Group    From 1566 

Bedford Charity

Categories: Education

Created by a gift of land by Sir William Harpur to the corporation of Bedford. A merchant from Bedford he had come to London and done so well that he was Lord Mayor in 1561. The following year he purchased 12 acres of land that had belonged to Charterhouse and in 1566 he and his wife Alice gave the property to the Bedford Corporation to support education in Bedford.

The charity has been renamed the Harpur Trust and still owns properties within the original Harpur estate and still supports education in Bedford.

We learnt all this from the resourceful A London Inheritance where there are maps showing the extent of the estate and photos of 5 other extant Bedford Charity markers. 

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This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Bedford Charity

Commemorated ati

Mrs. Eliz. Doughty and the Bedford Charity

These plaques mark property boudaries and identify ownership.

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Other Subjects

Joshua Watson

Joshua Watson

Philanthropist, educationalist and prominent lay churchman.  Born Tower Hill.  Went into his father's wine merchant business.  1811 he took the house at Clapton.  A leading member of the "Hackney P...

Person, Education, Philanthropy, Religion

1 memorial
John Sparkes

John Sparkes

Principal of the Lambeth School of Arts 1858 - 1900. Born as John Charles Lewis Sparkes in Brixton. Began teaching at Lambeth in 1857. Cultivated a special relationship between the school and Doult...

Person, Art, Education, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
Margaret Walker

Margaret Walker

Acting school director. She worked with Joan Littlewood in the Theatre Workshop at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, which inspired her to found the East 15 Acting School in Loughton, Essex.

Person, Education, Theatre

1 memorial
Manresa House

Manresa House

Originally called Bessborough House, it was built by William Ponsonby in the 1760s. It was sold to the Society of Jesus (The Jesuits) in 1861 and renamed Manresa House after the town in Spain where...

Building, Education, Religion

1 memorial
Albany School, Bell Lane

Albany School, Bell Lane

old Albany School in Bell Lane, Enfield in 2014.

Place, Education

1 memorial