The Craven Trust: a short history
1994-1995 | The Beginnings
The Craven Trust was born out of a chance meeting at a welcome party for the new Archdeacon of Craven, held at the Bishop of Bradford’s house in 1994. Three people found themselves talking about the possibility of setting up a local community trust, for local people to get small grants in the Archdeacon’s diocese in the districts of the Craven and Keighley. Over a short space of time, they mobilised a number of keen representatives of the region to establish a trust.
The three initial founders were Peter Marshall OBE, Rt Rev. Malcolm Grundy and Caroline Schwaller, MBE. Peter was famous in the world of philanthropy for inspiring and establishing new foundations and trusts. He was an enormously influential character in the national movement and did much to move the Trust quickly into the public eye both nationally and locally. Malcolm Grundy, the Archdeacon, brought significant community development experience and the valuable church network. Caroline Schwaller, CEO of Keighley Voluntary Services, brought local knowledge of the Keighley area and the wider voluntary sector along with experience of grant making.
They were quickly joined by Dr Brian Fisher, a retired GP from Skipton; Colin Reeder, a solicitor in Skipton and John Sheard, retired Estate Manager of Bolton Abbey. These became the first Trustees providing representation from multicultural Keighley, through Dales town Skipton to the rural communities of North Yorkshire, bringing helpful networks and insight. Brian Fisher was the Trust’s first Chair.
On 21st March 1995, The Craven Trust was formally created and was publicly launched at East Riddlesden Hall on 15th June, with further launches at Giggleswick School, Upper Wharfedale Rugby Club in Threshfield and Gisburne Park Hospital to ensure coverage of the whole region.
From the very outset the objective of the Trust was “local money for local needs” which, with only minor modification, remains our slogan today.
1995-1999 | The Trust Grows and Develops
Colin Reeder became our first Treasurer, and the funds grew steadily over the initial years thanks to mainly local donors. We immediately established the criteria and processes for grant-making that broadly remain today: using the income from our investment portfolio to give grants to primarily small, locally based community organisations, with a simple process and full Trustee involvement in assessing applications. The grant making pattern of quarterly meetings and management also continues.
During the early years we raised funds and our profile with public events such as concerts, performances and social events, for example the organist Carlo Curley at Bolton Priory in 1997, Collegium Regale (The Choral Scholars of King’s College, Cambridge) in Holy Trinity Parish Church Skipton in 1999, a performance of Midsummer Night’s Dream with kind permission of Mr and Mrs Bannister at Coniston Hall in 2000; all of which involved considerable energy, time and organising skills amongst the Trustees. After a while it was regrettably decided we could not sustain these events without a paid co-ordinator, but we preferred to keep our costs to the minimum and manage without.
We maintain the original philosophy of keeping costs to the minimum and are extremely grateful to those who have helped us to function so well with generosity and enthusiasm, especially our part time administrators. Dee Pollitt our first administrator witnessed the signatures of the first trustees to the 1995 Trust Deed and in 2018 joined us as a Trustee herself.
Trustees have come and gone over the years, but always with grateful thanks for their time, commitment, donations and contacts. Past Chairs, however, should be acknowledged for their tireless dedication: Brian Fisher (1995-1999), John Sheard (1999-2002) and Jeremy Mackrell (2002-2010) who were all instrumental throughout the first 20 years, and more recently Mark Facer. All had strong ties to the rural areas of Craven, while Caroline Schwaller, the current Chair, maintains connection to the original ethos of creation and urban Keighley.
1999 | The Beamsley Trust
A significant boost to the Trust occurred in 1999 when we “absorbed” The Beamsley Trust by taking over the £264,000 fund and its administration. The Beamsley Trust in 1999 gave grants to individuals in need, hardship, or distress with a preference for those living in the Beamsley Parish. These funds were raised when the Trustees of the Beamsley Hospital decided to sell the hospital to the Landmark Trust in 1983. The Beamsley Trust remains an Endowed Fund within The Craven Trust with the area of benefit now extending to the whole of the Craven region. In line with Beamsley’s objectives to help individuals in need, we devised a process involving referral agencies rather than dealing directly with applicants, largely to protect confidentiality as we receive very personal information. Over the years we have developed strong partnership arrangements with a number of local charities who support vulnerable people and have to date supported hundreds of individuals with grants ranging from £50 for moving costs to £1,100 for secure garden fencing.
The Beamsley Trust and The Craven Trust remain two separate funds using the combined opportunities of each under the umbrella of The Craven Trust. The Beamsley Trust funds are endowed funds and only the interest earned can be used for the grants to individuals, whereas The Craven Trust is unrestricted. This means that Trustees can determine how much from interest and capital can be spent on grants to community projects.
