Catalogue description Elementary Education Endowment Files

The list follows a geographical arrangement and foundations are grouped under the civil or ecclesiastical areas comprising or containing the beneficial area. (The beneficial areas of foundations do not always follow the same boundaries as existing civil or ecclesiastical areas.) Cross references have been made where the foundations cover two or three parishes but where many parishes are involved the foundation is shown under a 'General' heading at the end of the county.

Files from special series (1903 to 1921 aproximately) dealing with estate management and approval of schemes, have been listed after the general file in the case of each endowment, school or institution. where separate files were created in respect of 'Estate Management' or 'Schemes' these have been incorporated in the series and listed immediately following the main file of the foundation.

It should be noted that administrative procedures at the Charity Commission have heavily influenced the content and arrangement of papers within files. In particular, papers were routinely extracted and passed to staff undertaking work or placed in a legal records store. Cross-reference sheets noting extraction details were required to be inserted but, in practice, this did not always occur. Furthermore, papers re-inserted were not always placed back at the point in the file from which they have been extracted. It is not uncommon to find some documents moved through the file, shadowing the latest papers and correspondence on a particular issue. Thus, whilst files have a chronological flow advancing from the front to the back of the document there will often be discrepancies. Researchers are advised to work through an entire file when seeking material relevant to their enquiry.

No file should be deemed complete as these administrative procedures straddle periods of custody at the Commission. In particular, aforementioned legal records extracted for separate storage were not returned when files were returned to the Department of Education.

A further complication arises from the continued operational use of these files, by the Commission, whilst, at the same time, the record series was subject to review and selection for permanent historical preservation at the Public Record Office. Some files were passed by the Board of Education prior to deposit, others were subject transfer from the Public Record Office to the Commission post deposit. There has been no formal cessation in the use of these files, even though the Commission now undertakes most of its work using electronic records. Researchers should note that some files remain absent from the collection. (Where records are absent this is noted in the catalogue).

The National Archives has, in the past, accepted collections from the Commission comprising files for individual charities. The National Archives continues to receive records relating to the policy, strategy and national administration of the Commission. Records specific to local charities are deposited with local archive services or other bodies associated with the charity. Those undertaking research of a particular charity are advised to consult both The National Archives and relevant local archive services in pursuit of records.

The Board of Education Act, 1899 transferred to this department the powers exercised by the Charity Commissioners relating to educational charities and provided that any question as to whether an endowment was educational or eleemosynary (related to alms) should be determined by the Charity Commissioners.

The Charity Commissioners, when necessary, made determination orders whereby the part of the charity which was educational was divided from the rest. Where a foundation was considered to be solely educational the determination was usually made by letter addressed to the Board of Education and in these cases, the existing files of the Charity Commissioners were transferred to this department.

The majority of the educational 'parts' of charities have acquired a separate body of trustees and have become separate foundations; a number however, remain under the control of the trustees of the eleemosynary parts.