The Joseph Hague Charity of Glossop



The background to these pages

On a visit to Glossop Heritage Centre some years ago, Bev Sierpina of Baldwinsville, NY, USA, saw a book on display recording Applications for Clothes from Joseph Hague's Charity. Bev noticed entries for our mutual FIELDING ancestral line and, through Peggy Davies, manager of the Heritage Centre, was able to purchase photocopies of pages containing FIELDING entries.

Bev subsequently recognised that the information within the book would be of interest to fellow researchers and, despite much of the writing being faded, has managed to decipher and transcribe almost 1700 entries (over 175 surnames) which are presented in the following pages.

Whilst preparing these pages I've noticed many names I recognise from my own research, including several from families which were reasonably well off. It just goes to show how easy it was in the days before the welfare state for illness or old age to make life hard for people.



The Joseph Hague Trust

Joseph Hague was born in Chunal in 1695, tradition having it into a poor family. As a result he became a pedlar and, through sheer hard work, amassed a considerable fortune. After retiring Joseph Hague decided to use his money to help the people of the Parish of Glossop, initially by endowing a school in Whitfield in 1779. In his will he left money to provide linen cloth in winter for poor people of Glossop and Hayfield. The book from which the following entries are taken lists people from Glossop to whom cloth was provided.

With the increasing provision of state education the school closed and arrangements were made to use the funds to provide grants for children from the Ancient Parish of Glossop to help with their secondary and further education. I received such a grant in the late 1960s to help pay for books when I was at college.

The Joseph Hague Trust still survives and is still helping people to this day despite the twin problems of inflation and low interest rates. That it is able to do so is a credit to the Trustees.

Further information on Joseph Hague and his trust can be found in the book The Joseph Hague Trust; Scott & Smith (Paul Bush 1979, second edition 2000, ISBN 1 902383 02 8). The book is available from Glossop Heritage Centre and bookshops in the town.



The Database

A couple of notes of caution

If anyone wants a specific questionable name or entry checked, Bev will be happy to take another look. To get in touch all you have to do is to click on send mail to Bev Sierpina.

In order to limit the sizes of the pages to be downloaded I've grouped the entries by initial letter of the surname. Just click on the appropriate letters to access the set you want.

A Ba-Bl Bo Br-Bu C D E-F G Had-Ham Han-Har He-Hy I(none) J-L M-P R S T-Wa Wh-Y Z(none).



I welcome any comments on any of the pages on this site. To get in touch please send an e-mail to graham at gjh.me.uk (replace " at " with "@").

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Last updated: 7 May 2019