2001-2003 | Foot and Mouth – The Dales Recovery Appeal
“Craven’s £1 million Fightback”
The full toll of suffering caused by the foot and mouth outbreak in the Yorkshire Dales and Lancashire’s Ribble Valley in the summer of 2001 will probably never be known. To calculate the financial losses would be extremely difficult; to quantify the stress and sadness for hundreds, perhaps thousands of people would be virtually impossible. But one record will always remain that demonstrates the generosity and concern shown by people, organisations and charitable trusts throughout the Dales and the rest of the United Kingdom.
When the Trustees of The Craven Trust met in June 2001, with foot and mouth disease ravaging large parts of Northern England, we felt we must act quickly to help in any way we could. A small group of Trustees, chaired by John Sheard, set up an appeal to help farmers through the crisis. Unfortunately, John suffered an illness in the middle of the appeal, however Brian Fisher took over the reins and a target of £500,000 was set.
Much to our delight – and no little astonishment – we found within weeks that we had underestimated people’s generosity and their affection for the Dales. Within days, we had received a single anonymous donation of £100,000 from a private individual, followed by several of £25,000. Within weeks, sterling work by Peter Marshall was attracting grants of £10,000 and more from family trusts throughout the UK, many of whom also insisted on anonymity.
By August, just seven weeks after the launch of the appeal, £250,000 had been raised and the £1 million figure came over the New Year. We had begun distributing grants to worthy causes by then: some 250 awards had been made, hopefully making Christmas 2001 just a shade happier for people in deep distress.
Through the amazing efforts of everyone involved the whole £1,084,040 raised had been distributed to 812 worthy causes within a year. The Craven Trust Trustees could never have managed this without the support of additional committee members, assessors, administrators, and dozens of volunteers who worked long hours, often under considerable pressure, for free – the success of the appeal giving us almost as much pleasure as the hundreds of people we had been able to help.
2002-2016 | Local Money for Local Needs
In 2001, recognising the need to focus on fundraising in other locations to ensure a balance of where money came from and where it goes, Richard Crabtree OBE was welcomed on a part time consultancy basis as Funding Officer, replaced by Steve Crossley-Smith in 2003 who remained with the Trust until 2010. The Friends scheme was launched in 2002 and we have many of those who joined donating still, mainly from the rural communities. It has always proved difficult to gain support from the urban areas unfortunately, where the economic profile is considerably different.
During our 10th Anniversary year, we awarded a record total of 50 grants totalling £33,820. The total grants for the first 10 years amounted to £121,355
In 2005 we hosted concerts by Collegium Regale in Skipton, artistes from Opera North in Settle and open gardens at Coulthurst Hall and Garden Cottage Waddington, contributing to funds and raising our profile. We were very pleased to be The Devonshire Hotels and Restaurants Charity of the Year in 2007. Collegium Regale returned in 2008, as well as performances by The Mikron Theatre and Open Garden at Peter Marshall’s Netherwood Hall. The Mikron Theatre performed for us again in 2010.
In 2008 we welcomed two new Trustees, Giles Bowring, who was the bursar and Clerk to the Governors at Giggleswick School, and Carole Nelson who was involved in charitable work in Sedbergh and district. Steve Crossley-Smith our Funding Administrator retired in October 2010 after eight years of organising events and corresponding with our Friends.
2012 saw a few changes. However, the saddest was the sudden death in June of Peter Marshall, a founder member and a major driving force behind our identity, development, and sustainability, who rightly received his OBE for charitable services. As well as The Craven Trust and the major effort to respond to the foot and mouth crisis, Peter devoted his time and enormous energy running the Sir George Martin Trust (which had been set up by a member of his family), set up The UK Charitable Trusts Initiative as well as starting his own charitable trust in 1989. As his fellow Trustee Brian Fisher said, “Peter was a very special character: charming, thoughtful, entertaining but a true eccentric with enormous energy.”
Linda Lee, our administrator for many years, retired and we are hugely grateful for her dedication to the task and commitment to the trusts’ work and the added bonus of her photographic skills. Lynn Leadbeatter ably filled her place for a short while and was replaced by Mary Hamilton, both of whom also brought excellent and much appreciated administrative skills.
Our first website was created in 2012 and updated in 2013 with the support of local young web designer Ed Askew. Ed, over the course of the next few years, helped to modernise the trust with an electronic grant process which has made a huge improvement to overall efficiency, data storage and communication.
