A Study of the Strood by W.E. Duane. Chapter 6. Page 30.

The Administrators of the Strood contd.

... 30 acres only.

In the admission of 1732 the lands were termed Strood Lands as well as Churchfields.

The admission of 16th March 1835 of Bennett Hawes, Thomas May, the younger, and Martin Harvey was for:-

[Note 1] " the term of their lives and the life of the survivor, to the said lands and tenements containing 30 acres, called Strood lands and Churchfields and formerly called Strood Lands Morses and Carters, upon trust that they should yearly from time to time as often as was necessary convert and dispose all the rents and profits in repairing and amending the Church and Strood of West Mersea according to the intention of the donor of the said lands and that they should account with the inhabitants for the rents and profits yearly; and further, that they and the survivor after the death of the other feoffees should surrender the premises into the hands of the Lord to be re-granted to him the survivor and two others, (such as the Lord the homage and the principal inhabitants nominate), under the like trusts and conditions; and upon further condition that upon the death of every feoffee the survivors or survivor should compound and pay to the Lord for a heriot 51. 5s, and if the feoffees or feoffee should refuse to comply with the conditions, trusts and limitations aforesaid after 10 day notice in writing, signed by any two of the inhabitants of West Mersea, the said grant shall be void".

One of the trustees acts as treasurer and his accounts are audited every year by his colleagues. At this audit the vicar an church are present, but no other inhabitants and there is a dinner at this time costing no more than £3.10.0d

By the time this account was written the administrators of the Church and Strood Lands Charity had become quite sophisticated but all the admission documents that I have seen from [Note 2] 1798 - 1856 ...

Note 1 Essex Charities 819 - 1837 Page 432.
Note 2 ERO D/Q1/18.

Date: 1965