The Hibbert Trust is a foundation associated with

British Unitarianism The General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches (GAUFCC or colloquially British Unitarians) is the umbrella organisation for Unitarian, Free Christians, and other liberal religious congregations in the United Kingdom and Irel ...

from its inception in 1853. It was founded by Robert Hibbert (1769–1849) and originally designated the

Anti-Trinitarian Nontrinitarianism is a form of Christianity that rejects the orthodox Christian theology of the Trinity—the belief that God is three distinct hypostases or persons who are coeternal, coequal, and indivisibly united in one being, or essence ( ...

Fund. It awards scholarships and fellowships, supports the

Hibbert Lectures The Hibbert Lectures are an annual series of non-sectarian lectures on theological issues. They are sponsored by the Hibbert Trust, which was founded in 1847 by the Unitarian Robert Hibbert with a goal to uphold "the unfettered exercise of privat ...

, and maintained (from 1894) a chair of

ecclesiastical history Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of the ...

at Manchester College. From 1902 to 1968 it issued ''

The Hibbert Journal ''The Hibbert Journal'' was a large, quarterly magazine in softback book format, issued since 1902 by the Hibbert Trust, best described by its subtitle: ''A Quarterly Review of Religion, Theology and Philosophy''. In the early years it was publis ...

.''

Foundation

On 19 July 1847, Hibbert executed a deed conveying to trustees $50,000 in 6% Ohio stock, and £8,000 in railway shares. The trustees, on the death of his widow, were to apply the income 'in such manner as they shall from time to time deem most conducive to the spread of Christianity in its most simple and intelligible form, and to the unfettered exercise of the right of private judgment in matters of religion'. The trustees were always to be laymen. Appended was a scheme for the administration of the trust, which the trustees were empowered to revise, and were directed to revise at least once in every twenty-five years. In the original scheme the trust was called 'the Anti-trinitarian Fund', and its object was, by a provision of divinity scholarships, to encourage learning and culture among unorthodox Christians. The breadth of the actual trust is largely due to the counsels of Hibbert's solicitor,

Edwin Wilkins Field Edwin Wilkins Field (12 October 1804 – 30 July 1871) was a British lawyer and painter who committed much of his life to law reform. Early life Edwin, a descendant of Oliver Cromwell through his grandmother, was the eldest of thirteen children ...

, but, in opposition to Field, Hibbert 'determined on insisting that all recipients should be hetero-dox', his intention being 'to elevate the position and the public influence of the unitarian ministry'.

Activities

It has always been known that the trust was founded with a fortune made from slavery; Robert Hibbert owned

plantations in Jamaica Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tobacco, ...

, worked by enslaved African people. When the British government abolished chattel slavery throughout most of the Empire in 1833, it awarded compensation money to the slave owners. This money passed from Robert Hibbert to his widow, who died in 1853; the couple were childless and their legacy created the Hibbert Trust. "On the 100th anniversary of Robert Hibbert's death .e. 1949 it was acknowledged in the Hibbert Journal that good things are often “gathered from soil dunged deep with human suffering”, " according to the current chair of trustees. In the 2020s, the trustees approached the Centre for Reparation Research at the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...

, seeking advice on a way forward.

Trustees

Robert Mortimer Montgomery Robert Mortimer Montgomery KC (October 1869 – 31 December 1948), was a British lawyer, school administrator, legal writer, and Liberal Party politician. Early life and education Montgomery was born the son of Rev. John Knowles Montgomery, Unita ...

, who became a member of the Hibbert Trust in 1914, served as its Chairman from 1929 until three weeks before his death, in 1948.

Hibbert Scholars

R. Travers Herford Robert Travers Herford (1860–1950) was a British Unitarian minister and scholar of rabbinical literature. Biography He was the grandson of John Gooch Robberds and brother of Professor C. H. Herford, of Manchester University. Herford was ed ...

* Alexander GordonAlexander Gordon (9 June 1841 - 21 February 1931) a Biography 44 ... the first three Hibbert Scholars trained in theology in Manchester, and three who afterwards became members of the teaching staff of the College. He lived to see two pupils take their doctorates, several of the most important ..."

References

External links

The Hibbert Trust
Charities based in Manchester 1853 establishments in the United Kingdom Educational organisations based in the United Kingdom {{charity-stub