In 2013, Nicola Chambers, who had been a trustee for 12 years, sadly died after a lengthy illness and Jeremy Mackrell retired after 16 years. Coincidently, Jeremy was awarded the MBE in recognition of his charity work. They brought their knowledge and expertise as legal experts and rural champions which was hugely beneficial. Three new trustees were welcomed, Michael Lovitt, Karen Leaver and Jenny Thistlethwaite, with Karen taking over the responsibilities of Treasurer from Mark Facer, who was appointed Chair.
Brian Fisher retired in 2015 and remains a regular supporter of the Trust. He had been instrumental in building the new Trust, brought the Beamsley Trust under our administration along with significant local knowledge and contacts and also played an integral part in distributing the foot and mouth grant aid to the rural community.
2016 | 21st Celebration
Trustees: Giles Bowring, Karen Leaver, Michael Lovitt, Caroline Schwaller (Chair), Mark Facer, Jenny Thistlethwaite
Over the first 21 years the Craven and Beamsley Trusts distributed over 650 grants totalling £406,775 and we celebrated our 21st Birthday at Broughton Hall in great style, thanks to the kind support of Hilary Templar who volunteered to take on the task of organising the event. We welcomed new faces and brought together past friends, donors, trustees, and volunteers to look forward to the future. In doing so we took the opportunity to re-design our branding and engaged the Graphic Design department at Craven College to bring fresh ideas. We launched the new logo at Broughton Hall and we were particularly grateful to the Tempests of Broughton Hall for lending us a beautiful venue, to the sponsors of the event and for the revitalised enthusiasm for the Trust which raised an unexpected extra £15,000 in donations.
2016-todate | Local Giving for Local Needs
Karen Leaver, our Treasurer, retired in 2017 as a Trustee, moving out of the area and Robert Templar – after joining as a Trustee in 2016 – took over as Treasurer. His business and financial expertise continues to benefit the Trust hugely, along with his IT skills.
Other changes in 2017 included the retirement of Mark Facer after more than ten years and the appointment of Simon Robinson who brought considerable experience in grant applications and large-scale funding. Simon’s skills included helping us modernise and improve the annual report format and raising our profile through regular articles in the local press.
We also saw a change in our Administrator as Mary Hamilton, who had looked after us with enormous care and commitment, retired and handed over to Rowena Garton in a seamless transition which enabled the Trust to continue operating without a pause.
In 2016 we put the management of the investment funds out to tender and after various interviews we appointed Brewin Dolphin. Many thanks go to Redmayne Bentley our previous investment managers. Trustees guard and monitor our precious funds carefully and ensure that investments are professionally managed according to our ethical and pragmatic needs, to give us an almost unchanged budget for grant making.
During 2017 The Beamsley Trust was incredibly pleased and grateful to have transferred to it the residual £9,314 fund from the Keighley Sick Poor Fund and the Emma Wright Endowment upon the closure of the charity.
Relationships with other local charities to broaden our grant making have increased. The Beamsley Trust has always relied upon referrals from organisations who support individuals in need and in 2018 we held a successful open meeting with various referring agencies. It was well attended, and we saw an increase in the applications for individuals in need in our region; it also improved mutual understanding of how to ensure best practice.
After many years of using donated space by Central Hall in Keighley, for which we extended our thanks, we determined along with Rowena, that the operations of the Trust would be more efficiently managed via home-working and utilisation of a PO Box.
2018 also saw us welcome back to the Trust Dee Pollitt, this time as a Trustee. Dee was the administrator for the first years of the Trust’s life and brings a wealth of experience in the voluntary sector in Craven.
A small charity, The William Frankland Charity based in the parish next to the parish of Beamsley was being closed by its Trustees. It had similar aims and objectives to the Beamsley Trust and the £495 fund was transferred to us and amalgamated with the Beamsley Trust Endowment Fund in 2019.
The pandemic of 2020 impacted the Trust, along with all charities. Investment income only being down 10-20% reflected the sensible management by Brewin Dolphin. The demands on the Trust for community projects was lower reflecting the lockdown and lack of infrastructure projects being undertaken, however unsurprisingly the demand from individuals in need remained the same. We launched an appeal for funds through The Craven Herald and Keighley News, however this did not raise significant funds due to so many similar amazing efforts launched by various organisations to support groups during lockdown.
In the anticipation that, as lockdown is relaxed, many groups and individuals will find themselves left outside the central and local government relief funds and increasingly require support from small grant making organisations such as The Craven Trust, we approved a policy change to enable, where appropriate, increased funds for The Beamsley Trust’s support for individuals in need. We had seen an increase in very sad cases of need and troubled lives and a small grant for a piece of vital household equipment can make an extraordinary difference, as can a small grant to a community organisation.
