Sheffield Town Trust
The Sheffield Town Trust, formerly officially known as the Burgery of Sheffield,[1] is a charitable trust operating in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.
Mediaeval period
The Town Trust was established in the
Reformation to the eighteenth century
By the 1540s, the Burgery was unable to maintain essential public works, or to provide for local unemployed people. In 1554, a charter established the
In 1681, a commission formed a group of thirteen people, known as the Town Trustees, to assume the administrative role. This body was to be maintained by the nomination and appointment of the "greater number of inhabitants" of the town.[2] The Trustees were headed by the Town Collector, one of the most senior officials in the town.[4] They were to hold elections for new members only when three of their number were dead.[5]
The Trustees were responsible for the repair of
In 1757, the Town Trust paid 14s6d to cricketers on
Reform
The Trust faced criticism for a lack of elections, even to the extent of having frequent vacant seats. When an election was held, the Trust interpreted "greater number of inhabitants" as referring only to freeholders, but in 1811, several non-freeholders attempted to vote. In response, the Trust abandoned the election. In 1816, this position was supported by the Chancery Court.[2]
In 1818, the Trustees and the
The Town Council was granted a coat of arms in 1875. An element of this is a crossed sheaf of arrows, taken from the seals of the Town Trust and the Church Burgesses. It probably originated as a play on the name of the River Sheaf, from which Sheffield takes its name.[9]
Present activities
The Trust exists today as a grant-making trust "for organisations whose objects are charitable, public and within the City of Sheffield".[10] It also owns some land around the town, such as the centre of Paradise Square.[11] It has owned Sheffield Botanical Gardens since 1898, and is represented on the Gardens' Steering Group.[12]
George Connell, consultant solicitor at Keebles LLP[13] has been acting as the legal clerk for around 30 years now. He has extensive charities work experience as well as good local knowledge which has been instrumental to the development of the Trust.[14]
The Trust sponsors postgraduate
Further reading
- J. D. Leader, The Records of the Burgery of Sheffield: Commonly Called the Town Trust (1897)
- Ed Bramley, A Record of the Burgery of Sheffield Commonly Called the Town Trust, From 1898 to 1955 (1957)
References
- ^ a b Robert Tittler, The Reformation and the Towns in England
- ^ a b c d e f g h Clyde Binfield et al., The History of the City of Sheffield 1843-1993: Volume I: Politics
- ^ Sidney and Beatrice Webb, The Manor and the Borough
- ^ a b Clyde Binfield and David Hey, Mesters to Masters: A History of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire
- ^ Edward Baines, History, Directory & Gazetteer, of the County of York: Vol I - West Riding
- ^ Sidney Oldall Addy, Church and Manor: A Study in English Economic History
- ^ William White, History & General Directory of the Borough of Sheffield (1833)
- ^ The CROOKES MOOR RACES - SHEFFIELD (c1713-1785)
- ^ Sheffield's Coat of Arms Archived 2008-04-01 at the Wayback Machine, Sheffield City Council
- ^ SHEFFIELD TOWN TRUST, THE Archived 2011-08-14 at the Wayback Machine, Help Yourself Database
- ^ Cathedral Quarter Action Plan, Sheffield City Council
- ^ Sheffield Town Trust Archived 2008-01-31 at the Wayback Machine, Sheffield Botanical Gardens
- ^ "Solicitors, Law Firm, Injury Lawyers, Leeds, Sheffield, Doncaster". www.keebles.com. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ "George Connell". www.keebles.com. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ Postgraduate Scholarships and Studentships Archived 2008-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, University of Sheffield
- ^ Rodney Sharp, "OBITUARY: PROFESSOR DOUGLAS NORTHCOTT", The Independent, 2 May 2005
- ^ The Statutes of the University Archived 2006-04-05 at the Wayback Machine, University of Sheffield