History
Our Story
Learn the history of Thornham Jubilee Meadow, from former farmland to a community wildflower meadow cared for by Volunteers and Thornham United Charities.
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Thornham United Charities is four separate charities which were amalgamated under the same banner in the 1980’s – the Fuel Allotment Charity, Walter Walterson’s Charity, George Hogge Charity and Edward Robinson’s Charity.
Fuel Allotment Charity
Now The Jubilee Meadow
The Fuel Allotment Charity was set up by the Enclosure Act of 1797 to improve farming methods while removing villagers’ common rights. Previously the charity owned 29 acres at Ling Common, two miles south of the village, rented to the Bett family for years. Income supported parishioners through coal distributions.
In 2007, trustees exchanged Ling Common land for 17.5 acres near the A149 at the village’s west end. The field remained leased to Stephen Bett until November 2022. The trustees subsequently converted it into a meadow with memorial trees, benches, and picnic tables. West Bottom Field has been renamed Jubilee Meadow per local suggestion.
Walter Walterson’s Charity
Walter Walterson died 15 March 1720, bequeathing £100 for land purchase. Income distribution: two-thirds to Thornham’s poor, one-third to Titchwell’s poor. His thirteen-acre land purchase outside the village generates rental income. Distribution methods changed in 2007; funds now benefit “residents of Thornham and Titchwell” generally.
Edward Robinson Charity
Edward Robinson (merchant, died 1700) provided £1 annually “to the minister and churchwardens of Thornham” for distribution among twenty deserving parishioners.
George Hogge Charity
George Hogge, a Lynn businessman whose family built Thornham Hall and the Red House, left £400 invested for distribution “amongst such persons resident in the parish as the trustees think most deserving.”