THE MAYOR OF NORTHAMPTON'S FUND FOR THE HOUSEBOUND AND THE POOR CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS DINNER FUND.

The history of the Mayor's Fund for the Housebound begins in 1907, but long before then a well organised annual effort involving dozens of volunteers, supported by countless donations, took place every Christmas. This annual undertaking was organised by the Poor Children's Christmas Dinner Fund, which was a consistent feature of the patchwork of philanthropic effort in the town of Northampton. Reinvented several times, the Mayor's fund provided a focus for the civic elite and its history speaks to the continuing importance of local philanthropic initiative in provincial England during the twentieth century and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]