for some explanation as to why such a conservative couple were to join with a
flamboyant character like Muspratt there may be some understanding here.
Even so, whatever their reasons, on 15 August 1964 an Agreement
32 was
signed between Robert, Emily and the Trustees and the money passed to the
Penn-Pennsylvania Fellowship. But unlike Robert’s gift to UCL, the couples’
support for the Trust was conditional, for they too had an agenda, one which
was meant to be as humanitarian and equitable as possible, and it is the
wording of the Agreement that—common circumstance accepted—provides
the final clue to the reason the Le Rossignol’s joined with Muspratt’s Trust.
According to the Agreement, the whole of the ‘Le Rossignol Fund’ was to
be used for the purpose of providing and endowing ‘flatlets’ on the plot of
land in Penn owned by the Trustees, and for building self-contained
accommodation for ‘elderly persons of limited means’. These flatlets were to
be made available to all suitable applicants regardless of their religious
denomination or present residence. The Trustees were to allow the Distressed
Gentlefolks’ Aid Association
33 (the DGAA, today ‘Elizabeth Finn Care’), to
nominate and care for up to five occupants of the flatlets provided that the
Trustees were of the opinion that their nominees would fit in with existing
tenants, and the Association was to be consulted regarding any nominations
of the Trustees. If the Trustees failed to implement the agreement within two
years by placing a contract to build, the Fund, and any income accrued, was
to be handed over to the Association to be used for their general purposes.
The Le Rossignols also wanted the accommodation to be as modern and
up-to-date as possible
28 and, according to a later ‘flyer’ sent out to anyone
interested in renting the flatlets, they were to stand in memory of their sons,
both of whom were ‘killed in action in the Second World War whilst serving
in the Royal Air Force’. The involvement of the DGAA was seen by the Le
Rossignols as a critical component in the Agreement, allowing the Association
to care for residents at the proposed flatlets, and an examination of the
historical records of the DGAA
33 held by Elizabeth Finn Care explains why
Robert and Emily insisted on their involvement. Indeed, with regard to the
DGAA, Robert and Emily’s ‘men were already on the road’.
The Report of the Chairman of the Council of the DGAA for the year
ending 31 March 1961 records … ‘a magnificent gift of £50,000 donated by
a generous supporter and his wife who live in Buckinghamshire and who have
been interested in our work for a number of years …’ In the Report, the
Council planned to use their gift to extend or replace, ‘Merlewood’, their
existing nursing home in Virginia Water, Surrey. Merlewood—built by leather merchant Thomas Lawrence in 1856, purchased by the DGAA in 1948
and standing in 23 acres of private grounds—was the oldest of the seven
478
D. Sheppard
flamboyant character like Muspratt there may be some understanding here.
Even so, whatever their reasons, on 15 August 1964 an Agreement
32 was
signed between Robert, Emily and the Trustees and the money passed to the
Penn-Pennsylvania Fellowship. But unlike Robert’s gift to UCL, the couples’
support for the Trust was conditional, for they too had an agenda, one which
was meant to be as humanitarian and equitable as possible, and it is the
wording of the Agreement that—common circumstance accepted—provides
the final clue to the reason the Le Rossignol’s joined with Muspratt’s Trust.
According to the Agreement, the whole of the ‘Le Rossignol Fund’ was to
be used for the purpose of providing and endowing ‘flatlets’ on the plot of
land in Penn owned by the Trustees, and for building self-contained
accommodation for ‘elderly persons of limited means’. These flatlets were to
be made available to all suitable applicants regardless of their religious
denomination or present residence. The Trustees were to allow the Distressed
Gentlefolks’ Aid Association
33 (the DGAA, today ‘Elizabeth Finn Care’), to
nominate and care for up to five occupants of the flatlets provided that the
Trustees were of the opinion that their nominees would fit in with existing
tenants, and the Association was to be consulted regarding any nominations
of the Trustees. If the Trustees failed to implement the agreement within two
years by placing a contract to build, the Fund, and any income accrued, was
to be handed over to the Association to be used for their general purposes.
The Le Rossignols also wanted the accommodation to be as modern and
up-to-date as possible
28 and, according to a later ‘flyer’ sent out to anyone
interested in renting the flatlets, they were to stand in memory of their sons,
both of whom were ‘killed in action in the Second World War whilst serving
in the Royal Air Force’. The involvement of the DGAA was seen by the Le
Rossignols as a critical component in the Agreement, allowing the Association
to care for residents at the proposed flatlets, and an examination of the
historical records of the DGAA
33 held by Elizabeth Finn Care explains why
Robert and Emily insisted on their involvement. Indeed, with regard to the
DGAA, Robert and Emily’s ‘men were already on the road’.
The Report of the Chairman of the Council of the DGAA for the year
ending 31 March 1961 records … ‘a magnificent gift of £50,000 donated by
a generous supporter and his wife who live in Buckinghamshire and who have
been interested in our work for a number of years …’ In the Report, the
Council planned to use their gift to extend or replace, ‘Merlewood’, their
existing nursing home in Virginia Water, Surrey. Merlewood—built by leather merchant Thomas Lawrence in 1856, purchased by the DGAA in 1948
and standing in 23 acres of private grounds—was the oldest of the seven
478
D. Sheppard