Thirty-seven acres two roods of Land in Goose Fen, Litter Fen, and Lugge Hill, at Barway, are charged with an ancient duty of £1. 13s. 4d. to the Church at Soham, which has been continued up to the present time and is paid to the Churchwardens.
Very great dissatisfaction has existed in this Parish in consequence of the accounts of the Charities having been kept private. Complaints were likewise made of the manner in which they were conducted, and that improper objects had been selected in their application; but after a very laborious investigation no cases of malversation  were made out. It appears, indeed, that in one or two instances Trustees had formerly held lands belonging to the Charities, but their rents were not shown to have been unfair.
It was recommended that this practise should not be repeated; that in future greater publicity should be given to the proceedings, and that access to the accounts should be permitted. In consequence of the prevailing dissatisfaction, applications were made a few years ago to Mr. Daniel Whittle Harvey, a Gentleman then practising as a Solicitor in London, respecting several of the Charities in this Parish, by Mr. Thomas Wilkin, a Solicitor at Soham, and afterwards on behalf of the Trustees by Mr. James Archer, another Solicitor in the Parish. In pursuance of the advice of Council, consulted by Mr. Harvey, a deed of partition of the Town lot between Bond's and Peachey's Charities was prepared, and a declaration of trust was executed by the Trustees of the first, respecting the Charities of Wright and Tyler, the origin of which was then unknown. It is questionable how far the former instrument was effective, inasmuch as part of the lands comprised in it was copyhold, and the expediency of the latter appears also doubtful, the parties to it having no interest whatever in the property. It seems probable that had no application been made to Mr. Harvey, the suit now pending relative to the Soham Moor Charities would not have been instituted.