Cavendish
A village nestling in the Stour Valley
A village nestling in the Stour Valley
A village nestling in the Stour Valley
The George Savage Trust
The Trust was established in 1939 following a bequest by Cavendish man, George Savage, to the Cavendish Congregational Church for “the benefit of the sick and poor in the village in recognition of the kindness shown to his mother and father by local people”. A group of seven Cavendish residents serve as Trustees.
The principle role of the Trust is to manage the almshouses known as “Hyde Park Corner”, the quintessential picture postcard ‘pink cottages’ sited in front of the church. The cottages came under the responsibility of the Trust in 1957 following action by The Cavendish Preservation Society who purchased the cottages to save them from demolition and raised funds to modernize the cottages before then transferring them to the Trust. There are five cottages in the group, each with one or two bedrooms. A modest monthly maintenance is payable. New residents must be over the age of 60 and have close connection with Cavendish. Vacancies are advertised in the village magazine, local newspapers, the village website and Facebook page.
The Trust also offers one-off discretionary grants to students in tertiary education to help towards purchase of books and educational materials.
To apply please write to Mr Robert Ellis, Chair, Richmond House, 22 Greys Close, Cavendish, CO10 8BT
Historical notes
The original cottages probably dated back several hundred years, the ones you see today are rebuilds after a fire destroyed them in 1971. As the rebuild cost was far above the insurance pay-out, the Cavendish Preservation Society was reconstituted and assisted the Trust in raising the shortfall for the restoration which was completed in 1972.
The cottages where originally known as Church Cottages. It appears that a relation of one of the past Rectors brought with him such a large household in the early 20th century when he came to visit on holiday, that the surplus who couldn’t be accommodated in the Rectory were billeted in the cottages. They used to harangue the villagers on the Green and this was thought to be like Speakers Corner in Hyde Park, London and the connotation stuck.
Photo from Basil Oliver’s book “Old Houses and Village Buildings in East Anglia: Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex” Photographed by Horace Dan. Undated but probably c. 1910
