Whenever the word ‘benefactor’ is mentioned in Wokingham only the name ‘John Walter’ usually springs to mind. But believe it or not the town and St. Paul’s Parish were fortunate enough to have two benefactors. The second was Edward Thomas Ellison, churchwarden, school manager and former town councillor who lived with his four sisters at The Elms in Broad Street.
About 1890, Mrs. Catherine Margaret Ellison (1821-1901), widow of George Thomas Ellison (1811-1885) landowner and solicitor, and her family moved into The Elms, at 26 Broad Street. Thomas, a retired judge from the Bengali Civil Service, purchased the house and all that meadow and pasture land adjoining the garden and grounds of The Elms, Broad Street for £7,000.
Thomas and his sisters, none of whom ever married, soon became very much involved in St. Paul’s Parish and in church activities. The Elms , over the next sixty years, became a venue for many parochial events including g irls’ sewing classes, Christmas parties for children and sales of work.
Thomas served as sidesman, church warden, parish correspondent and was one of the foundation managers of St Paul’s Schools. As Mayor’s Auditor, he was a member of the Wokingham Town Council from 1902 to 1910. Ever interested in the welfare of the youth of the town, Thomas also served as a lieutenant in the Boys’ Brigade.
Over the years Thomas donated generously to the town and St. Paul’s Parish. Among his many gifts were:-
1898 A school library of 155 books.
1907 A rifle range in The Terrace for the army cadets.
1910 Financed repairs to the ceiling and roof of St Paul’ s Church.
1911 St. Paul’s School, Parish Room and Clock Tower which he purchased from the Walter family to whom the Parish had been paying rent.
1913 A Jubilee gift of £50 to St Paul’ s Church.
In 1911, in recognition of his generosity, the parishioners presented Thomas with a silver casket, now known as The Ellison Casket, together with a vellum scroll containing a citation and list of donors. The casket is about 30 cm long, 13 cm wide and 10 cm deep, and bears the Ellison crest. On one side is a small enamel miniature of St. Paul’s Church and on the other is one of the old school and parish room. Some of the ornate decoration comprises oak leaves symbolising Wokingham.
The citation reads:
We whose names are here undersigned, ask you to kindly accept this small token from us in recognition of the generous, benevolent and active interest you have unceasingly shown during many years past in connection with the welfare of
St. Paul’s Church Parish and Schools
And we desire especially to record our grateful sense and appreciation of your kind liberality in having recently presented as a gift to the Church and Parish of St. Paul the
School Buildings and Parish Room
Purchased by you for that purpose.
As time passed, the casket was forgotten until March 1974, when a communication was received from Thomas Ellison’s grandson, the Bishop of London, offering to return the casket if someone would fetch it from Fulham Palace. It appears that someone did fetch the casket and deposited it in the rectory, where, once again, it was forgotten until, in 1985, the Rev Peter Rapsey found it by chance. He thought it advisable, as the casket was a part of the history of Wokingham, that it should be kept in the Town Hall. The casket is now on permanent loan to the Town Council and is displayed together with the rest of the silver during civic events. A copy of the citation hangs in the Mayor’s Parlour.
From the late 1920s until 1952 when the last member of the family, Margaret Isabel, passed away, the sisters allowed Elms Field at the corner of Wellington Road and Finchampstead Road, to be used for the town carnival. A fter Margaret Isabel’ s death in 1956 , her executors sold The Elms field to the Borough Council for the sum of £12,000 to be used as a public open space. Unfortunately, this was appropriated for development in 2006 by Wokingham Borough Council much against the wishes of the residents of the town.
Ellison Way is named after Margaret who intended that the Elms field should be for the people of Wokingham for their enjoyment and leisure for ever. (W2/14)
Thomas and his sisters are buried on the right hand side of the main footpath to the church behind the grave of Alderman Willey: Thomas Edward (1843-1915) Catherine Elizabeth Anne (1849-1919), Katharine (Kate) Georgiana (1854-1941), Mary Blanche (1859-1943) and Margaret Isabel (1864-1952) .
Click on the scroll to enlarge