The Carrington Charitable Trust
Stay updated on changes from The Carrington Charitable Trust and other funders
Get daily notifications about new funding opportunities, deadline changes, and programme updates from UK funders.
Quick Stats
- Annual Giving: £140,000 (approximate based on expenditure)
- Success Rate: Not publicly available
- Decision Time: Not publicly available
- Grant Range: Not publicly available
- Geographic Focus: Buckinghamshire (primarily local to Bledlow area)
- Charity Number: 265824
Contact Details
Address:
Manor House Estate Office
Perry Lane
Bledlow
Princes Risborough
Buckinghamshire
HP27 9PA
Telephone: 01844 273508
Email: angienuttall@carington.co.uk
Alternative contact: enquiries@carington.co.uk
Overview
The Carrington Charitable Trust was registered as a charity on 30 July 1973 and is based at the historic Bledlow Manor estate in Buckinghamshire, which has been owned by the Carington family since the 18th century. The trust operates with a dual charitable purpose: maintaining an old people's home at Bledlow and making donations to registered charities. In the financial year ending April 2024, the trust had total income of £126,596 and expenditure of £143,761, demonstrating active charitable giving. The trust is led by Lord Carrington as Chair (appointed 2018) and operates with broad discretionary powers, allowing trustees to support “such legally charitable purposes as the trustees shall from time to time in their absolute discretion determine.” This is a private family trust with a local focus on Buckinghamshire charities.
Funding Priorities
Grant Programs
The trust does not operate formal, named grant programs. Instead, it functions as a discretionary grant-making trust where decisions are made by trustees based on charitable need and alignment with their interests.
Key characteristics:
- Discretionary grant-making to registered charities
- Focus on general charitable purposes
- Trustees have absolute discretion in determining beneficiaries and grant amounts
- No publicly available information on specific grant ranges or typical award amounts
Priority Areas
The trust's governing documents provide for very broad charitable purposes. Based on the charity's stated objectives:
- Elderly care and support: Maintaining an old people's home at Bledlow is a core purpose
- General charitable purposes: The trust can support any legally charitable cause as determined by trustees
- Local Buckinghamshire charities: Geographic proximity to the trust's base in Bledlow likely influences funding decisions
What They Don't Fund
No specific exclusions are documented publicly, though as a discretionary trust, the trustees retain full control over which causes to support.

Ready to write a winning application for The Carrington Charitable Trust?
Our AI helps you craft proposals that match their exact priorities. Save 10+ hours and increase your success rate.
Governance and Leadership
Current Trustees:
- Lord Carrington (Chair, appointed 2018)
- Robert Peter Flavio Carington (appointed 2023)
- The Hon Virginia Carington
The trust has 3 trustees total. According to Charity Commission records, the trustees do not receive remuneration for their trustee duties, though one or more trustees may receive payments or benefits for providing services to the charity (separate from their role as trustees). The trust has no employees and no trading subsidiaries.
The Carrington family has owned Bledlow Manor since the 18th century, and the trust reflects the family's long-standing commitment to local charitable work in Buckinghamshire.
Application Process and Timeline
How to Apply
This trust does not have a public application process. The trust operates on a discretionary basis, with trustees determining which charities to support without soliciting public applications. Grants are made through trustee discretion rather than through an open application system.
The trust's governing documents specify that grants are made “for such legally charitable purposes (and if more than one in such shares) as the trustees shall from time to time in their absolute discretion determine.”
Decision Timeline
Not applicable, as there is no formal application process.
Success Rates
Not applicable, as the trust does not accept unsolicited applications.
Reapplication Policy
Not applicable given the absence of a public application process.
Application Success Factors
Given the trust's discretionary nature and absence of a public application process, there is no documented guidance on what makes applications successful. The trust appears to operate through:
- Trustee identification of charitable needs
- Pre-existing relationships with beneficiary organizations
- Trustee knowledge of local Buckinghamshire charitable work
- Discretionary decision-making at trustee meetings
Key Takeaways for Grant Writers
- No public application process: This trust does not accept unsolicited grant applications; funding decisions are made entirely at trustee discretion
- Private family trust: The Carrington family trust operates primarily to support their core charitable activity (the old people's home at Bledlow) and make discretionary donations to other charities
- Local focus: Based in Bledlow, Buckinghamshire, the trust likely prioritizes local charitable work in the county
- Broad charitable powers: While trustees have discretion to support any legal charitable purpose, their focus areas are not publicly documented
- Limited transparency: No public information is available about grant recipients, grant amounts, or funding priorities beyond the trust's core activity
- Small-scale operation: With annual expenditure around £140,000 and dual purposes (maintaining the care home and grant-making), the amount available for external grants is likely modest
- Relationship-based: Without a public application system, any grants made are likely to organizations already known to the trustees or recommended through their networks
🎯 You've done the research. Now write an application they can't refuse.
Hinchilla combines funder's specific priorities with your organisation's past successful grants and AI analysis of what reviewers want to see.
Data privacy and security by default
Your organisation's past successful grants and experience
AI analysis of what reviewers want to see
A compelling draft application in 10 minutes instead of 10 hours
References
- Charity Commission Register of Charities. “THE CARRINGTON CHARITABLE TRUST - 265824.” Accessed 29 December 2024. https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regid=265824&subid=0
- OpenCharities. “THE CARRINGTON CHARITABLE TRUST :: OpenCharities.” Accessed 29 December 2024. http://opencharities.org/charities/265824
- Giving is Great. “THE CARRINGTON CHARITABLE TRUST | Charity Factsheet.” Accessed 29 December 2024. https://givingisgreat.org/database/charity-factsheet/?regNo=265824
- Carington Estates Ltd. “Contact Us.” Accessed 29 December 2024. http://www.carington.co.uk/contact-us/
- Buckinghamshire Gardens Trust. “Bledlow Manor.” Accessed 29 December 2024. Information confirming the Carington family's long-standing ownership of Bledlow Manor since the 18th century.