behind the old Almshouses—and the Almshouses themselves—to the
Trustees thereby establishing the purpose of the Trust, viz, to provide a group
of buildings opposite the church to be known as the ‘Penn Centre’, comprising affordable accommodation (‘flatlets’) for the elderly, a community hall
for the village and car parking facilities, all of which was to prepare Penn for
the future. Once again, Muspratt’s general vision for the Trust seems to have
been largely tolerated. But where would the money come from and what
would this new ‘Centre’ in a tiny ancient village look like?
It was always an intention of the Trust—as its name implies—to raise
money in Pennsylvania, but that never happened. A public appeal was
another option. There were also many wealthy parishioners in the Penn area
and Muspratt was a persuasive character, never ‘backward in coming forward’
when progressing his agenda. But who would be prepared to ‘throw in their
lot’ with this ‘maverick priest’
30 and kick-start the proceedings? Well, in
August 1964, the Le Rossignols ‘stepped up to the mark’ and provided the
Trust with a ‘magnificent gift’
28 of approximately £40,000 in cash and
securities, in two equal parts of £20,000 each, by Robert and Emily. But what
prompted this quiet couple to commit to such a potentially contentious
arrangement? Confidence in the Trustees must have played a part. as did the
Curzon gift, and we have already made the case for some empathy between
Robert and Muspratt because of the common circumstances of their lives
(Sect. 18.2). But there were other circumstances that may have drawn the
couple to conditionally support Muspratt in his endeavours. One of these
concerns Oscar’s brother Eric, who was born in November 1899 in Essex and
who travelled extensively throughout his early years, firstly with his parents
and siblings in the home-made gypsy-style caravan that took the family to
Jersey, then with his father on some ‘hobo-esque’ adventures through
America, Canada and Australia. Eric led an itinerant life
31 moving through a
succession of jobs and travelling around the world. By the age of 26 he had
worked as a sailor, been a soldier in the First World War, a pineapple farmer
in Australia of course, an odd-jobber in the United States, and a plantation
manager in the Solomon Islands. Eric described his travels and adventures in
a number of autobiographical books. His final autobiography Fire of Youth,
was published the year before his death in 1949 in Concord, New South
Wales from an overdose of a sleeping draught in just his fiftieth year. It was
suspected at the time that he took his own life. Now who knows what passes
between a parishioner and his priest. Did these men ever confide in each
other regarding the circumstances of their loved-ones passing? If they did,
there was never any indication to others outside their relationship, and Robert
we know was notoriously reluctant to discuss his sons. But if we are looking
18 Penn, Buckinghamshire 1949–1976
477
Trustees thereby establishing the purpose of the Trust, viz, to provide a group
of buildings opposite the church to be known as the ‘Penn Centre’, comprising affordable accommodation (‘flatlets’) for the elderly, a community hall
for the village and car parking facilities, all of which was to prepare Penn for
the future. Once again, Muspratt’s general vision for the Trust seems to have
been largely tolerated. But where would the money come from and what
would this new ‘Centre’ in a tiny ancient village look like?
It was always an intention of the Trust—as its name implies—to raise
money in Pennsylvania, but that never happened. A public appeal was
another option. There were also many wealthy parishioners in the Penn area
and Muspratt was a persuasive character, never ‘backward in coming forward’
when progressing his agenda. But who would be prepared to ‘throw in their
lot’ with this ‘maverick priest’
30 and kick-start the proceedings? Well, in
August 1964, the Le Rossignols ‘stepped up to the mark’ and provided the
Trust with a ‘magnificent gift’
28 of approximately £40,000 in cash and
securities, in two equal parts of £20,000 each, by Robert and Emily. But what
prompted this quiet couple to commit to such a potentially contentious
arrangement? Confidence in the Trustees must have played a part. as did the
Curzon gift, and we have already made the case for some empathy between
Robert and Muspratt because of the common circumstances of their lives
(Sect. 18.2). But there were other circumstances that may have drawn the
couple to conditionally support Muspratt in his endeavours. One of these
concerns Oscar’s brother Eric, who was born in November 1899 in Essex and
who travelled extensively throughout his early years, firstly with his parents
and siblings in the home-made gypsy-style caravan that took the family to
Jersey, then with his father on some ‘hobo-esque’ adventures through
America, Canada and Australia. Eric led an itinerant life
31 moving through a
succession of jobs and travelling around the world. By the age of 26 he had
worked as a sailor, been a soldier in the First World War, a pineapple farmer
in Australia of course, an odd-jobber in the United States, and a plantation
manager in the Solomon Islands. Eric described his travels and adventures in
a number of autobiographical books. His final autobiography Fire of Youth,
was published the year before his death in 1949 in Concord, New South
Wales from an overdose of a sleeping draught in just his fiftieth year. It was
suspected at the time that he took his own life. Now who knows what passes
between a parishioner and his priest. Did these men ever confide in each
other regarding the circumstances of their loved-ones passing? If they did,
there was never any indication to others outside their relationship, and Robert
we know was notoriously reluctant to discuss his sons. But if we are looking
18 Penn, Buckinghamshire 1949–1976
477