The Dulwich Estate, previously the Estates Governors of Alleyn's College of God's Gift at Dulwich, is a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

in England, one of the successors to the historic charity

Edward Alleyn Edward Alleyn (; 1 September 156621 November 1626) was an England, English actor who was a major figure of the Elizabethan theatre and founder of the College of God's Gift in Dulwich. Early life Alleyn was born on 1 September 1566 in Bishop ...

College of God's Gift The College of God's Gift, often referred to as the Old (Dulwich) College, was a historic Foundation (charity), charity founded in 1619 by the Elizabethan actor and businessman Edward Alleyn who endowed it with the ancient Manor of Dulwich in so ...

that was founded in 1619. It owns the freehold of around in

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of H ...

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

, including a number of private roads and a tollgate. The estate properties range from Regency and 19th century buildings to distinguished modernist 1960s buildings. A "Scheme of Management" was created in January 1974 under Section 19 ("Retention of management powers for general benefit of neighbourhood") of the

Leasehold Reform Act 1967 The Leasehold Reform Act 1967 (c. 88) is an act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, which concerns English land law and compulsory purchase. A government bill, the law remains largely intact. It was passed by both Houses and had been tabled ...

. A major reorganisation of the College of God's Gift took place on 31 July 1995; the charity, then known as ''The Estates Governors of Alleyn's College of God's Gift at Dulwich'' was renamed ''The Dulwich Estate'', and its governing body retitled ''Trustees''.The Scheme of Management documents
/ref> The individual components of the College of God's Gift (the three schools, the almshouse, the chapel and the Dulwich Estate) were separated into individual registered charities. The Estate distributes its surplus to a number of beneficiaries defined by its governing document. In 2006–7, the Estate had a gross income of £8million, and net assets valued at £187.9million.

Beneficiaries

The Dulwich Estate is empowered to distribute its surplus for charitable purposes to the following beneficiaries only: * Dulwich

Almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) is charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the Middle Ages. They were often built for the poor of a locality, for those who had held ce ...

Charity * Christ's Chapel of God's Gift *

Alleyn's School Alleyn's School is a 4–18 Mixed-sex education, co-educational, independent, day school and sixth form in Dulwich, London, England. It is a registered charity and was originally part of Edward Alleyn's College of God's Gift charitable foundatio ...

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

James Allen's Girls' School James Allen's Girls' School, abbreviated JAGS, is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school situated in Dulwich, South London, England. Founded in 1741, it is the second oldest girls’ independent school in Great Britain, with ...

* Central Foundation Schools of London, which benefits

Central Foundation Boys' School Central Foundation Boys' School is a voluntary aided school, voluntary-aided comprehensive secondary school in the London Borough of Islington. It was founded at a meeting in 1865 and opened the following year in Bath Street, before moving to it ...

and Central Foundation Girls' School * St Olave's & St Saviour's Schools Foundation, which benefits

St Olave's Grammar School St. Olave's Grammar School (formally St. Olave's and St. Saviour's Church of England Grammar School) ( or ) is a grammar school, selective secondary school for boys in Orpington, Greater London, England. Founded by royal charter in 1571, the sch ...

and

St Saviour's and St Olave's Church of England School St Saviour's and St Olave's Church of England School is a comprehensive secondary school and sixth form for girls located on New Kent Road near Elephant and Castle, in the London Borough of Southwark, England. It is a voluntary aided Church of ...

Dulwich Picture Gallery Dulwich Picture Gallery is an art gallery in Dulwich, south London. It opened to the public in 1817 and was designed by the Regency architect Sir John Soane. His design was recognized for its innovative and influential method of illumination f ...

ceased to be a beneficiary of the charity in 1995.

