The Huntley Relief in Need Charity can trace its roots back without difficulty to the 1600s. A William Ellis left £10.00 in his will in 1688 and Lord Kennedy gave £2.00, the interest of which was to be used to be spent on bread and distributed at Christmas. Some of the money was lost when one of the trustees, then called feoffees, died. The remaining £7.00 came into the hands of Thomas Wintle and thence to the Revd John Moss who died in 1797. His successors continued to provide bread for the poor, and then Thomas Wyman added another £5.00 to the sum in the early 1800s. Subsequently another £20.00 was also given to the Church in the name of Elizabeth Hartland, a daughter of Thomas Wyman, and the income from that investment was to be used for bread for the poor and additionally to teach two children to read.

There was also a charity known as the Huntley Poor's Land Charity to which was bequeathed some small areas of grazing and agricultural land, the income from the rent of which was to be used to benefit the poor of the Parish. These charities were lumped together and in 1887 the lands was sold off and all the proceeds invested in Government Consolidated Funds.

The Charity Commission agreed a Scheme in 1906. for the administration of the Hartland Charity and split the charity into the 'Hartland Charity for Bread' and the 'Hartland Educational Foundation'. Finally in 1975 the Huntley Relief in Need Charity was formed from the following:

• The Charity of William Ellis 1688
• The Charity of Elizabeth Hartland for Bread 1906
• The Charity of Samuel Hawkins 1804
• The Charity of Lord Kennedy
• The Poor's Land charity 1898
• The Charity of Thomas Wyman

Altogether the charities owned Consolidated and War Stocks valued at £1104.49. Note that the 'Hartland Educational Foundation' was excluded from all these changes and still exists as a separate entity controlled by the Huntley C of E School Governors. That deed stated that there were to be four Trustees, the current Rector as an ex-officio member and the other three to be appointed by the Parish Council.

The purpose of the Charity remains true to its original purposes:

• To pay to the Rector the sum of £2.10 (two guineas) for preaching a sermon on New Years Day or the first Sunday thereafter,
• To pay £1.05 (one guinea) to the members of the choir
• To pay 53p (half a guinea) to the Clerk of the Church
• To pay 53p(half a guinea) to the Sexton

All these in accordance with the Samuel Hawkins Charity,

• To 'relieve generally or individually persons resident in the Parish who are in conditions of need hardship or distress'.

There are of course very few, if any, parishioners who are sufficiently poor to need the small amount of relief that the Charity can actually offer, but the Trustees take pleasure in ensuring that the Rector can take flowers or similar gifts when visiting parishioners in hospital, and donating a sum to the organisers of the annual Christmas dinner for elderly villagers. Other requests have been received by the Trustees with sympathy and compassion.

The Chairman of Trustees is R C Blakemore and he may be contacted at Forest Gate Huntley Glos GL19 3EU telephone and Fax 01452-831192 and e-mail relief.charity@huntley-glos.demon.co.uk