Christmas Charity at Benham in 1802

When Elizabeth Craven moved back to Benham in Berkshire with her second husband the Margrave of Anspach they were determined to be good landowners and popular with the local community.  Christmas charity on a lavish scale was part of this. At  Christmas 1802 they donated food, drink and warm clothing to fifty six poor families in the neighbourhood. 

This must have been all the more welcome since the prolonged wars of the Napoleonic period had caused shortages, price inflation and hardship for the poor. 

Benham is just outside the village of Speen near Newbury which is where where the so-called Speenhamland system of Poor Relief was established in 1795. It was a way of supplementing low wages in line with the price of bread and the number of children in a family. The wealthier residents of the parish contributed as much as the magistrates thought necessary to bridge the gap between earnings and subsistence. The system spread rapidly to other areas and in Speen the Margrave must have been contributing significant amounts all the year round, but this did not stop him from adding a bit more at Christmas. 

From the  The Gentleman's Monthly Miscellany, Volume 1, Issues 1-5 1803





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