Willen People

Dr. Richard Busby

The Busby Trust
When he died, Richard Busby decreed in his will that the estates should be managed by a board of Trustees, who had to be old pupils of Westminster School. They would select the vicar who had also to be a Westminster man. Busby left £20 per year for the vicar on condition that he would hold services in the church every Wednesday, Friday and Holy day throughout the year. He also founded a trust for the Busby lectures to be delivered annually by laymen. The estates were sold by the Trust in 1948. Throughout that time the Trust did many good works: they repaired or rebuilt decayed cottages and farm buildings, they established the school in 1847 and provided financial help to such distressed inhabitants such as William Abbott.

There are many famous and important names among the Busby Trustees: William Thursby; Sir Thomas Millington; Dr Henry Aldrich; Sir Gilbert Dolben; Lord Viscount Landsborough; John, Lord Carteret, afterwards Earl Granville; Henry Lord Carleton, Duke of Beaufort; Duke of Portland; Robert Auriol Drummond Hay, Earl of Kinnoul.

Do you notice anything about these names?

The Busby Library
Dr Busby also created a Library in the church. At one stage it comprised 620 volumes of leather-bound works of the 16th, 17th and 18th century. Most were the gift of Dr Busby, but others were added later by Hume, the Rector of Bradwell. Initially the Library was housed in the 'North Chamber adjoining the tower' of St. Mary Magdalene's Church, but later it was moved to the Vicarage. In the May 1946, the vicarage was burned down and the library was destroyed.Among the collection of fine and rare books destroyed were: a very rare "She" bible, (so named because the word 'she' occurs instead of 'he' in the third chapter of Ruth), the authorised version of the New Testament 1611 and the old Testament 1613 bound together.
Answer to question: All of these Busby Trustees have roads names after them in Willen.