History

The foundation known as Alleyn's

was founded in 1619 by

, a Shakespearian actor, for the purposes of educating poor scholars and providing accommodation for poor persons. These basic principles still exist today but on a much wider scale, embracing among the beneficiaries Dulwich College, James Allen's Girls' School, Alleyn's School, Central Foundation Schools, and St Saviour's & St Olave's Schools. Until 1882, one Board of Governors was responsible for both

Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

al and Estate administration. It was then decided to create a separate Board of Governors to administer the Estate and to be known as the Estate Governors. Great Brownings off College Rd - geograph

Great Brownings off College Rd - geograph

In the years following the Second World War with significant demand for new housing in London, the Estate commissioned hundreds of new homes within its boundary. Most of these were built by

Wates Group Wates Group Ltd is a family owned construction, property services and development companies in the United Kingdom. History Edward Wates established his eponymous business in 1897 as a Streatham housebuilder. In the 1920s and 1930s, it expande ...

and are in the Dulwich Wood conservation area. In 1995, a major reorganisation of the historic Alleyn's College charity resulted in the reconstitution of The Dulwich Estate as an independent registered charity, and the other former constituents also became independent. As a registered charity, the Estate is bound to distribute its disposable income to its beneficiaries so that apart from the sums necessarily spent on estate management, it is not in itself wealthy. In the 2022-2023 financial year, the Estate distributed £5m from its income to these beneficiaries.

Public criticism

In 2016, the Estate came under increasing criticism from local businesses and residents over their management of properties in the area. In February 2016, several hundred people, including actor James Nesbitt and journalist Jay Rayner, both local residents, marched through

Herne Hill Herne Hill () is a district in South London, approximately four miles from Charing Cross and bordered by Brixton, Camberwell, Dulwich, and Tulse Hill. It sits to the north and east of Brockwell Park and straddles the boundary between the London ...

to protest against the Estate's treatment of Just Williams, a local toyshop forced to close after Dulwich Estate increased their rent "by more than 70%". Similar campaigns have been mounted against the Estate's management of the Half Moon pub, left boarded up for three years following flooding in 2013 and poised to lose its live music space after refurbishment, and the Estate's plans to sell a local primary school's playing field to a property developer.

The Old College and Almshouses

The Old College and Almshouses (Edward Alleyn House) situated at the junction of Gallery Road and College Road, Dulwich Village SE21, were completed by 1618. The central section houses Christ's Chapel which was consecrated in 1616. The west wing originally housed the Almshouses, then became the home of the college. The buildings have been known as the Old College since the New College was opened in 1870. The west wing now houses the offices of the Estate Governors. The Almshouses (Edward Alleyn House) are situated in the east wing of the Old College. They comprise sixteen recently modernised flats which are let at a modest charge to suitable applicants who have proper qualification, namely a link with any one of the following parishes - St. Botolph's without Bishopsgate, St. Luke's Finsbury, St. Giles Camberwell, and St. Savior's Southwark. These are all parishes with which Edward Alleyn had personal or business connections.

Management

The Board of Trustees consists of 13 persons, namely 9 representative Governors, appointed by the various Parishes and Schools forming part of the Foundation, and 3 co-optive Governors, who must reside in the Hamlet of Dulwich, appointed by resolution of the Estate Governors. The Estate Governors administer the Estate in accordance with a scheme made by the Board of Education on 4 June 1913, under the Charitable Trusts Acts, 1855 to 1894, as amended by various altering schemes made between 1920 and 1978. The Estate, comprising some , is bounded by Crystal Palace to the South, Denmark Hill to the North, part of Lordship Lane to the East, and Tulse Hill to the West. It is primarily situated in the

inner London Inner London is the group of London boroughs that form the interior part of Greater London and are surrounded by Outer London. With its origins in the bills of mortality, it became fixed as an area for statistics in 1847 and was used as an area ...

borough of

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, with small parts in the

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

and

Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...

, but has large areas of open space. The Estate has been managed by the Estate Governors and their predecessors since 1619 to obtain the maximum benefit for the beneficiaries. Since the advent of the

, many leaseholders have acquired their freeholds.

References

External links

The Dulwich Estate website
* * Cultural and educational buildings in London Educational charities based in the United Kingdom 1619 establishments in England Charities based in London London Borough of Southwark Estate College of God's Gift Privately owned estates in London {{coord missing, London