Records of Lady Elizabeth Hastings' Charities

Foundation deeds and conveyances to new trustees, 1701-1900; trustees’ minutes and associated papers, 1739-1955, 1970-1981, 1985-1987, 1989-1995; trustees’ accounts and annual rentals, 1739-1961; Charity Commissioners’ schemes, 1898-1952; papers relating to schools, including Ledsham schools, 1860-1948, Wike School, 1897-1927, Collingham School, 1882-1952, Thorp Arch School, 1891-1899, Howe School, 1873, Chelsea girls’ school, 1873-1875, and Isle of Man schools, 1897; deeds and estate papers relating to Burton Salmon, 1900-1945, Collingham, 1814-1952, Compton, 1927-1928, Ledsham, 1926, 1936, Shadwell, 1804; Lower Brandon and Toadholes estate, 1794-1925; Monk Fryston, 1840; Boston Spa, 1963; widows of the vicars of Ledsham charity deeds, 1781-1948.

Lady Elizabeth Hastings' Charities was established by the will of Lady Elizabeth Hastings of Ledstone Hall, Yorkshire, in 1739. Possessed of a large estate, Lady Elizabeth left lands and property at Collingham, Burton Salmon, Shadwell, and Thorp Arch, to be overseen by a committee of trustees who had the power to appoint a bailiff for the management of the estate. The accounts of the bailiff were to be audited once a year.
Her bequests endowed more than sixty perpetual charities, including scholarships to Queen's College, Oxford, a number of charity schools (including the girls' boarding school she had established at Ledsham and schools at Aberford, Pontefract, Wyke and Chelsea), schools on the Isle of Man, and various religious causes.
In 2012 the Charities received a new scheme of governance, dividing the charities into three constituent parts. The Lady Elizabeth Hastings Estate Charity administers the overall running of the charities and manages its investments, with all income divided between the second and third parts. These are The Lady Elizabeth Hastings Educational Foundation, which provides financial assistance to schools, individuals and community groups around Leeds, and the Lady Elizabeth Hastings Non-Educational Charity which provides financial assistance to clergy of the Church of England and makes grants to repair churches.
The trustees of the charities now meet four times a year to award grants.

Records are open to the public, subject to the overriding provisions of relevant legislation, including data protection laws.

The archive was deposited at the Borthwick Institute by representatives of the Charity in 1984. Further additions were made to the archive in 1998 and 1999.

Lady Elizabeth Hastings' Charities was established by the will of Lady Elizabeth Hastings of Ledstone Hall, Yorkshire, in 1739. Possessed of a large estate, Lady Elizabeth left lands and property at Collingham, Burton Salmon, Shadwell, and Thorp Arch, to be overseen by a committee of trustees who had the power to appoint a bailiff for the management of the estate. The accounts of the bailiff were to be audited once a year.
Her bequests endowed more than sixty perpetual charities, including scholarships to Queen's College, Oxford, a number of charity schools (including the girls' boarding school she had established at Ledsham and schools at Aberford, Pontefract, Wyke and Chelsea), schools on the Isle of Man, and various religious causes.
In 2012 the Charities received a new scheme of governance, dividing the charities into three constituent parts. The Lady Elizabeth Hastings Estate Charity administers the overall running of the charities and manages its investments, with all income divided between the second and third parts. These are The Lady Elizabeth Hastings Educational Foundation, which provides financial assistance to schools, individuals and community groups around Leeds, and the Lady Elizabeth Hastings Non-Educational Charity which provides financial assistance to clergy of the Church of England and makes grants to repair churches.
The trustees of the charities now meet four times a year to award grants.

A typescript finding aid, to file level, is available for consultation in the searchroom of the Borthwick Institute. This includes all material received in 1984.

Created by S. A. Shearn, 10.06.15. Updated 19.03.20.

A reprographics service is available to researchers subject to the access restrictions outlined above. Copying will not be undertaken if there is any risk of damage to the document. Copies are supplied in accordance with the Borthwick Institute for Archives' terms and conditions for the supply of copies, and under provisions of any relevant copyright legislation. Permission to reproduce images of documents in the custody of the Borthwick Institute must be sought.

Further accruals are expected.

Further records relating to Lady Elizabeth Hastings are deposited at the Borthwick Institute as part of the parish records of Ledsham and Thorp Arch.

Published

GB 193