Charity

In early modern England, charity was understood as an essential Christian virtue – a feeling of love for fellow man, which was expressed through material generosity. While charity was supposed to be a religious duty for all, in practice the wealthier members of society could afford to give more lavishly and ostentatiously. Charitable gifts therefore demonstrated a person’s worth (in both moral and economic terms). Charitable giving took various forms and was facilitated and celebrated through a range of material artefacts in the parish church.

Charity supported the local community with regular gifts of money, food and clothing as doles to the poor – these could be established through sizeable bequests in wills. More substantial gifts, such as the foundation of schools and almshouses, were a permanent legacy whose structures can still be seen today. These institutions enhanced the prestige of the benefactor and their family as well as the quality of welfare provision to improve conditions in the parish or town.