Archives: Organisations

Rettendon Bell Fields Charities

Written by slc-admin on Friday, 22nd October 2021.

The Bell Fields Charities (Charity numbers 271479 & 271480), manage two pieces of land situated in Rettendon at the junction of South Hanningfield and Main Roads, opposite the Rettendon Bell pub, which were awarded to the Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor in 1861 as a result of an Inclosure Award, (sometimes known as an Enclosure Act). Following the creation of parish councils by the Local Government Act of 1894, the powers, duties and liabilities of the churchwardens and overseers of a parish were transferred to the local parish council.
The ‘Fields’ were then registered as two charities after further changes in the law in June 1976. The 1861 Inclosure Award is still their governing document to this day.
The Lower Bell Field and Upper Bell Fields charities have a specific purpose, laid down in 1861, to be an ‘Allotment for the Labouring Poor’ and an ‘Allotment for Exercise and Recreation’ respectively.
Trustees who manage the charities are appointed by Rettendon Parish Council once every four years.
The Trustees are currently Ray Ride (Chair), Denise Fleming, Roy Hart and Glenys Jones and can be contacted through this page or the Rettendon Council parish clerk.
Their terms expire in July 2021 when new trustees must be appointed by the Parish Council.