Ɛpsilon

To G. S. Ffinden   11 November 1879

Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.

Nov 11th 1879

My dear Sir

I enclose a cheque for £11"s5"0 for the Down Coal & Clothing Club1 consisting as follow

Ch. Darwin 5.5.0

Francis D. 3.0.0

George D. 1.0.0

Leonard D. 1.0.0

Miss. D.2 1.0.0

——–

£11:5:0.

It is, as you remark, fortunate that there is a good balance from last year.—3

My dear Sir | Yours very faithfully | Ch. Darwin

1
The Down Coal and Clothing Club was a local charity that supplied parishioners with cheap coal and clothes in exchange for regular savings; CD served as treasurer from 1848 to 1869 (see Correspondence vol. 4, letter to John Innes, [8 May 1848] and n. 2). Ffinden was the vicar of Down; he ran the Coal and Clothing Club (J. R. Moore 1985, p. 470). On 11 November 1879, CD recorded a payment of £11 5s under the heading ‘Ffinden’ in his Account books–banking account (Down House MS); he recorded the payment of £5 5s. under the heading ‘Down coal club’ in his Classed account books (Down House MS).
2
Elizabeth Darwin (1847–1926) was CD’s daughter.
3
No letter from Ffinden regarding the balance of the Coal and Clothing Club has been found.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-12308,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-12308