TAVISTOCK town clerk Carl Hearn reported on the financial statement for the Jessie Ann Alford Charity during the town's annual meeting last Tuesday (March 17).

Jessie Anne Alford was the wife of William Charles Alford, a local market keeper, councillor and Poor Law Guardian in the 1920s.

They were members of the Plymouth Brethren community and when Jessie died in 1947 she left £1,000 in trust to the local council. A scheme was established by which the charity was to benefit spinsters and widows aged 60 and over living in Tavistock.

It has assets of 822 income shares in the Charities Investment Fund — the value on December 31, 2014 was £10,015.08, up by £459.25 from the previous year — and receives between £300 and £400 of income each year.

The distribution of funds is made just before Christmas each year to a maximum of eight deserving applicants selected by the trustees. Last year only two applications were received and a grant was made to each applicant of £100.

After this distribution a bank balance of £625.94 has been carried forward to 2015.