Tailor leaves bequest of 13 Acres of “Water Meadows” in 1566 to charity for endowment now worth £43 million.
Sir William Harpur, 1496-1573
- William Harpur was a tailor who became Lord Mayor of London. Towards
the end of his life he made a planned gift of land worth £80 for
an endowment. That endowment is now valued at
£43 million. - The Bedford Charity, also known as the Harpur Trust, has been in existence since 1566.
- William became Lord Mayor of London in 1561 and was knighted one year later.
- In 1566, he and his wife, Dame Alice, executed a deed of gift creating an endowment to sustain a school he had already established in Bedford.
- This school had been granted "letters patent" from King Edward VI in 1552 and later became what is now known as Bedford School.
- The endowment also made provision for the marriage of poor maids of the town, for deprived children to be nourished and informed, and for any residue to be distributed to the poor of the town.