But some indigent folk collected next morning, when £1 10s. was distributed. This, at 4d. a piece, would represent 90 persons. The concourse was far greater when Squire Daniel's wife was interred, when it numbered over 1,800 persons; the amount given reaching £30 10s. 4d., while the dole-givers spent at the inn 3s. 6d. The gathering at his little son's funeral, two years later (1677), was naturally smaller. The entry in the account-book is as follows:—
| June 1—Given to ye Poor (at 2d. apeice) at ye Funerall (this day) of my son Tho. Fleming at Gresmere-church (where he was buried near unto my Fathers Grave on ye north side thereof close to ye wall, and who dyed yesterday, being Thursday, about 8 of ye clock in ye morning at Rydal Hall) ye sum of | 04 | 03 | 08 |
| It[em] paid to ye Minster for attending ye Corps all ye way 5s., to ye Clark for ye same, and makeing of ye Grave 2s., to ye Ringers 2s. 4d., in all | 00 | 09 | 04 |
The first bequest on record to the poor of Grasmere is that of old Mrs. Agnes Fleming, the shrewd mistress of Rydal Hall. Her will, dated 1630, directs that threescore and ten pounds shall be devoted to the poor of Staveley and "Gressmire," the interest to be distributed every Good Friday. In this distribution George Dawson "beinge blinde" was to receive during his life-time a noble, which was 6s. 8d. or half a mark. Accordingly, after her death, the bailiff entered in his accounts £1 13s. as "paid the poor folke at Easter 1632 for my old mis"; the blind lad's noble was also set down. This charity seems, however, to have been lost during the "Troubles" that presently overtook family and country. An effort to re-institute the one at Staveley at least was made by Squire Daniel.
| March 25, 1659—Spent with my Cosen Philipson at Staveley when I went to Mr. Feilde to looke yt ye Poor of Staveley bee not wronged in ye distribution of ye £40 interest, left ym by my great Grandmother Mrs. Agnes Fleming | 00 | 00 | 06 |
Mention of an extraordinary gift appears in the same account-book. The young Earl of Thanet had lately, as Lord Lieutenant of Westmorland, entered the county in great state, and with a lavish expenditure of money. His generosity (which may have had a political bias) extended even to this remote quarter of the Barony. In those days £10 was a large sum; and the coin (as a precise entry under February, 1685, informs us) was conveyed to Kendal by a servant, delivered to the mayor, who passed it on to the Rydal Squire. One half was for Windermere, the other for Grasmere; and one wonders how large was the gathering at the church for the dole.
| Mar. 1, 8-4/5—Distributed this day at ye Parish Church in Gresmere to ye Poor Householders yt go to Church in ye said Parish; being ye gift of Tho. Earl of Thanet, ye sum of | 05 | 00 | 00 |
Other charitable gifts to the poor are written on boards hanging in the church, viz.:—
Edward Partridge and others of Grasmere £50, the interest to be distributed on St. Thomas's Day to such poor as do not receive parochial relief. (Undated.)
William and Eleanor Waters, in 1807, £200, the interest to be distributed under the like restrictions on Lady Day.