The Gilded Benefactor at Hawthorn House

≈ 9 min

Hawthorn House Orphanage Trust in Bristol relies on a register of charitable donations filed each quarter with the Bristol Charity Commissioners, who release matching funds equal to half the total sum privately donated. Mr. Cornelius Ashby, the Trust's Honorary Secretary, has submitted the register for the quarter ending 30 June 1900, listing six named donors and their contributions. The Commissioners have received a complaint from one donor questioning the amount attributed to his name, and they have asked an independent auditor to examine the register against available records. Your task is to identify which donation line is inaccurate and which supporting record exposes the error.

The scene

Hawthorn House Orphanage Trust, Bristol, England, 1900

Source documents

Bristol Charity Commissioners — Donors' Pledge Register, 1899–1900
Letter from Mrs. Eleanor Cavendish-Poole to the Honorary Secretary, 4 April 1900
Bristol Drapers' Benevolent Society — Annual Report and Accounts, 1900
St. Augustine's Parish — Easter Collection Disbursement Receipt, May 1900

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This case first aired on July 25, 2026. A fresh audit runs every morning — same rules, five minutes, one solution.

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