WELL known Bromsgrove solicitor Matthew Horton has retired after 25 years as clerk to the town's Thomas White Cottage Homes.

The senior partner in the firm of Thomas Horton and Sons, whose offices are in the Strand, Matthew became the clerk in 1978 following the retirement of the late Tim Brotherton.

Prior to that Matthew's father, John Horton, had been the clerk for 25 years and prior to him Matthew's grandfather, Thomas, had been the clerk shortly after the homes had been founded by Thomas White.

Thomas White was a true Victorian philanthropist to whom Bromsgrove owes a great debt.

He left school at 14 and assisted his father in the business of fellmonger and leather merchant.

In 1842 he entered the service as clerk to John Adams, from Perry Hall, who was a distributor of stamps and manufacturer of extracted indigo.

The young Thomas White was a man of precise qualities, he was punctual on all occasions and precise in all his dealings and the zeal with which he applied himself to business gained him the goodwill of his principal, so much so that he was taken into partnership and succeeded to the ownership of the business on the death of John Adams in 1858.

Thomas White retired from business in 1896 after a career that had been a long and eminently successful one. In his memoirs he wrote that: "God having thus far blessed my exertions, I resolve to build six cottage homes for twelve ladies and these were commenced on the 30th March 1885 upon land near to my residence at Newlands, New Road, Bromsgrove."

The homes were built by Jonathan Brazier, the well-known Bromsgrove building firm, at the cost of £3,366.12s.5d and were opened by the vicar of Bromsgrove after a short religious service on July 1, 1886 (the day of the first sitting of Thomas White as a magistrate of Bromsgrove Court).

Thomas White then not only spent his monies on the benevolence of his cottage homes, he gave generously to the parish church where he was a church warden and for many years a teacher in the Sunday school.

In 1885 he subscribed to the tower at All Saints Church, Bromsgrove, and later to the tower at Dodford. The work of the British and Foreign Bible Society won his strong approval and his warm financial support. His interest in missionary work was also shown by the financial aid he gave to the Church Missionary Society. He was also a trustee for Bromsgrove United Charities and gave generously to the Bromsgrove Cottage Hospital.

In short he was a man that Bromsgrove was proud to have as one of its own.

Sadly, on the centenary of the opening of the Cottage Homes in 1986 no representative of the late Thomas White was there to mark the occasion. His marriage to Jane Perkins was childless and despite extensive efforts, no trace of any living relatives could be found.

The description of "mere cottage homes" is somewhat of a misnomer as the "homes" represent three large stately Victorian residences and are superior to many modern houses.

They now house 14 women in self-contained accommodation. The residents are supported by trustee representative, Glynn and Beryl Rees, who are devoted to the Cottage Homes and to the residents.

To mark the centenary of the homes, approximately £150,000 was spent modernising them. In the early 1970s this would have been impossible owing to the fact that the annual income from the homes was only £400 and the Cottage Homes were in a sad and neglected state with few people wishing to take up residence.

Had it not been for the financial assistance of the Baron Davenport Charity Trust in Birmingham, the late Miss J Albright, Bromsgrove United Charities and grants from Bromsgrove District Council, the homes would have fallen into disrepair and would have been closed.

Indeed, the cost of painting the Cottage Homes now well exceeds the original cost of their construction and recently some £65,000 was spent on repairing the elegant Victorian chimneys and roof gullies.

The trustee body is always chaired by the present incumbent of St John's parish church, Bromsgrove.

Matthew Horton has served under six chairmen and says they have all excelled in the care and control that they have exercised over the Cottage Homes.

He also paid tribute to the residents of the homes who have been invariably cheerful and appreciative for the work undertaken by the trustees.

A qualification of residence is that residents have to be female and over he age of 60. While the Cottage Homes do not offer full sheltered accommodation, they do provide independent living, with the support of Glynn and Beryl Rees.

Matthew has handed over the clerkship to Gordon Pegg, a retired manager of Halifax Building Society in Bromsgrove. Gordon takes over the combined roles of clerk and honorary treasurer. Matthew however, is delighted to continue his association and his family's association with the Cottage Homes following his recent appointment as trustee.