 14th


The History of the


century, The Feoffees of the Common Lands of Rotherham was initially devised to control and police the common lands, that being land which anyone could gain access to graze their stock.


Over time, they accumulated other land and premises which they rented out and the income from which they used to distribute back into the community. A large part of medieval Rotherham was owned by the monks of Rufford Abbey who had links to the Feoffees. When King Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of the monasteries in 1538, the Feoffees had their powers and the common lands confiscated; an abrupt end to what had been 300 years of monastic control in the town. However, all was not lost. When Elizabeth I came to the throne 20 years later, she permitted the Feoffees to recommence their charitable work and awarded them the Royal Charter in 1589. For the next 300 years, the Feoffees were responsible for the town’s water supply, health, welfare, defence, law and order, archery butts and distributing ale and beer. They paid for constables, plague pits to be dug, the town jail and hangings. They also ran the grammar school and the later charity school and maintained the Chapel on the Bridge. The Feoffees’ main concern was to support the aged, poor and impotent and so in 1694 they built the first almshouse on the Crofts. Along with providing work, it also served as accommodation for 44 families at its peak. The workhouse closed in the 1830s when a new, larger one opened on Alma Road which was run by a separate entity.


When Rotherham became a borough in 1871 and a town council established,


the Feoffees relinquished most of their duties. But they still had a solid interest in the town. After gaining Royal Charter, the Feoffees’ portfolio of land and property grew. Up until the early 20th century, much of the town centre, Eastwood and East Dene was owned by them, who sold or gifted it to the council for redevelopment purposes.


There used to be a stipulation that two local councillors had to be on the board of 12 trustees but this has since been abolished. All Feoffees are voted in for a five-year term but can be re-elected until they choose to retire. They are chaired by a Greave who is supported by a Little Greave. These are currently Jeremy Mason and Tony Grice.


To be a Feoffee, you must have an interest in Rotherham; be it through employment, owning a local business, being a resident, or having been born in the town. Today, there are accountants, jewellers, solicitors and doctors who all bring a breadth of different attributes and abilities. There are also now female Feoffees, with Jane Collier and Hazel Yarlett being the first two women accepted to be elected; Jane also served as Greave in 2016.


Some, such as one of the longest standing members Chris Badger, have been involved for over 40 years. His father and grandfather before him were also Feoffees. Some past members were well known names within Rotherham such as Earl Fitzwilliam, the Walkers, Dickinson, Muntus and Beatson Clark. And they are always on the lookout for prospective Feoffees, as well as local businesses who would like to support Rotherham’s oldest charity.


Discover more on the website rotherhamfeoffees.org.uk


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