William Derrey was landlord of the Hardwick Inn, near Hardwick Hall, Chesterfield who died in 1797 leaving £200, then a princely sum, to be invested in government bonds, the income of which was to be used by the Vicar of Ault Hucknall as a discretionary fund.

In 1997, the 200th anniversary of the charity, the total assets were worth £142, yielding an annual interest for  the Vicar making donations to particular needs of around 70p per    annum and the funds were invested in a bank, NatWest giving half a   percent interest.

The trustees had a choice. Either to dissolve the charity because it was not considered viable, or to restore it by fundraising so that the Vicar could again have resources to make donations as he saw fit to further his ministry or support the occasional  parishioner or other need that could not be met from any other community resource.

The charity is in much better shape than it was in 1997, but it is a hand to mouth situation. The incumbent can now donate from the interest of the charity investments about £30 per annum—still not a lot. The funds are giving a much better return since they have been invested with COIF Charities Investment Fund.

The Charity has begun to work again in that several essential needs have been met at the Vicar’s discretion, but the nature of those needs is not, understandably, for public knowledge.

No applications please. This is a charity where the left hand will not know what the right is doing. (Apart from the Trustees and the Charity Commissioners that is.)