Biography

In his will of July 22, 1735, John Wilde left the town of Lowestoft his estate in Worlingham, which was exchanged by an act of 1791 with Robert Sparrow and Mary Bence for Croatfield Farm, 118 acres situated in the parishes of Laxfield, Dennington and Badingham, two cottages, a shop, a fish house, and his dole lands, all in Lowestoft. The trustees appointed to oversee his estate were instructed to use rents from this property to appoint a schoolmaster to teach 40 boys reading, writing, arithmetics and Latin. Wilde also made provision for yearly payments to the minister, clerk and sexton of Lowestoft on the condition that the minister preached a sermon on the training of children. Any surplus money was used to repair the schoolhouse and relieve the poor.

By an order of the Charity Commission dated November 9, 1888, John Wilde's Charity was amalgamated with other Lowestoft charities and entitled "The Church and Town Estate and the Amalgamated Poor and Almshouse Charities". A further Charity Commission scheme for the management of the amalgamated Lowestoft Charities was passed in 1902. The Lowestoft Charities Board continues its work to this day.

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