The Bridge Trust

Registered charity 1184834 · since 2019barumbridgetrust.org·Barnstaple·Updated 31 October 2026

At a glance

£6,128

Annual giving, year to 31 December 2024

From filed accounts

Open to applications

Rolling, no deadlines · unsolicited applications welcome

Key takeaways

This funder suits an organisation seeking help for a specific individual in Barnstaple who is deserving and in need, usually for furnishings or domestic appliances, with payment normally made to the supporting organisation or directly to a supplier.
Grants are usually no more than 200 pounds, or sometimes up to 400 pounds, so a request of that size matches its usual pattern.
Write to the Chamberlain at the Bridge Trust office with as much information as you can, as no form is required, and applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Do not apply if the person lives outside the Town of Barnstaple or the parishes substantially within a 5-mile radius of its Guildhall, or if the person is not deserving and in need.
Its most recent annual total of £6,128 may include grants to individuals, so expect a small-scale funder.

Overview

The Bridge Trust is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1184834).

The Bridge Trust is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. It makes grants for public purposes for the general benefit of inhabitants, provides amenities, and gives money or articles for the benefit of poor inhabitants. It can trace its origins back over 700 years, to a donation for the maintenance and repair of the Long Bridge and a chapel at the end of the bridge. It continues to provide Samaritan Grants to those most in need in the Barnstaple area.

What they fund

Priority Areas

The Bridge Trust supports people and organisations in Barnstaple and its surrounding area. Its Samaritan Grants are available to organisations and other bodies seeking help for specific individuals who are deserving and in need. They usually assist with the purchase of furnishings or domestic appliances, and are normally paid to the supporting organisation or directly to a supplier. The Trust’s objects also include grants for public purposes benefiting local inhabitants, amenities, money or articles for poor inhabitants, and grants to charities working for poverty relief or public benefit. Its grant-making is limited to those most in need while its historic properties require renovation and upkeep.

Themes

Poverty relief
Household essentials
Community amenities

Geographic Focus

Barnstaple.

What they don't fund

Grants for public purposes or inhabitants outside the Trust’s area of benefit: the Town of Barnstaple and those parishes substantially within a radius of 5 miles from its Guildhall
Samaritan Grants only: Grants to assist individuals who are not ‘deserving and in need’

How to apply

Organisations and other bodies can apply for Samaritan Grants to assist a specific individual in the area who is deserving and in need. Applications should be made in writing to the Chamberlain at the Bridge Trust office, with as much information as possible; no form is required.

Who can apply:

Samaritan Grants: Organisations and other bodies may apply to assist specific individuals within the area of benefit who are ‘deserving and in need’.

Application success factors

What the charity says:

Applications must assist a specific individual in the area who is deserving and in need.

Where they fund

Where it says it funds

Barnstaple

Similar funders

Funders supporting work similar to The Bridge Trust.

The Bideford Bridge TrustMixed deadlinesGave £401k The Portishead Nautical TrustRollingGave £67,973 Sir John and Lady Heathcoat Amory's Charitable TrustRollingGave £74,658 Spielman Charitable TrustNo public processGave £246k Viscount Amory's Charitable TrustRollingGave £474k The Fairfield Charitable TrustRollingGave £358k The Roper Family Charitable TrustRollingGave £435k The Kingsbridge FeoffeesNo public processGave £125 The Norman Family TrustFixed deadlinesGave £790k The Heathcoat TrustRollingGave £801k

Five years of accounts

Financial year	Income	Expenditure	Grants paid	Accounts document
year to 31 December 2020	£567,690	£242,350	—	Accounts for year to 31 December 2020
year to 31 December 2021	£283,684	£289,777	—	Accounts for year to 31 December 2021
year to 31 December 2022	£235,720	£317,646	—	Accounts for year to 31 December 2022
year to 31 December 2023	£333,562	£297,009	—	Accounts for year to 31 December 2023
year to 31 December 2024	£297,026	£377,446	£6,128	Accounts for year to 31 December 2024

Grants paid, year to 31 December 2024: the accounts do not say whether this is grants awarded or paid.

— No grants figure for that year.

Figures from the charity’s filed accounts and its register entry. The document icon links to the charity’s entry on the Charity Commission register, where its filed accounts can be found.