From Bennett's History of Tewkesbury.

In 1625, Mr. William Alye of London, left by will £100 to the corporation, for investment, the profits of it to be distributed by them among the poor of the town; and £70 for the education of six poor children in the Tewkesbury free-school, to be selected by the bailiffs and corporation. The former sum was laid out in the purchase of certain seck rents, or rents of assise, which had previously been vested in the body corporate, payable from about fifty in the town, and producing a rental £7.16s.6d. The other was invested in the purchase of certain chief (NOTE) rents, payable from about one hundred and seventy houses in Tewkesbury, which produce about £6 annually. The seck rents are received by the corporation for the use of the poor, and the chief rents by the master of the free grammar school.

NOTE: The seck rents were rents belonging to the manor, formerly parcel of the possessions of the monastery; and the chief rents were rents belonging to the manor, formerly parcel of the possessions of Thomas Lord Seymour, or what were called Warwick and Spencer's lands.

From the Tewkesbury Yearly Magazine.

The seek rents above mentioned, with some deficiencies, have been collected by the corporation yearly, and applied as far as they have been collected, to the use of the poor of the town. Their practice has been and is, to send their serjeant at mace round to the different occupiers of the houses charged to collect the rents, but they have generally found it difficult and n some cases impracticable, without legal proceedings, to induce those persons to satisfy these claims upon them; and at former periods the corporation seem to have been remiss in making this collection, so as to allow them to run into arrear, and these arrears, on account of the change of tenants, it has been found impossible afterwards to recover. But of late they have been more vigilant in this respect, and it has been resolved, as we are informed, that no person subject to these rents shall in future be allowed any delay of payment, but that the same shall , upon neglect or refusal, be duly enforced by such compulsory measures as can be legally adopted

These rents do not appear to have been a provident or beneficial security for the charity monies left by Mr.Alye, on account of the difficulties attending the collection of them, but the transaction took place so long ago, that in the present state of the corporation it is hardly possible to place the charity upon a better footing.

The chief rents are collected in the same way for the master of the grammar school, of which an account will be given hereafter. The different burgage houses subject to these rents are all well known

The monies distributable among the poor in the hands of the corporation form a consolidated fund, out of which an annual distribution is made, with reference to the particular direction of the respective donors.

James Bennett