Legal Definitions - Queen Anne's Bounty

Queen Anne's Bounty was a historic fund established in 1704 by Queen Anne of Great Britain. Its creation involved the Crown returning the ancient ecclesiastical taxes known as "first fruits" and "tenths" to the Church of England. These taxes, which were originally paid to the Pope and later appropriated by the Crown during the Reformation, represented the whole of a benefice's first year's income (first fruits) and a tenth of its annual income thereafter (tenths).

The primary purpose of Queen Anne's Bounty was to augment the incomes of poorer clergy and improve the financial stability of less prosperous benefices within the Church of England. The fund operated for over two centuries, providing grants and loans to increase stipends, purchase glebe land (land belonging to a parish church), and build or repair parsonages. In 1948, Queen Anne's Bounty was merged with the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to form the Church Commissioners, which continues to manage the Church of England's assets today.

Here are some examples illustrating the application of Queen Anne's Bounty:

• Example 1: Supporting a Rural Vicar

  Imagine a vicar serving a small, remote parish in Cornwall in the mid-18th century. His parish is sparsely populated, and the tithes and offerings collected are barely enough to sustain him and his family. Through an application to Queen Anne's Bounty, his benefice receives an augmentation – a grant designed to supplement his meager income. This additional financial support allows him to afford necessary books for his studies, maintain his household, and continue his pastoral duties without the constant burden of extreme poverty.

  This example illustrates how Queen Anne's Bounty directly fulfilled its core mission of increasing the incomes of individual poorer clergy, ensuring they could maintain a reasonable standard of living and effectively serve their communities.

• Example 2: Improving Church Property

  Consider a parish in rural Yorkshire during the early 19th century where the rectory, the official residence for the rector, has fallen into severe disrepair. The current incumbent cannot afford the extensive renovations needed, and the dilapidated state makes it an unsuitable home. The parish applies to Queen Anne's Bounty for assistance. The fund provides a loan or grant specifically for the purpose of repairing the rectory, making it habitable and appropriate for future rectors. In some cases, the Bounty might even provide funds to purchase additional glebe land, which could then be rented out to generate a small, consistent income for the benefice.

  This example demonstrates how the Bounty's funds were used not just for direct income support, but also for improving the physical assets of the Church, such as parsonages and glebe land, thereby enhancing the long-term financial viability and practical resources of benefices.

• Example 3: Consolidating and Augmenting Small Livings

  In the late 19th century, a growing industrial town in the Midlands found itself with several very small, poorly endowed ecclesiastical livings, each struggling to support a clergyman. Queen Anne's Bounty played a role in a scheme to consolidate some of these smaller livings or to provide significant capital grants to bring their incomes up to a more sustainable level. By investing in these struggling urban parishes, the Bounty helped ensure that the Church could effectively minister to the rapidly expanding population, preventing clergy from being forced to abandon their posts due to financial hardship.

  This example highlights the strategic role Queen Anne's Bounty played in addressing systemic issues of poverty within the Church of England, not just through individual grants but also by contributing to broader schemes that aimed to create more viable and effective ecclesiastical structures, particularly in areas of social change.