CG59

Collection

The records of Gorsley Goff’s Primary School were deposited on 6 December 2007. Edward Goff was born in the vicinity of Huntington, Herefordshire, in 1739. He was the illegitimate son of a poor mother and an unknown father. He started working as an agricultural labourer and then became a servant. After disagreeing with his master he went to London and worked for a coal merchant. Eventually he became a coal merchant himself, made a considerable fortune and acquired property in Brighton just as it was becoming a fashionable resort under the patronage of the Prince of Wales (later King George IV). He was a committed Christian and a great philanthropist. He died unmarried in Hay-on-Wye on 4 June 1813 and left a considerable fortune. He left legacies to friends and annuities to many in need of support. He also left bequests to charities, mainly religious or educational, including £1,000 to Huntington School. A number of Free schools, including seven in Herefordshire, were established in his name, starting in 1815. One of these was at Gorsley, in Linton Parish, Herefordshire, which was begun in 1819. See also: HRO AL21/1-4