Cottage History

Halfhead Farm, at Shallowford was bequeathed to the people of Stafford by Izaak Walton for charitable uses. The income from the farm, of which the Cottage was a part, was directed to be applied to the relief of distress in Stafford. There was a remainder that, on the failure of Stafford Corporation to apply the charity to the purposes indicated in Walton’s will, the said charity would go to the town of Eccleshall.

The custody of the property and application of the income, eventually devolved upon the Stafford Charity Trustees, who also at the same time were appointed governors of the Stafford Grammar school, the foundation of which goes back to a youthful Sovereign, King Edward VI.

The Governors of the Grammar school found themselves in want of funds; so the Governors applied to the Charity Commissioners in London to divert a portion of the Walton Charity to the funds for the school. This was approved by Queens Council on May 5, 1873. As a result, the charities of William Farmer, Rebecca Crompton, and Izaak Walton were by clause 5 to be applied to educational objects.

In May, 1905, the Charity Commissioners made an order that the charity left by Izaak Walton to the poor of Stafford should be applied to educational purposes, except the sums of £5 for the poor maid and £35 for the provision of coal. The whole of the capital sum, with the exceptions made, to go into Grammar School funds.

In 1920 the management of the Grammar school was placed under the control of the County Education Committee. But before this change was effected, the farm and land were disposed of by sale to Mr. G. E. Meakin, and the proceeds were invested with the Official Trustees of the Charitable Funds as stated in the Corporation Year Book. The sum of £1,600 was invested, the amount being made up of £1,172.15s.3d. from the Grammar school capital account and £427.4s.9d. from consols belonging to the Walton Charity to secure annual payments to the poor of the town.
So the sum of £427 was given to effect the “pious wishes” of Izaak Walton to the poor of Stafford.

As a result, the Staffordshire County Council, as Charity Trustees, had the control and management of the Stafford Grammar School. They became possessed of the “foundation” that had been so generously transferred to them by the charity trustees of the town. It was found that the cottage with two gardens had been reserved by the vendors from the sale to Mr. Meakin, in the hope that it would be preserved as a memorial or museum of Izaak Walton.

The County Education Committee, acting as the trustees, made it known that in order to comply with the above, they were prepared to transfer the Cottage, and it was then that the Mayor of Stafford Alderman T. Dunn made an appeal, headed ‘The Mayor of Stafford’s Appeal’, to raise funds to purchase and restore the Cottage.

Eventually after a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, the Cottage which had once belonged to the people of Stafford was purchased for the sum of £25.
In trying to understand some of the above, we should appreciate that the education authority changed from the Grammar School system into one that was run by the Staffordshire County Council, but was further changed into an independent education authority run from London.
It was this last authority, as we understand it, that sold off the farm and farm land which had been gifted by Izaak.

Much of the above information concerning the history of the cottage has been obtained from an article prepared and published by W.G. Watson who was the Secretary of the ‘Izaak Walton Cottage Trust’ in 1923.

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