Peter Hodroyd
Account book of the Brailsford charity (reference: PR 8458)
Robert Brailsford of Serlby established one of the earliest charities in the parish of Harworth in the very north of Nottinghamshire. In his will of 21 October 1700 Brailsford left property in the town of Fishlake in Yorkshire for the endowment of a charity to provide clothing for two poor persons in Harworth, Serlby and Stirrup, and for teaching poor children of the same villages. A school house was built in Harworth during Brailsford's lifetime. The trustees of the Brailsford charity acted as managers of Harworth school.
The document shown is a page from the accounts of the charity dating to 1764 - 1767. The account book contains a whole host of information on purchases and spending of the charity, on such things as building materials, appointments of schoolmasters, and lists of paupers in receipt of clothing, coal or food.
The page shown lists books purchased and distributed to poor children and adults. There are two persons of particular interest on this page: Peter the Black, who is listed in August 1765; and Peter Hodroyd, 'Lord Galway's Negro', who received a copy of the New Testament on 9 June 1766. It would seem that Peter Hodroyd may at some time have been a servant of Lord Galway.
These names provide an early reference to an African Caribbean presence in this small, rural community.
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- Larger version of the account book: follow this link to see the document in more detail [PDF 1026KB]
- Read a transcript of the account book here [PDF 20KB]
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