The Extraordinary Story of
The Jarvis Charity

George Jarvis, born in 1704 in a farm homestead at The Green, Staunton-on-Wye, later lived at a farm called Old Weston, Bredwardine. He walked, so the story goes, to London with the cattle drovers at the age of 13, becoming an apprentice in the currier business. He went on to make a fortune 'as a Currier and Leather Cutter', but, despite being married three times, had only one surviving daughter, Mary. Families, even then, fell out, and so did George and Mary. The consequence of this was that he left a fortune of £30,000 upon Trust - 'The Trustees were given instructions to pay and apply the yearly interest, dividends and produce of said Securities into and among such number of the poor inhabitants of the Parishes of Staunton-on-Wye, Bredwardine and Letton…in such proportions and either in money, provision, physic or clothes as they shall think fit for the better support and maintenance of such poor inhabitants, allocating an £11,000 part to Staunton-on-Wye, a £13,000 part to Bredwardine and a £6,000 part to Letton.'

George added 'But my mind and will is that none of the said trust monies be appropriated in erecting any public or other buildings whatsoever.' There were discussions in Parliament about the 'notorious' charity and the 'infamous' George Jarvis which must have had him turning in his grave at the seeming injustice to such a benefactor. *

Despite the instruction that no public or other buildings should be erected, the school, the huge red brick building that stands so prominently above the road to Hereford, was built in the 19th Century and was originally intended as a boarding school but was never successful. About half of it now houses the primary school and a pre-school group, but because of the high cost of maintenance and the need for a more modern environment for the children, the Department of Education wishes to build a new school.

The charity also owns 12 Almshouses, rented to people with some links to the area, and managed by the Trustees of the Eleemosynary Committee. Most of the income of the charities is from investments and rents. The monies are used to help the three primary schools in the area and occasionally to assist in the further education of older pupils.

* Quotation from 'George Jarvis (1704-1793) and his Notorious Charity' by Richard Pantall.