Insects Gnaw at England's Harvard House

Over half of the $25,000 ($14,000) that estimators say will be necessary to repair the death watch-beetle ravaged timbers of the John Harvard House is already "as good as in the till," Samuel A. Welldon '04, chairman of the campaign to raise funds, said last night.

The campaign is the result of a statement issued by the house's Board of Trustees that if the building is not repaired quickly it will decay beyond repair. In soliciting donations, Welldon has sent out letters to a list of alumni chosen for their interest in Angle-American affairs.

Memorial Established in 1909

The Harvard House, which stands in Stratford on-Avon, was established as a memorial to John Harvard in 1909 under letters of patent granted by King Edward VII, although in actual fact the founder's connection with the building is very tenuous.

Built in 1596, the house was once owned by his maternal grandfather, and his mother lived in it for two years. There is no evidence at all, however, that John Harvard himself ever visited the building.

The memorial was purchased by Edward Morris, on the suggestion of Mario Corelli. Tradition says that the writer made the suggestion to Morris and Sir Thomas Lipton, while visiting the latter's yacht. There was considerable fumbling for check books, with Lipton finally insisting that he would not dream of being such a bad host as to usurp his guest's privilege of endowing the building.

The current market value of the investments which comprise Morris' endowment is $13,156, and the income from this even together with the 6d (7 cents) admission fee charged each visitor, is now wholly inadequate to cover the cost of upkeep.

Since under the British law no foreign educational institution may own property in England, the building is held by a Board of Trustees, one of whom is always the American Ambassador. Other members of the present board include the Earl of Athlone and the Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

Britain Offers $62000

On learning of the house's decay, the trustees offered it to the British National Trust, a government organization for the protection of memorials and parks. The Ministry of Works replied that it could only accept fully endowed properties for the trust.

It did, however, offer $62,000 towards the restoration cost on the condition that the board raise the additional $63,000.

"We cannot allow the Harvard House to fall into permanent disrepair for so modest a sum as $62,000," Welldon said. He has already received two checks for $1,000 each, one of which is from Winthrop W. Aldrich '07, Ambassador to the Court of St. James. Two other checks for the same amount have been pledged.