About Us

Who was John Martin?

John Martin was born in 1637 and lived in fascinating times. His lifetime spanned the period of the Civil War and saw six monarchs on the throne of England commencing with King Charles I and ending with King George I. He died at the ripe old age of 77 in 1714 leaving a wife but having been predeceased by his son. In his lifetime he had been a Yeoman farmer of Hampton.

By his will after making provision for his wife he established various trusts demonstrating his desire for children and young people to have a Christian upbringing and a good education and to help those in need. A number of specific requests were made to provide support for the poor of various parishes, the clergy and the education of poor children and ‘setting out yearly of Boys and Girls apprenticeships’.

How has the Charity developed?

The main assets of the trust were land and the rental income from agricultural / market garden tenancies. These were modest over the first 250+ years and the charity operated in a small but valuable way. As the town of Evesham expanded the major part of the land was developed producing a larger capital sum for investment. Only the income from the professionally managed investments can be distributed.

The increase in available income for distribution has enabled the purposes of the Charity to be widened with the benefit of local consultation and guidance from the Charity Commission and a modern interpretation of the wishes of John Martin has been set out in Schemes approved by the Charity Commission which govern our work today.

How is the Charity administered?

The Charity is administered by a Board of 14 Trustees comprising two ex-officio Trustees (local clergy), three nominative Trustees (1 by the Vicar of Hampton and two by Evesham Town Council) and nine co-optative Trustees. The Trustees normally meet on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month. Day to day management is carried out by the Clerk to the Trustees and two other full time staff.