Eleanor Palmer (died 1558) was an English philanthropist who established a charity to help the poor of

Chipping Barnet Chipping Barnet or High Barnet is a suburban market town in north London, forming part of the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is a suburban development built around a 12th-century settlement, and is located north-northwest of Charing C ...

and

Kentish Town Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England, in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town, close to Hampstead Heath. Kentish Town likely derives its name from Ken-ditch or Caen-ditch, meaning the "bed of a waterw ...

, now parts of London. Her charity still exists and owns and runs almshouses and residential homes for the elderly.

Life

She was the daughter of Edward Cheeseman (died 1510), a lawyer and administrator who became Cofferer and Keeper of the Wardrobe to King Henry VII, and his wife Joan Lawrence (died 1536). Her brother was

Robert Cheeseman Robert Cheeseman or Cheseman (1485–1547) was an English politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Middlesex, 28 April 1539 – 24 July 1540. Life He was born in 1485, son and heir of Edward Cheeseman, Cofferer and Keeper of the W ...

(1485-1547), a member of Parliament for Middlesex. Her first husband was Edward Taylor (died 1509) and her second husband was John Palmer (died 1542), younger son of Richard Palmer and his wife Margery Harthill. He held the manor of Rugmere, which is now the district of

Chalk Farm Chalk Farm is a small urban district of north west London, lying immediately north of Camden Town, in the London Borough of Camden. History Manor of Rugmere Chalk Farm was originally known as the Manor of Rugmere, an estate that was mentio ...

, and she held lands in the manors of Tottenhall and Cantlowes. She is reported to have had eight children, of which those with John Palmer known to have married are: :Jerome (died 1565), who married Eleanor, daughter of

William Paget, 1st Baron Paget William Paget, 1st Baron Paget of Beaudesert (15069 June 1563), was an English statesman and accountant who held prominent positions in the service of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I. He was the patriarch of the Paget family, whose descend ...

. Their daughter and heiress, Mary, was the mother of

Edmund Colles Edmund Colles (1528–1606) was an English landowner, administrator and legislator from Worcestershire who, although sympathetic to Catholicism, held public office throughout the reign of Elizabeth I of England, Queen Elizabeth I. Origins The ...

. :Sir Christopher, of

Shenley, Hertfordshire Shenley is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, between Barnet and St Albans. The village is located 14 miles from Central London. As of 2021, the population of the parish was 5,390; however, the parish stretches far beyond t ...

, who married Elizabeth, daughter of James Barnesdale, and had nine children. :Frances, who married William Bone. :Erasma, who married Francis Shackerley, of

Otham Otham () is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Maidstone, Maidstone district of Kent, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 523, with 204 dwellings. Buildings The village itself has been in existence sin ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. :Alice (died 1573), who married first Sir William Stanford (died 1558), and secondly Roger Carew, MP for

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

in 1563. She died on 29 February 1558, and was buried in

St John the Baptist Church, Chipping Barnet St John the Baptist Church is the Church of England parish church of Chipping Barnet, Greater London. It forms part of the Chipping Barnet Team Ministry, comprising St Mark's, Barnet Vale, St Peter's, Arkley and St Stephen's, Bell's Hill. It cr ...

Her charity

Her memorial plaque in Chipping Barnet church records that she "Dyd geve tow acares of medow ground in Kentishe towne holden of ye prebent of cantelous unto yet use of the poore of this town and of Kentishtowne for ever".History of the Eleanor Palmer Trust.
Eleanor Palmer Trust. Retrieved 31 August 2015. (Did give two acres of meadow ground in Kentish Town held from the Prebend of Cantlowes for the use of the poor of this town (''that is Chipping Barnet'') and of Kentish Town for ever.) Her charity is today run as two separate funds, the Eleanor Palmer Trust in Chipping Barnet and East Barnet, and The Estate Charity of Eleanor Palmer in Kentish Town. Rents from land owned by the charity support its activities and the trust additionally owns and runs

almshouses An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) is charitable organization, charitable public housing, housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the Middle Ages. They were often built for the povert ...

and residential accommodation for the elderly. In 1999, The Samuel and Rebecca Byford Charity of Chipping Barnet was merged into the Eleanor Palmer Trust. Eleanor Palmer Primary School in

is built on land she gave.Popular Information.
Eleanor Palmer Primary School. Retrieved 31 August 2015.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Eleanor 1558 deaths English philanthropists Kentish Town Chipping Barnet Year of birth missing