John Allen's charity records

By his will dated 2 February 1732 and proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury on 4 May 1732, John Allen of Harefield, Middlesex, gentleman, left inter alia the sum of £1000 to purchase lands to fund the apprenticing of three boys (one from each parish in Reading) in London. 43 acres of land in Calcot was purchased, later exchanged under the Tilehurst inclosure award of 1817 for land nearer Reading, including Little John's Farm. In 1957 this land was sold, resulting in an endowment of over £5000, for which a new Scheme dated 6 July 1959 was established, allowing apprenticeships or grants. John Allen also willed that a vault surrounded by iron railings be built for his interment on the north side of St Mary's, Reading. For a fuller synopsis of the charity's history and a picture of John Allen's tomb, see Blandy, Reading Municipal Charities, pp.42-43.