The origin of Sutton Coldfield Municipal Charities was in a Royal Charter of 1528 that established the Warden and Society which controlled the town for over four centuries. Since the Charitable activities were separated from the Council to form the Municipal Charities they have grown enormously and the assets are now in the region of GBP 40 million. There are now few organisations in the area which have not received grants. When the author was appointed as Clerk to the Trustees he came across the transcript and a tape recording of a talk on the history of the Charities which his predecessor had given at a Trustees' meeting and this aroused his interest in the development of the Charities.