The Alms-Houses, those termed the Percy Alms-Houses, six in number, immediately north of Hanover Crescent, and bearing along their façade “These Alms-Houses were erected and endowed at the request of the late Philadelphia and Dorothy Percy, 1796,” were built by Mrs. Mary Marriott, for the reception of a similar number of poor widows, of the Church of England, who have received no parochial relief, agreeably to the testamentary instructions of Mrs. Philadelphia and Mrs. Dorothy Percy,—daughters of the Duke of Northumberland,—who endowed them with the sum of £48 per annum, which amount was doubled upon the demise of Mrs. Mary Marriott. Two gowns and a bonnet are also allowed to each widow every year, and a Duffield cloak once in three years. By a bequest of Mr. James Charles Michell, in 1833, the sum of £1 16s. is added to the endowment; and there is also £300 invested by Mr. Skinner, for repairs of vaults, and the surplus in coals. Attached to the Percy Alms-Houses are other similar dwellings, the two to the north and three nearest the south having been erected by Mr. John Fabian, for Miss Wagner, the sister of our much respected Vicar, conjointly with whom was built that which bears on its face the following inscription: “1861. In pious remembrance of the late Marquis of Bristol. M. A. W.—H. M. W.” pleasingly expressive of the purport of its erection.

In unison with this grateful memento, the annexed address of condolence was presented to the present Marquis:—

The Rev. the Vicar of Brighton, to the Marquis of Bristol,

Brighton Vicarage, February 24, 1859.

My dear Lord,

Enclosed is an address of condolence on the part of the Brighton Clergy. I make myself responsible for the signature of Mr. Henry Elliott, now on the Continent, because I know his deep feeling of affectionate gratitude to your venerated Father, from whom he, like myself, received countless benefits.

I have the honour to remain, my dear Lord,

Your Lordship’s ever faithful servant,

H. M. Wagner.

TO THE MARQUIS OF BRISTOL,
ADDRESS OF CONDOLENCE ON THE PART OF THE CLERGY OF BRIGHTON.

Through a long period of time we have been connected with your Father by so many holy and endearing associations, that we hope you will allow us the privilege of a fellowship with you even in the deep affliction which it has pleased God now to send upon you. We know that sympathy belongs indeed to One, and we earnestly pray that He, who only can, will make all grace and comfort abound to your own heart, and to the hearts of all your family, under your present bereavement.

But while we thus feel how little worth is all human consolation in our hours of deepest sorrow, we nevertheless trust that it may not be unacceptable to you at this time to receive, as certainly it is most pleasant to us to render, the united tribute of our respectful gratitude to the memory of your venerated father. Associated as he was with us for so many years as a parishioner, friend, and a benefactor, there are few who can appreciate, as we can, the extent and the self-forgetfulness and the humility of his singular benevolence.

It would be very difficult for us to give adequate expression to our sense of the devotedness with which he used his high station, his property, and his influence for the promotion of those holiest interests of religion and charity, of which we are in some measure the guardians and representatives in this Parish. There are very few of us who have not personally experienced, in some good word or work, the great kindliness of your father’s character. To the poor, his whole life copied Him who “went about doing good.” Very many are there of the humblest and most indigent, who would be the first to testify that they ever found in the Marquis of Bristol a brother’s love. While the monuments of his munificence which stand forth amongst us, the record to many generations of his pious care for the souls, and bodies of his fellow men, are, we believe, well nigh unparalleled in any parish, the Sussex County Hospital, with its commodious Chapel, the Church of St. Mark, our Parish Church in its restored beauty, and our two Cemeteries, with many other noble or sacred Institutions scarcely less than these,—all associated with his name,—bear witness, not only to his vast beneficence, but to the wisdom also with which he selected the channels in which that beneficence should flow. And over all he threw such a suavity of manner and beautiful simplicity, that it was only when the action had passed that we woke up to the discovery of its greatness, which the grace of his presence had forbidden us to see.

Accept, then, at our hands the assurance of the sorrowing affection, not of ourselves alone, but of a whole parish, which feels itself, like you, bereaved; and permit us to add the prayer, that your father’s God may pour upon you, and upon your children, and upon your children’s children, the rich inheritance of that father’s spirit of universal love.

