Rev Paul Trevor Darlington
Trustee since 21 June 2005 · Chair
Vicar at St Oswald's until 2019, our chair convenes the quarterly meetings and reads the lessons at our two annual services of thanksgiving.
About the charity
Three hundred and fifty years of looking after ten doorways.
The Eure and Smale Charity grew from two small Oswestry bequests — one of 1672, one of 1748 — and was consolidated under a Scheme of the Charity Commissioners dated 21 December 1979. Our work has not really changed since: we look after ten almshouses and the people in them.
Eure's Row, photographed in February 2024 by a trustee.
The charity takes its name from two Oswestry benefactors who never met. John Eure, a wool-merchant of Beatrice Street, set aside a small annuity in his 1672 will for the building of “six dwellings… for the godly poor of this parish”. Seventy-six years later, in 1748, Mary Smale — widowed, childless, and the keeper of a millinery on Cross Street — left the residue of her estate for the addition of “fower more cottages, the same to stand near unto the Eure houses”. The two endowments ran in parallel for two hundred years, administered first by the Vestry and then by a small body of trustees drawn from the parishes of St Oswald's and Holy Trinity.
In 1979 the Charity Commissioners drew the two endowments together under a single Scheme. That Scheme — dated 21 December 1979, with a further Order of 9 December 2003 — remains our governing document. It charges the trustees with applying the charity's resources “for the benefit of the residents in the Almshouses in such manner as the Trustees think fit from time to time”. The wording is unhurried and gives us very little to argue about.
Our area of benefit is the former Oswestry Borough, which today falls within the unitary authority of Shropshire Council. In practice the residents come from across the Vale: Oswestry itself, Trefonen, Treflach, Gobowen, Whittington, Hengoed, Weston Rhyn, Llanymynech, and occasionally further afield where there is a connection to the town.
A short timeline
What follows is a working chronology, drawn from parish minutes, our cash-books, and the Charity Commissioners' records.
1672
John Eure's bequest
By his will of 14 March 1672, John Eure of Beatrice Street provides for the building of six dwellings for the godly poor of the parish of St Oswald.
1748
Mary Smale's gift
Mary Smale, milliner of Cross Street, leaves the residue of her estate to be used for the building of four further cottages, “the same to stand near unto the Eure houses”.
1859
The Vestry steps back
Under the Charitable Trusts Act, day-to-day administration passes from the Vestry to a body of seven nominated trustees, drawn from the two principal parishes.
1881
A gardener attached
The Oswestry & Border Counties Almanack first lists “a gardener” attached to the Eure foundation — the earliest written record of the walled garden as a managed space.
1932
Piped water
The cottages are connected to the town water supply. A standpipe in the courtyard, which had served all ten houses, is finally retired.
1979
A consolidating Scheme
The Charity Commissioners issue the Scheme of 21 December 1979, which draws the two endowments together under a single trust and the present name.
2003
An Order updating governance
An Order of 9 December 2003 modernises the trustee body — eight serving trustees, three-year renewable terms, and a quarterly meeting cycle.
2014
Hearth & Hand begins
A trustee proposes a small befriending scheme. By the end of the year, eight neighbours have signed up; today there are fourteen.
2024
The roof appeal opens
After a wet autumn, slates on the south side of Eure's Row begin to lift. The trustees launch a £45,000 appeal for re-slating, the largest single repair in living memory.
2025
Three trustees retire, three are appointed
Three long-serving trustees stand down at the AGM; three new trustees are appointed, including the first under-40 trustee since 1979.
The trustees
The Eure and Smale Charity is governed by eight serving trustees, none of whom receive any remuneration, payments or benefits from the charity. Two of our trustees are clergy of the parishes from which the original endowments sprang. Four are drawn from civic life in Oswestry; two are residents of the wider Vale.
The names below are recorded on the Charity Commission's public register for charity 220042.
Rev Harvey Gibbons
Trustee since 06 November 2018
Our second clerical trustee, with pastoral oversight of residents and the link to Holy Trinity. He has a quiet hand with difficult letters.
Paul Francis Shevlin
Trustee since 17 January 2024 · Buildings
A retired Shropshire surveyor who looks after our quinquennial inspection schedule and the long correspondence with the Penrhyn slate yard.
Jonathan Andrew Upton
Trustee since 15 May 2024 · Treasurer
A retired chartered accountant from Trefonen. He keeps our books, our cash-flow forecast, and our running list of standing orders.
Our other serving trustees are Frank Reginald Davis (appointed 10 July 2024) , Brighid Carey (appointed 18 February 2025) , Richard Elmitt (appointed 21 May 2025) , and Duncan Kerr (appointed 21 May 2025) . Photographs of all serving trustees are pinned to the noticeboard inside the Beatrice Street office.
Governance
The trustees meet four times a year — at Lady Day, Midsummer, Michaelmas and Christmas — at the side room of St Oswald's Parish Church. The first fifteen minutes of each meeting are open to members of the public; minutes are kept in long-hand and typed up by the clerk within seven days. Any resident may request a private meeting with two trustees at any time.
We are members of the Almshouse Association and adhere to their Standards of Almshouse Management. Our policies — safeguarding, complaints, equality, conflicts of interest — are kept under quinquennial review and are available on request.
Accounts at a glance
For the year ending 31 March 2025, our reported income was £63,708 and our reported expenditure was £134,089 — the difference made up from accumulated reserves and a deliberate, trustee-authorised spend on roof preparation. Trustees take no payments. We have no employees. The annual report and accounts are filed on time each year with the Charity Commission and may be inspected on the public register, charity 220042.
| Year to 31 March | Income | Expenditure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | £63,708 | £134,089 | Roof preparation begins |
| 2024 | £61,250 | £96,400 | Damp survey of all ten cottages |
| 2023 | £58,910 | £84,200 | Replacement of two oak window-frames |
| 2022 | £55,400 | £73,500 | Three new resident appointments |