Eleanor Palmer almshouses, Wood Street, Chipping Barnet 07

Eleanor Palmer (died 1558) was an English philanthropist who established a charity to help the poor of

Chipping Barnet Chipping Barnet or High Barnet is a suburban market town in north London, forming part of the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is a suburban development built around a 12th-century settlement, and is located north-northwest of Charing Cr ...

and

Kentish Town Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town. Less than four miles north of central London, Kentish Town has good transport connections and is situated close to the ope ...

, now parts of London. Her charity still exists and owns and runs almshouses and residential homes for the elderly.

Life

She was the daughter of Edward Cheeseman (died 1510), a lawyer and administrator who became Cofferer and Keeper of the Wardrobe to King Henry VII, and his wife Joan Lawrence (died 1536). Her brother was Robert Cheeseman (1485-1547), a member of Parliament for Middlesex. Her first husband was Edward Taylor (died 1509) and her second husband was John Palmer (died 1542), younger son of Richard Palmer and his wife Margery Harthill. He held the manor of Rugmere, which is now the district of

Chalk Farm Chalk Farm is a small urban district of north London, lying immediately north of Camden Town, in the London Borough of Camden. History Manor of Rugmere Chalk Farm was originally known as the Manor of Rugmere, an estate that was mentioned in ...

, and she held lands in the manors of Tottenhall and Cantlowes. She is reported to have had eight children, of which those with John Palmer known to have married are: :Jerome (died 1565), who married Eleanor, daughter of

William Paget, 1st Baron Paget William Paget, 1st Baron Paget of Beaudesert (15069 June 1563), was an English statesman and accountant who held prominent positions in the service of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I. Early life He was the son of John Pachett or Paget, one ...

. Their daughter and heiress, Mary, was the mother of

Edmund Colles Edmund Colles (1528–1606) was an English landowner, administrator and legislator from Worcestershire who, although sympathetic to Catholicism, held public office throughout the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Origins The eldest son of William Co ...

. :Sir Christopher, of

Shenley, Hertfordshire Shenley is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, between Barnet and St Albans. The village is located 14 miles from Central London. History The history of Shenley stretches back a thousand years or more – it is mentioned in ...

, who married Elizabeth, daughter of James Barnesdale, and had nine children. :Frances, who married William Bone. :Erasma, who married Francis Shackerley, of

Otham Otham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Maidstone, Maidstone district of Kent, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 523, with 204 dwellings. Buildings The village itself has been in existence since be ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. :Alice (died 1573), who married first Sir William Stanford (died 1558), and secondly Roger Carew, MP for

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

in 1563. She died on 29 February 1558, and was buried in

St John the Baptist Church, Chipping Barnet St John the Baptist Church is the Church of England parish church of Chipping Barnet, Greater London. It forms part of the Chipping Barnet Team Ministry, comprising St Mark's, Barnet Vale, St Peter's, Arkley and St Stephen's, Bell's Hill. It c ...

Her charity

Her memorial plaque in Chipping Barnet church records that she "Dyd geve tow acares of medow ground in Kentishe towne holden of ye prebent of cantelous unto yet use of the poore of this town and of Kentishtowne for ever".History of the Eleanor Palmer Trust.
Eleanor Palmer Trust. Retrieved 31 August 2015. (Did give two acres of meadow ground in Kentish Town held from the Prebend of Cantlowes for the use of the poor of this town (''that is Chipping Barnet'') and of Kentish Town for ever.) Her charity is today run as two separate funds, the Eleanor Palmer Trust in Chipping Barnet and East Barnet, and The Estate Charity of Eleanor Palmer in Kentish Town. Rents from land owned by the charity support its activities and the trust additionally owns and runs

almshouses An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...

and residential accommodation for the elderly. In 1999, The Samuel and Rebecca Byford Charity of Chipping Barnet was merged into the Eleanor Palmer Trust. Eleanor Palmer Primary School in

is built on land she gave.Popular Information.
Eleanor Palmer Primary School. Retrieved 31 August 2015.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Eleanor 1558 deaths English philanthropists Kentish Town Chipping Barnet Year of birth missing