The Furniss Charity is offering Truro residents financial support to help heat their homes during the winter months. Administered by Truro City Council, the fund distributes coal to disadvantaged households within the parish of Truro.

Biscuit and sweet manufacturer John Cooper Furniss was once a significant employer in Truro. The 19th-century entrepreneur’s signature product, the ginger fairing, was produced from the riverside location now known as Furniss Island.

A keen philanthropist, Mr Furniss donated significant sums to build Truro Cathedral, and a royalty on every tin of Tom Trot’s humbugs to a man who had lost both legs in an industrial accident. He also left a legacy of Furniss shares to a small municipal charity that became known as Furniss Coal.

The trust has enjoyed a long association with Redruth coal merchant Rudrum’s, and although demand for coal as a domestic fuel is reducing rapidly, recent recipients have included both elderly and younger users who rely on coal for heat.

Numerous attempts have been made, unsuccessfully, to alter the charitable deed to enable it to support users of other fuels such as electricity.

Applications to the fund can be made until January 29, 2025 via city councillor agents who are designated streets and issue “Furniss tickets”. These are Cllrs Steven Webb, Lindsay Southcombe, Loic Rich, Lorrie Eathorne-Gibbons, Nigel Unwin and Martha Green.

Furniss of Cornwall was acquired by Proper Cornish Foods of Bodmin in 2006, and as recently as September was bought by the Prima Bakeries Group for an undisclosed sum.