H. M. Wagner, Vicar of Brighton.
Thomas Cooke, Perpetual Curate of St. Peter’s.
C. E. Douglass, Curate of Brighton.
John Ellerton, Curate of Brighton.
W. Mitchell, Curate of Brighton.
James Vaughan, Perpetual Curate of Christ Church.
Thomas Trocke, Perpetual Curate of the Chapel Royal.
C. D. Maitland, Perpetual Curate of St. James’s.
H. V. Elliott, Perpetual Curate of St. Mary’s.
Edward B. Elliott, Perpetual Curate of St. Mark’s.
Spencer R. Drummond, Perpetual Curate of St. John the Evangelist.
Joseph Hurlock, Chaplain of the Sussex County Hospital.
A. D. Wagner, Perpetual Curate of St. Paul’s Church.
J. H. North, Perpetual Curate of St. George’s.
Randolph Payne, Assistant Curate of St. Paul’s Church.
Charles Beanlands, Assistant Curate of St. Paul’s Church.
Thomas Scott, Assistant Curate of All Souls’ Church.
J. Chalmers, Perpetual Curate of St. Stephen’s.
H. H. Wyatt, Perpetual Curate of Trinity Chapel.
Frederic A. Stapley, Assistant Curate of St. John the Evangelist.
Alexander Poole, St. Mark’s Church.
Henry G. Cutler, Assistant Curate of Christ Church.
Thomas Coombe, Perpetual Curate of All Saints’.
W. Fleming, Assistant Curate of All Souls’.
John Allen, Chaplain Brighton Workhouse.
R. S. Smith, Perpetual Curate of All Souls’ Church.

What may be very appropriately termed the Wagner Alms-Houses—which are without endowment,—are for the benefit of unmarried women,—spinsters,—above the age of fifty, and who possess, or are ensured the yearly income of £15 at the least.

Howell’s Alms-Houses, which are not yet endowed, are situated in an open space of ground approached by iron gates on the west side of George Street. They are eight in number, and in the centre of the block of buildings, surmounted by a dial, is the following inscription:—

HOWELL’S ALMS HOUSES,

Erected 1859.

Supported by voluntary Contributions, for the reception of reduced Inhabitants of Brighton and Hove, under the regulation of a Committee of Management.

The inmates of these houses are elected by the donors and subscribers, and all persons not under 60 years of age, who have resided in Brighton or Hove at least ten years previous to the time of election, and have not received parochial relief during such period, are eligible.

These were built by Charles Howell, Esq., Dial House, Hove, upon ground valued at £1,000. It was the original intention of this philanthropic gentleman to have bequeathed the ground and the money for the erection of the houses, by will; but with the very laudable desire of seeing his benevolent intention realized during his life time, Mr. Howell preferred perfecting his work himself, and he has vested the property in the following Trustees:—Henry Michell Wagner, Vicar of Brighton; Charles Wellington Howell, Robert Upperton, jun., John Pankhurst, and Piercy George Pankhurst. He has also conveyed to the above named trustees two houses in George Street, the rents of which, about £26 a-year, are charged, first with the repairs of the Alms-Houses, and then for the general purposes of the Charity.

The original plan provides for five more houses; for the erection of which and the endowment of the whole thirteen the co-operation of the public is solicited. May the anxious wish of Mr. Howell that the whole of the buildings be completed and permanently endowed, before it pleases the Almighty to remove him from this sphere of his benevolent acts, he speedily realised.

For mutual benevolence no institution has a firmer basis than the Manchester Unity, I.O.O.F., whose Hall for the Brighton district, forms a prominent feature of the Queen’s Road, where the first stone of the building was laid on the 27th of June, 1853, by Mr. Tamplin, the then High Constable of Brighton. Mr. John Fabian was the builder of the edifice, upon a piece of ground which was purchased for £500 of the Rev. James Edwards. The building proceeded without interruption until the 27th of August, when a Bill in Chancery, to restrain the erection, was filed by Mr. Alderman Patching, who possessed property and resided immediately opposite the Hall. The building was thus delayed; but, on the 4th of November, an appearance was put in on behalf of the Building Committee, when the case, Patching v. Dubbins, came on for hearing before Vice Chancellor Sir Page Wood. The plaintiff’s plea was, that in the covenant under which he bought the ground upon which his premises stood, it was stipulated that no building, except monuments or headstones, should be erected on the plot of land opposite, which was an unburied-in portion of the Hanover Burial Ground. Defendant’s counsel argued the fact that plaintiff had permitted the erection of the Dispensary on a portion of the same ground, and had allowed two months to expire since the building was commenced before he filed his injunction; and further, that the building was not opposite, but a foot or two to the north of being opposite. The case was argued at length, and the Vice Chancellor gave a verdict for defendant, with costs.