Peggs v Lamb
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 12 March 1993 |
| Date | 12 March 1993 |
| Court | Chancery Division |
Chancery Division
Before Mr Justice Morritt
Trusts - property held for charitable purposes - extending class of beneficiaries
The freemen and the widows of freemen of the ancient borough of Huntingdon were not entitled to any part of the property held by the plaintiff trustees whether under a private trust or otherwise pursuant to the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 and its statutory successors.
All such property was applicable to charitable purposes generally among the class of qualifying freemen and their widows but a scheme should be directed, pursuant to section 13(1)(d) of the Charities Act 1960, in order to widen the class by reference to which the charitable purposes were laid down to include the inhabitants of the ancient borough as a whole.
Mr Justice Morritt so held in the Chancery Division in respect of an originating summons issued on the application of the plaintiffs, Kenneth Peggs, Edward Thomson Lees, Winifred Mary Price, James McKay, Norman Frank Boyes, Joseph Markham Johnson and Colin Aitken Moore, against the first to third defendants, John Craven Lamb, Albert Plowman Bradshaw and Sidney Charles Bradshaw and the fourth defendant, the Attorney General.
The plaintiffs were the trustees of the Huntingdon Commons Charity and the Lammas Rights Charity.
The first three defendants were appointed to represent the class comprising the freemen and widows of freemen of the ancient borough of Huntingdon and the fourth defendant was joined to represent the interests of charity generally.
Huntingdonshire District Council did not wish to participate in the proceedings whether as successor to the ancient borough or not.
Mr Timothy Lloyd, QC and Mr Malcolm Waters for the trustees; Mr Hubert Picarda, QC, for the freemen; Mr James Munby, QC and Mr Peter Crampin for the Attorney General.
MR JUSTICE MORRITT said that at all material times since January 1, 1961 there had been entered in the register of charities maintained pursuant to section 4 of the 1960 Act particulars respecting the two ancient institutions at Huntingdon with which the originating summons was concerned.
The first was known as as the Huntingdon Commons for the benefit of Freemen and the Widows of Freemen in the Ancient Borough of Huntingdon ("the Commons Charity"). The second was called the Lammas Rights in the Ancient Borough of Huntingdon ("the Lammas Charity").
In the case of the Commons Charity the object as registered was described as "provision of income for the freemen and freemen's widows of Huntingdon granted by Charter". The governing instrument was said to be "Ancient Borough Charter (lost)".
In the case of the Lammas Charity the object as registered was described as "general benefits of the freemen and freemen's widows of the former borough of Huntingdon" of which the governing instrument was the abstract of title.
In each case, it was to be inferred, the charity was presumed to arise from a grant to the ancient borough of Huntingdon subject to a trust or condition in favour of the freemen and their widows, as exemplified in the
decision of the House of Lords in Goodman v Mayor of Saltash ((1882) 7 AC 633), in order to give lawful origin to rights which had been exercised from time immemorial.
By March 1991 the class of freemen entitled to benefit had so reduced and income from the proceeds of sale of much of the property comprised in the charities had so increased that the annual benefit to a freeman was more than the Charity Commissioners considered to be consistent with application of charitable funds.
They suggested that the plaintiffs, the trustees of both charities, ought to apply for a scheme to ensure that income was only paid to freemen in need and the surplus applied to help the poor and sick of the borough.
The issues raised by the amended originating summons might be summarised as:
1 Whether the freemen and the widows of former freemen for the time being qualified to benefit had a...
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