The Anchor Society CIO is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation based in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, England which supports older people in need in the Bristol and

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

region (BS, BA and GL Postcodes). Its work primarily centres around grants to individuals, housing and other projects which benefit older people. The original unincorporated Anchor Society was formed by the Whigs in 1769, when it held a dinner at the Three Tuns, a tavern on the site of the present Corn Exchange in the centre of the medieval quarter of Bristol, when 22 members were present. Some 46 years after his death, the initial founders wished to emulate

Edward Colston Edward Colston (2 November 1636 – 11 October 1721) was an English merchant, Atlantic slave trade, slave trader, philanthropy, philanthropist and Tories (British political party), Tory Member of Parliament. Colston followed his father in th ...

's philanthropy, so at this inaugural dinner the President, Gilbert Davies took up a collection for their charitable work. Initially, the Anchor Society supported 'lying-in' women and poor orphaned females to save them from prostitution. Today, the charity focuses its attention on helping older people in need. The Anchor Society is closely aligned with the Dolphin Society and the Grateful Society, both of which also help older people in the greater Bristol area. All three societies also gather in mid-November to celebrate their charitable work at an annual service of thanksgiving. Since its inception, there has been an unbroken record of Presidents' annual appointments and personal collections in support of the charity's work.

Past Presidents and annual collections

*1769 Gilbert Davies - £12 *1770 Gilbert Davies - £35 *1771 John Fowle - £46 *1772 John Rowland - £80 *1773 Dr. Andrew Paterson - £86 *1774 Dr. John Wright - £121 *1787 James Harvey - £290 *1789 Robert Claxton - £350 *1791 John Harris - £361 *1800 Samuel Span - £284 *1814 Brooke Smith - £360 *1820 Micheal Hinton Castle - £374 *1840 Frederick Ricketts - £536 *1841 Richard Ash - £441 *1843 F.H.F. Berkeley, M.P. - £619 *1859

Elisha Smith Robinson Elisha Smith Robinson (1817–1885) was an English businessman and politician. Early life and business career Robinson was born in 1817 in Overbury, on the Worcestershire-Gloucestershire borders where his father Edward Robinson, a paper maker, ...

- £510 *1866

William Henry Wills William Wills may refer to: * William Wills, 1st Baron Winterstoke (1830–1911), British businessman and peer * William Gorman Wills (1828–1891), Irish dramatist and painter * William Henry Wills (journalist) (1810–1880), journalist, newspaper ...

, 1st Baron Winterstoke - £634 *1867 George Wills - £576 *1868

Lewis Fry Lewis Fry (16 April 1832 – 10 September 1921) was a Quaker, lawyer, philanthropist and a Liberal and later Liberal and Unionist politician who sat in the House of Commons in three spells between 1878 and 1900. Early life Fry was the son ...

- £1,022 *1878 Samuel Day Wills - £915 *1880

Sir Edward Payson Wills Bt ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part o ...

. K.C.B. - £941 *1881 Francis J.Fry - £1,003 *1882

Sir Frederick Wills Sir Frederick Wills, 1st Baronet (22 November 1838 – 18 February 1909) was a businessman, philanthropist and politician in the United Kingdom. He was a director of W. D. & H. O. Wills, a famous tobacco company headquartered in Bristol which ...

Bt - £1,011 *1883 Charles Townsend - £946 *1887 Edward Robinson - £1,035 *1891

Sir Frank William Wills Sir Frank William Wills (17 August 1852 – 26 March 1932) of Berkeley Square, Bristol, England, was a member of the Wills tobacco family, who became a noted British architect and went on to serve as Lord Mayor of Bristol. Early life and ...

Kt. - £1,054 *1892 Sir William Howell Davis - £1,070 *1895

Walter Melville Wills Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

- £1,020 *1898 Sir Herbert Ashman Bt. - £1,315 *1921 Percy Steadman - £1,851 *1922 Alderman George Bryant Britton, M.P. - £1,426 *1930 W.H.Eyles - £1,212 *1931 H.C.Lenard - £1,389 *1936 Dr. J. Odery Symes - £1,726 *1935 Harold G.Robinson - £2,017 *1939 T.Thornton Wills - £1,463 *1940 Sir Seymour Williams - £1,158 *1941 Colonel E.W.Lennard - £1,643 *1945 F.M.Arkle - £2,263 *1946 J.H.Britton, C.B.E - £2,231 *1947 Brig. A.W.L.Newth, C.B.E, D.S.O, M.C. - £2,306 *1954 J.B.Steadman - £4,102 *1961 J.A.Seymour-Williams - £3,429 *1966 Andrew Breach C.B.E. - £4,781 *1968 H.P. Lucas - £6,108 *1967 Sir John Partridge, K.B.E. - £5,775 *1969 Henry Hugh Arthur Fitzroy Somerset, 10th Duke of Beaufort - £10,056 *1976 D.A.Newton - £10,695 *1977

Patrick Seager Hill Patrick Seager Hill, T.D. (16 January 1915 – 17 December 2010) was a British clothing manufacturer, who was a pioneer and developer of safety and fire protective clothing. Early life and military service Hill was born on 16 January 1915 in Bri ...

, T.D. - £9,490 *1978 Micheal Collings - £12,362 *1979 Paul Watling - £9,552 *1980 J.G.S.Young - £15,645 *1981 R.A.Garret C.B.E. - £12,807 *1983 Norman Ricketts, O.B.E - £21,060 *1985 J.R.Pool M.B.E. - £28,174 *1986 His Honour Judge J.A.Cox - £23,339 *1990 F.A. Avery - £50,269 *1994 Robert Durie O.B.E. - £71,686 *1999 John Burke O.B.E - £95,656 *2003 Sir David James Vernon Wills, 5th Baronet - £74,225 *2015 Canon Dr. John Savage C.B.E. - £83,067 *2016 Bob Reeves LL.D - £100,897 *2017 Dr John Manley - £103,186 *2018 Professor Steve West CBE DL - £108,774 *2019 Dr Ros Kennedy - £104,763 *2020 Francis Montagu - £109,312

References

External links

The Anchor SocietyThe Grateful SocietyThe Dolphin Society
Charities based in Bristol Organizations established in 1759 {{philanthropy-org-stub