In 1620, a chap called William Priestley left £250 in his will to provide funds to support, in perpetuity, eight men of Hornsey. In today’s terms, that is almost £60,000.

Twenty-one years later, Susannah Chambers gave £125 for bread to be distributed to the people of Hornsey each Sunday. Over the years, there followed a steady stream of gifts and bequests to support relief for the poor in the Parish of Hornsey.

I don’t know much about William and Susannah, only what I have read in a document that an old pal from Hornsey Parochial Charites sent me.

One thing we can be sure of is that these donations would have been discussed in and administered by Hornsey’s Parish Church on the High Street. On open days, you can climb the stone steps of the tower of St Mary’s: it is easy to imagine candle-lit meetings in the office as you enter the tower’s base.

Today, at the other end of the High Street, the work of feeding the disadvantaged is continued by the good people of Hornsey Food Bank. It was originally set up during lockdown as a temporary project but demand never slackened.

Ham & High: David Wnkskill says the number of people needing Hornsey Food Bank has not slackened since it openedDavid Wnkskill says the number of people needing Hornsey Food Bank has not slackened since it opened (Image: David Winskill)

Based in Middle Lane Methodist Church, this week in 2022 they helped feed 152 clients, who collected on behalf of 448 people, including 117 children. The figures this year rocketed to 282, 1,032 and almost 400 children.

Nearly a third of Hornsey Parochial Charities’ non-educational grant-making went to three local food banks, including the Hornsey Food Bank.

In 1620 (the year the Mayflower sailed) grain prices in the UK rose sharply, there was a trade crisis and a revolution was brewing in the way English financial markets operated; uncertainty was everywhere and, in Hornsey, the poor were having a very rough time.

Four hundred years later, food inflation and soaring energy prices are combining with another (self-inflicted) decline in our export trade. The cycle of hardship repeats, and the poor of Hornsey are still having a rough time.

And yet, after decades of the welfare state and apparently being one of the richest nations on the planet, we still rely on charity to feed the most disadvantaged in our community.

I wonder what William and Susannah would say.

For more information about HPC: hornseycharities.org. Donations and volunteers are welcome: hornseyfoodbank.com

David Winkskill is a Crouch End resident and campaigner.