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The purpose of the Trust
is to provide assistance to decent, indigent men and women aged
at
least 55 on 1st July in the year of their election, unless they are certified
on medical grounds as being unable to earn their living. Beneficiaries
must be persons who have lived or worked in the City of Edinburgh
or
in Midlothian. Assistance may be by way of cash grant, a bi-annual
pension, gift or appliances, provision and care support. The beneficiaries also
enjoy a Christmas tea party, where they are entertained by children
of
the Merchant Company Schools.
The Sir William Fraser Homes
The homes were founded by the Trustees
of Sir William Fraser, who implemented the direction of his will
in which he allotted £25,000
for the endowment of homes for the poor in the City of Edinburgh.
Sir William Fraser, KCB, LLD, who died in 1898, was at one time
Deputy Keeper
of the records of Scotland. He was a great benefactor and
also endowed the Chair of Scottish History and Palaeography
in the University of
Edinburgh.
The property of the homes was vested in the Merchant
Company Endowments Trust in 1960. Preference is given to authors
or artists in necessitous
circumstances, in accordance with the terms of Sir William
Fraser's will. The homes consist of a block of thirteen two-storey
houses, each
of which has a kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom.
The beneficiaries occupy the houses at modest rents depending
on individual circumstances.
The homes are not sheltered housing. The Merchant Company
Almoner makes regular visits and can assist residents with advice
on many matters
including arrangements for home help. The homes are ideal
for persons who are independent, but do require financial support
or a change of
location.
Retired persons seeking places at the homes are requested
to fill in a simple application form available from The Secretary,
The Merchants'
Hall, 22 Hanover Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2EP. After the receipt
of the application form, a visit will be made by the Company
Almoner and if
the applicant is considered suitable, they will be placed
on the waiting list.
Spylaw Street Cottages, Colinton
James Gillespie (1726-97)
and his brother John were snuff merchants in Edinburgh. James
superintended the snuff-mill on the Water of Leith
at Spylaw, Colinton, first rented in 1759 and then purchased
in 1761. The shop where the product was sold is now 231 High
Street, with a
plaque on the wall showing James Gillespie's head in relief.
Business prospered, and in 1773 Gillespie built the mansion
house which still
stands in Spylaw Park. Eventually his estate stretched from
Colinton into the Pentland Hills at Bonaly and along to Curriemuirend.
He seems
to have been much liked, though when he set up his carriage
Edinburgh delighted in the Hon. Henry Erskine's comment: "Wha
wad hae thocht it, that noses had bocht it?"
When he died in 1797 he left to the Merchant Company his estate,
worth £40,000
together with funds to establish a charitable home for men
and women, and a free school for the education of poor boys.
James Gillespie's
Hospital for the elderly opened in 1801, the free school in
1803. The latter is not listed amongst the present-day Merchant
Schools because
in 1908 the Governors decided to transfer it to the School
Board of Edinburgh. The picturesque cottages in Spylaw Street,
Colinton, part
of James Gillespie's original estate, are for the elderly.
There
have been other benefactions and charitable trusts, such as
William Watherston's Endowment, the gift in 1889 of William
Watherston, a former Assistant of the Company, and the Gibb
and Heriot Mortification bequeathed in 1915 by Richard Waterston
Gibb and Mrs Gibb.
All such
are the responsibility of the Merchant Company Endowments
Trust, which consists of the Master's Court, five Members
appointed by Lothian Regional
Council, two ministers from the Presbytery of Edinburgh, and
three members elected by the Company.
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