| Description | Catharine Albright died on 27 May 1945, leaving Finstall House Farm, Finstall Mount and Coombe Cottage near Bromsgrove to Warwickshire Monthly Meeting to either use or sell and use the proceeds from the sale for such charitable purposes as the Monthly Meeting determined.
Warwickshire Monthly Meeting appointed Finstall Farm Committee, and with the Monthly Meeting's permission, the Committee arranged the sale of Finstall Mount and Coombe Cottage so that they could raise capital to renovate and equip Finstall Farm for use as a guest house for Friends in need of rest and refreshment, and also as a conference centre for Friends and others. By 1949, it was apparent that it was not fulfilling its original aims and had not been used to capacity. Friends were not using it as a guest house for quiet recuperation and although it was being successfully used for conferences, the majority of guests were not Friends. It was also felt that some considerable modernisation was necessary. It was decided to sell the property and use the proceeds of the sale to support causes which Catharine Albright had been interested in. From April 1950 it became known as the Catherine Albright Bequest Fund.
The fund gave financial help to enable Friends of Warwickshire Monthly Meeting to obtain respite breaks, help at home for the elderly and for those with small children, and attend Quaker retreats and summer schools, including help with holidays for Friends with young children. With the legislative changes made in the social welfare system in the years since 1950, it was found that by the 1990s payments from the Fund were rarely used to help Friends in these areas. In 1992 the Fund was wound up and any remaining funds were gifted to the Susannah Cole and Others Trust Fund (see SF/2/1/1/10/4/1). |