The Manifold Trust was created by Sir John Smith in 1962 to generate funds for conservation in the UK, particularly of buildings, and to support other culturally important activities, including churches, arts, education, and the environment. The trust buys long leases shortly before they expire, when their value is relatively low, and benefits from the rents paid by the tenant in the meantime. This strategy has created, in Smith's words, a "cataract of gold". The trust give small grants, usually from £500 to £5,000, to registered charities. It is based at Shottesbrooke House, Smith's country house, near

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...

. The trust works closely with the

Landmark Trust The Landmark Trust is a British architectural conservation, building conservation charitable organization, charity, founded in 1965 by John Smith (Conservative politician), Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or ...

which was also founded Sir John and Lady Smith in 1965. In 2020, the trust awarded £464,166 to eight recipients; the bulk of awards went to

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

to be used for bursaries. UK Government Charity Commission website, ''The Manifold Charitable Trust: Annual report for the year ended 31 December 2020''
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References

Environmental organisations based in the United Kingdom 1962 establishments in the United Kingdom {{UK-org-stub