Will of Sidney Michael Poland
Mr Poland's Will
In his will Mr Poland "devised my messuage or dwelling house in which I am now residing called "The Manor" Brockham Green aforesaid together with the pleasure grounds and gardens outbuildings and appurtenances thereto belonging or therewith usually held or enjoyed and all my household furniture jewellery plate plated articles linen china books manuscripts pictures drawings prints and all other articles of household use or ornament comprised therein. ----- To the use of my Trustees in fee simple or absolutely as the case may be free of all duties Upon Trust ---- to my sisters and brother --- Rosina then Jane and then Charlie the right to live there rent free ----- from and after the decease of the survivors or immediately upon the failure of the trusts ---- convey the said premises and assign the said effects to the Committee (to be known as the Manor Committee) to be appointed by my Trustees or to be elected in such manner as my Trustees may think fit but so that the Committee shall consist of three Gentlemen two Ladies and one representative of the villagers ( being inhabitants of the parish of Brockham Green aforesaid) -------- to retain the said messuage and lands as a home and recreation ground or for sports and amusements whether with or without charge for the benefit and advantage of the inhabitants of Brockham Green aforesaid and their relations and friends in such manner as the Manor Committee shall think fit but it is my wish that the lawns of my said house shall be kept as much as possible in the estate and condition in which they now are or shall be at the date of my death---------"
Bequests for whole village in £130,000 will
From a 1936 newspaper cutting Church, Carollers and Cricket Club: From our Special Correspondent
With the publication to-day of the £130,000 will of Mr Sidney Michael Poland, a retired furrier who died last April, aged 82; this Surrey Village learned how its beloved squire had made provision for all its inhabitants. No one and nothing connected with the village has been forgotten - from the children to the carol singers, from the church to the cricket club. Mr Poland even left his manor house and gardens, subject to relatives' life interests, to be turned into a home and recreation ground. The gross value of his will was £130,240, with net personalty £128,109. Here are some of his bequests:
To the Parish Council:
£100, the income to be distributed among such relatives (men, women and children) as shall, between 7pm and 8pm on Christmas Eve, sing carols at Christmas Corner.
To the Church Council:
£200 to provide bell as a memorial to his late wife:
£550 for the upkeep of the bells
£100 for a window in the church
£250 for a lych gate
£220 for three new windows over the communion table;
£500 for distribution among the necessitous of Brockham Green; and
£500 on trust to provide an annual holiday for the children of Brockham
To the Cricket Club:
£300 for the benefit of the club as the committee think fit;
£250 to be expended in improving Brockham Green for cricket
Two pieces of cloth coloured chocolate and blue - the colours worn by him for many years - in the hope that the club would adopt them as club colours.
For Christmas Dinner:
Mr Poland also left:
£1250 to Brockham Home, on trust to provide yearly
£5 for the Christmas dinner
£10 for potatoes for the Home
£15 for pocket money for the children
£10 for an outing for the children
£10 to any child, formerly a member of the Home, who shall have remained in her first or second place in domestic service for a continuous period of five years
£50 to Brockham Village Hall on trust, to buy prizes for the billiards handicap
His house and household effects he left to his sister, Miss Rosina Anne Poland for life, or to his brother, Mr Charles Ernest Poland, retired nurseryman of Sunfield, Buxton Lane, Caterham, Surrey, for life, and then: On trust to convey the premises to a committee as a home and recreation ground or for sports and amusements for the benefit and advantage of the inhabitants of Brockham Green and their relations and friends as the committee think fit. He stated he had erected two bungalows in the grounds of the Manor and directed that two more be erected, all to be for the use of poor persons of 60 years of age or more, at a rental of 2s per week.
Staff Remembered:
After personal bequests to relatives Mr Poland left varying sums to all his servants, and directed that the residue of his property be placed on trust to provide £1500 for the brother or sister living at the Manor. In the event of the income exceeding that figure £25 will go to each of the following: The Brockham Outing Fund, Brockham Church Council (for the poor), and Brockham Home (for milk). When his relative's residence at the Manor ceases, the income from the residue of his property will all go to the upkeep of Brockham Manor as a home.
He Loved Them: Miss Rosina Poland told me tonight:"My brother loved the people of this village and delighted in bringing quantities off boots, clothes, and other things to the house so that he could distribute them to the people - especially the children-in the evening. He was an expert at cricket, bowls and billiards, and used to organise and pay for, countless outings and championships.He lived here for 48 years and was buried on the same date as that on which he first came here - May 1st. His wife died 11 years ago, and there are no children."
Mr Capon his gardener, said: "People for miles around will miss Mr Poland. It would take too long to tell the hundreds of little ways in which he spent money to help poor people or to give unexpected treats, "He was a grand old sport."