John Hilton and Mary Handford - charity apprentices
There were many kinds of charities over the centuries but they all had to be administered by somebody, whether it was a group of trustees (such as Brunts' Charity and Elizabeth Heath Charity, both of Mansfield), by the church, the parish, the town council or a family.
The Borough of Nottingham had a charity apprentice scheme, and John Hilton, a feltmaker late of Nottingham, was apprenticed to Rachell Smart, a citizen of London and a framework knitter in June 1691. The apprenticeship indenture lays out his duties quite clearly, which included to faithfully serve and keep his mistress' secrets (reference: CA/3930/1/1).
See the apprenticeship indenture in more detail here [PDF 1197KB] 
See a transcript of the indenture here [PDF 21KB]
Several charities such as some from Lambley, Claypole and Wilford were amalgamated to form one with the aim of helping the poor to find work. Lady Lucy, wife of Sir Thomas Grantham, had given money several times in her life in the 17th century to the town of Nottingham to be used to set poor burgesses' children to be apprentices.
Parishes sometimes had an apprenticeship scheme, founded by charitable bequests. Mary Handford was apprenticed to Jonathan Jeffery of Langwith Lane, husbandman, by the Trustees of the Charity of the late Rosamund Watson, late of Mansfield Woodhouse on 11 October 1739 (reference: PR/2,110/2). Mary was baptised at Mansfield Woodhouse on 7 November 1733, making her barely six years old! The charitable bequest was by the will of Rosamund Watson of 1719, which left £100 to the parishioners of Mansfield Woodhouse, to be produced as £4 per year for apprenticing poor children.
See the apprenticeship indenture for Mary Handford in more detail here [PDF 1526KB]
See a transcript of the indenture here [PDF 24KB]
Early schools were often founded as charitable concerns. The Bluecoat School in Nottingham was founded as a charity school in 1706 when a group of inhabitants of the town met to discuss the absence of provision for the education of the poor. A resolution was passed at a meeting of the Common Council which allowed subscriptions of varying amounts to be collected from Nottingham people (reference: DD/BS/5/52). The children were clothed and educated under Christian rules. The school was run by trustees, governors and the masters. Boys were apprenticed to a trade when they left school and the trustees kept an eye on the masters and only paid them yearly.
See the apprentice fees book for the Bluecoat School in more detail here [PDF 2784KB]
