BPC
THE BECKENHAM PAROCHIAL CHARITY
providing housing and financial help for local residents in need for over 300 years
(Charity Commission number 213912)
There are seven charities which go to make up what is now known as The Beckenham Parochial Charity (BPC). They are:
1. The charities of Edmund Style and others, founded in 1694
2. The charity known as Anthony Rawlin’s Almhouses, founded in 1694
3. The charity of Mrs Mary Watson, founded in or about 1790
4. The charity of Mary Wagg, founded in or about 1799
5. The charity of William Fenner, founded in or about 1807
6. The charity of Elizabeth Ann, Dowager Marchioness of Exeter, founded in 1837
7. The charity known as the Bertie Almshouses, previously regulated under a declaration of trust dated 27 October 1891
1. Edmund Style, known as the Protestant Squire, died in 1626. Together with friends and relatives, he left money for the poor of Beckenham. The sums varied from 4 shillings to £40. By 1674, the funds accumulated to £60 with which Cow Lees Field was purchased.
2. Anthony Rawlins was a wealthy citizen and dyer of London who died in Beckenham in 1694. He was buried in the churchyard and left £50 to be laid out, with the concurrence of the Rector and Churchwardens, for the use of the poor. In that year it was decided to build the Almshouses now known as 1, 3 & 5 Bromley Road with “three distinct rooms all under one roof”. The houses were built on a portion of what was then waste land belonging to the lord of the manor, Sir Walter St John.
3. Mary Watson left the interest of 1270 Pound Stock in the New South Sea Annuities for ever, to be received by the Rector and Churchwardens for the time being for the Education of Poor Children who are not maintained by the Parish.
4. Mary Wragg of the Parish of St Johns Westminster purchased £15 per annum for ever to be paid out of 3% consolidated bank stock of the year 1726 to keep the family vault in good repair, with any money over to be distributed to the poor of Beckenham. Mary left Twelve Pounds Ten Shillings per annum for ever in her Will.
5. William Fenner Esq of Sydenham, Yeoman and Citizen of London, left instructions in his Will that £800 three per cent consols be given to the poor of Beckenham “who shall attend the worship of God on the Sunday mornings of October, November, December, January, February and March one pound for each Sunday”.
6. Elizabeth Ann, Dowager Duchess of Exeter, died in 1837 and left £1,000, the interest to be laid out by the Rector and Churchwardens in the purchase of coal for the deserving poor of Beckenham in the month of December every year.
In 1877 the then Rector and Churchwardens applied to the Charity Commission, as a result of which these six charities were consolidated under the first scheme which was sealed on 15 November 1878. This scheme was replaced by a more detailed scheme sealed on 9 September 1880, subsequently amended and updated in 1894, 1904, 1916, 1954, 1978 and, most recently, 1997 when it was also combined with the 7th charity, the Bertie Almshouses.
7. The Bertie Almshouses were built in 1890 at the behest of Mrs Mary Elizabeth Akers of Malling Abbey in memory of her husband, Bertie Peter Cator (c 1836 – 1875), whose family were prominent Beckenham gentry. Cator was the seventh son of Joseph and Diana Cator of Clock House. Initially administered by her estate, they were later taken over by the London Borough of Bromley and finally, after reconstruction, by BPC under this scheme.
The 1997 scheme included some land at the junction of Oakwood Avenne and Perth Road (the original Cow Lees Field) which was let in 1954 on a 99 year ground lease to the London Borough of Bromley, granting the right to build 30 flats. This lease was transferred to Broomleigh Housing Association in 1992. In 2005 the freehold was sold to Broomleigh so the charity no longer has any interest in this land.
Beckenham Parochial Charity is a registered charity, number 213912. It owns and administers the land and buildings known as Anthony Rawlin’s Almshouses at numbers 1, 3 & 5 Bromley Road, Beckenham, the land and Bertie Almshouses at 31, 31A and 33 Bromley Road, Beckenham and the leasehold land with bungalows built in 1995 known as 5, 7 & 9 Atkins Drive, Bencurtis Park, West Wickham (comprised in a lease dated 11 December 1995 for a term of 60 years). The legal estate of all the properties is now vested in the Official Custodian of Charities.
Under the Charity Commission Scheme of 1997, the primary purposes of the charity are to:
- Provide and maintain good housing for needy people, being resident in Beckenham or Penge, who are able to live independently
- Provide grants of money for promoting the education of young persons under the age of 30 who are resident in or near the Ancient Parish of Beckenham or Penge
- Provide grants of money for relief of need, hardship or distress to residents of Beckenham or Penge or to former almshouse residents
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The charity is administered by 14 trustees – one ex-officio being the incumbent Rector of St George’s Church, six nominated by the London Borough of Bromley, each for a term of 4 years, and seven co-opted trustees for terms of 5 years who, through residence, occupation or employment, or otherwise have a special knowledge of the area of the Ancient Parish of Beckenham and Penge. There is also a clerk and treasurer. Trustee meetings are held quarterly and annual returns are made to the Charity Commission.
