History of the charity

 

The Charity was founded in 1722 under the will of John Rice and was, by various schemes, amended and finally reconstituted in 1956 under the Charitable Trusts Acts 1853 to 1939.   The charity was further varied by schemes of the Charity Commissioners on 30th March 1981, 29th August 2000 and 16th October 2002.

The income was originally applied for the relief of need, hardship or distress among ordained clergy of the Church of England who were serving or employed in the area that, in 1722, was comprised within the Bills of Mortality.   This covered 97 parishes within the walls of the City of London, 16 parishes near the City and certain specific parishes elsewhere.

The latest scheme widened the area of benefaction also to include clergy of the Church of England serving or employed in parishes in other areas bordering the City of London.   For a list of current eligible benefices, please refer to the Home page.

The charity is closely linked with the City church of St. Margaret Lothbury (www.stml.org.uk), with trustees being appointed by, and mainly drawn from, the Parochial Church Council of that Parish and with the Rector being an ex officio trustee.