During lockdown and the period afterwards, the Trustees effectively transitioned to virtual meetings and never lost the momentum, however, we missed not just meeting face to face as Trustees but getting out and about the wonderful Craven District to meet grant applicants and better understand the projects they are planning. In this period of greater virtual working and use of internet platforms, we recognised our website required modernising and commissioned a local web designer to update and re-design it to provide a more accessible resource for potential grant applicants to work with us. Keeping our application processes as simple as possible is key and the new layout facilitates this. The new site also better showcases the successful outcomes that our grant making enables.
2021 brought a couple of changes to the Trustees. Simon Robinson resigned as a Trustee. His integrity, wise counsel, and knowledge of raising charities’ visibility will be very much missed. We were very pleased to welcome Melanie Hey as a Trustee in July 2021. Melanie stayed with the Trust until 2023 and brought a wealth of voluntary experience in Keighley and Skipton.
In March 2025, our Administrator of eight years, Rowena, accepted an exciting new full-time opportunity — a perfect next step in her career. While we were, of course, reluctant to see her go, we did so with our warmest congratulations and very best wishes. Rowena’s diligence, professionalism, and deep commitment to improving our communities have left a lasting mark on the Trust, and she will be greatly missed. We were, however, very fortunate to welcome Heather Murdoch as our new Administrator in April 2025, who has taken on the role seamlessly and continues to build on Rowena’s excellent work.
2025 has also brought a couple of changes to the Trustees. Giles Bowring resigned in July 2025 after 17 years with the Trust. Giles’ deep knowledge of the wider Craven District has been truly invaluable to the Trust. His genuine passion for supporting community projects, both large and small, and his commitment to improving the lives of those in need have been clear to all the trustees. Under his thoughtful guidance, our investments have grown steadily, enabling the Trust to strengthen and expand its grant-making capacity. While Giles’ move out of the district has prompted his resignation, we take comfort in knowing he’s not far away. We’re confident that his enthusiasm for and advocacy of the Trust will continue to bring benefit to our work and the communities we serve.
In October 2025, we were pleased to welcome Robert Bellfield as a Trustee. Robert’s local knowledge and background in further education, especially through his leadership at Craven College prior to retiring, will be an asset to the Trust going forward.
In April 2026, we welcomed Dorota Plata as a Trustee. Dorota is also the Centre Director at The Good Shepherd Centre in Keighley and her local knowledge and experience in supporting diverse communities will be of great value to the Trust.
How we work today | Heritage and Evolution
Guarding our resources: The Craven Trust funds were built originally on generous donations, mainly from the Trustees’ own networks in the Craven District, and from wills and benefactors. These opportunities have diminished as Trustees retired and we now rely more heavily on astute and careful financial management, which has enabled us to maintain almost the same average levels of grant making to individuals and local groups. We remain open to opportunities and are vigilant to the market’s fluctuations and new policies, and despite the pandemic’s constraints we are in a stronger financial position than we might have expected. We are also more committed to ethical investments.
Networking: We are still involved with the Yorkshire Funding Forum, run by Carla Marshall, which provides a helpful, and supportive network that helps to promote Trusts and provide information about national developments.
Not standing still: Trustees have continuously reflected on how to improve our understanding and our processes, making changes to guidance and policies as necessary, and using a standard assessment process for consistency.
Grant making continues as before
The Craven Trust continues to focus primarily on small locally based organisations providing sports activities, festivals, therapeutic activities and so on. We are currently, in 2021, focusing largely but not exclusively, for the first time on two main themes: young people and mental health.
The fundamental aim is to spread grants as fairly and as widely as possible between the needs and circumstances of urban and rural communities and we know there is always more we can do to learn and respond to local needs. Numbers of applications fluctuate throughout the year, and we must work at reaching into the communities that do not seem to be aware of the Trust. As always, we wish to engage with the community, visit projects and support our grantees.
Generally, Trustees assess group applications face to face, or if necessary by phone, and for many years Trustees held their meetings in grantees’ venues throughout the area. This provides welcome and important insight into the area of benefit and broadens everyone’s understanding of the communities and challenges they face. We are also often donated meeting space at the Rendezvous Hotel in Skipton for which we thank their outgoing manager Malcolm Weaving.
