This website aims to tell people in Huntingdon what the Freemen’s Charity is, what help it could give them, and how to get it.

The Charity exists for the benefit of the citizens of Huntingdon.  It was created by the High Court and is monitored by the Charity Commission to make sure that it only does what it was legally set up to do.  It can only help residents of the Huntingdon Town Council area and only according to its stated objectives (see “Who is eligible for grants”).

The Trustees are not allowed to spend money on services that the government or local councils are supposed to provide (but they can supplement them).  

The Trustees consider applications for grants from  individuals and organisations at their monthly meetings.  They generally receive a report, based on a home visit to applicants by the Grants Officer, to help them assess the needs of applicants and their financial circumstances.  Cash grants are rare.  The normal procedure is for the Charity to pay approved items directly and then donate or loan the goods to the applicant. 

Grants are paid for from income from investments of the Charity’s assets.  These include shares and bonds in financial markets and in agricultural land, including the Commons in Huntingdon.  An important part of the Trustees’ role is carefully managing the Charity’s assets for the benefit of the residents of Huntingdon.  In the case of the Commons a key concern is the value of the open space to the town and its residents. 

Ted Bocking

Chairman of the Trustees