The Percy Davies Trust

History

In 1900, Caroline Wilhelmina Davies, widow of Percy Davies, of Porth Mawr, Crickhowell, amended her will. Some years earlier, Mrs Davies had been instrumental in setting up a public library and coffee house in a building on the corner of the High Street and Standard Street. She originally intended to leave the building to her daughter Jessy, but on reflection decided that the obligation to keep the coffee house and library open was too onerous. And so in June 1900, she amended her will in the form of a codicil, giving that building to the trustees of the public library. Caroline died in 1903.

In 1905, the trustees of the public library took Caroline and Percy’s daughter, son-in-law and grandson to court. The building had not been transferred to them, as stipulated in the will. The case was heard in the High Court of Justice, Chancery Division in the summer of 1905. The trustees won their case and the codicil of the will took effect. Crickhowell benefitted from the Percy Davies Institution coffee shop and public library for many years.

By the mid-1970s the world had changed and the Percy Davies Institution needed to change with it. The county council now provided library facilities; the Percy Davies Institution permanently loaned its collection to the council for its library.

Today the Trust uses its funds to provide grants to organisations for the benefit of the town and people of Crickhowell. From the Christmas lights, to drama groups, the literary festival, the scouts, schools and the Clarence Hall, the Percy Davies Trust supports a huge range of activities and developments, "for the good or benefit of the inhabitants of the town" of Crickhowell.