In the earlier days there was much discussion about growing the Trust into a full-blown Community Foundation, and we were members of the Association of Charitable Foundations with more national contacts than we have now. We also considered “flow through” money from the government, whereby we would administer public funds according to pre-ordained criteria. While enabling us to grow there was some concern about deviating from our original commitment to stay local, give locally and be run almost entirely by volunteers. Such funds now are limited and largely related to post COVID-19 recovery and a strong emphasis on employment and economic regeneration, or health related care.
The Craven Herald and Keighley News have at times published articles to raise our profile and attract more donations and applications, and the trust is once again looking at how to ensure more people know about it, while also attracting new Trustees.
What now | Looking to the Future
We will continue to reflect on how to do things better, how to build our portfolio and raise our profile, and increase the number of grants. We have seriously debated if we should merge with other organisations but so far, we prefer to remain independent, knowing that partnership work is essential and that we are not alone. We also know that being small, local, hands on and easily accessible is appreciated by applicants.
As members of the Yorkshire Grant Makers’ Forum, we have an extremely valuable source of information and support.
As always, we are grateful for any help people or organisations can give us; we are a modest but effective local grant making charity and know from experience and feedback how even a small amount of money can make such a difference. For everyone involved in the Trust it is a rewarding, eye-opening and interesting experience. If Peter Marshall were still alive, he would, I am sure, be pleased to see we have stuck to our initial aims and the trusts are still going strong.
| wdt_ID | Trustee | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Marshall MBE | 1995-2011 |
| 2 | Rt Rev. Malcolm Grundy | 1995-2005 |
| 3 | Caroline Schwaller | 1995-to date |
| 4 | Brian Fisher | 1995-2015 |
| 5 | John Sheard | 1995-2010 |
| 6 | Colin Reeder | 1995-2000 |
| 7 | Jeremy Mackrell MBE | 1997-2013 |
| 8 | Paul Robertshaw | 1997-2004 |
| 9 | Philip Vaux | 1999-2007 |
| 10 | Noreen Akhtar | 2001-2005 |
| 11 | Nicola Chambers | 2001-2013 |
| 12 | Gerald Tyler | 2004-2007 |
| 13 | Mark Facer | 2005-2017 |
| 14 | Liz North | 2005-2006 |
| 15 | The Venerable Paul Slater | 2005-2015 |
| 16 | Giles Bowring | 2008-2025 |
| 17 | Carole Nelson | 2008-2012 |
| 18 | Alison Kaye | 2011-2012 |
| 19 | Michael Lovitt | 2013-to date |
| 20 | Karen Leaver | 2013-2017 |
| 21 | Jenny Thistlethwaite | 2013-to date |
| 22 | Robert Templar | 2016-to date |
| 23 | Simon Robinson | 2017-2021 |
| 24 | Dee Pollitt | 2018-to date |
| 25 | Melanie Hey | 2021-2023 |
| 26 | Robert Bellfield | 2025-to date |
| 27 | Dorota Plata | 2026-to date |
| wdt_ID | Patron | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rt Rev David Smith, Bishop of Bradford | 2000-2002 |
| 2 | Marchioness of Hartington | 2000-2003 |
| 3 | Rt Hon Lord Healey of Riddlesden | 2000-2012 |
| 4 | Rt Rev David James, Bishop of Bradford | 2003-2010 |
| 5 | Rt Rev Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds | 2011-to date |
| 6 | The Duchess of Devonshire DL | 2003-to date |
| 7 | Mrs Johanna Ropner, HM Lord-Lieutenant of North Yorkshire | 2023-to date |
| 8 |
| wdt_ID | Chair | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Fisher | 1995-1999 |
| 2 | John Sheard | 1999-2002 |
| 3 | Jeremy Mackrell | 2002-2010 |
| 4 | Caroline Schwaller | 2010-2013 |
| 5 | Mark Facer | 2013-2015 |
| 6 | Caroline Schwaller | 2015-to date |
| wdt_ID | Treasurer | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colin Reeder | 1995-1999 |
| 2 | Philip Vaux | 1999-2006 |
| 3 | Mark Facer | 2006-2013 |
| 4 | Karen Leaver | 2013-2017 |
| 5 | Robert Templar | 2017-to date |
| wdt_ID | Administrator | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dee Pollitt | 1995-99 |
| 2 | Linda Lee | 2000-2012 |
| 3 | Richard Crabtree (Funding) | 2001-2003 |
| 4 | Steve Crossley Smith (Funding) | 2003-2010 |
| 5 | Lynn Leadbeatter | 2012-2012 |
| 6 | Mary Hamilton | 2012-2017 |
| 7 | Rowena Garton | 2017-2025 |
| 8 | Heather Murdoch | 2025-to date |