Trustee - The Kelmarsh Trust

The Kelmarsh Trust is an independent Charity responsible for the management of the historic Kelmarsh Hall (a Grade 1 listed building); it’s Grade 2* listed Gardens and the wider Kelmarsh Estate.

What will you be doing?

Kelmarsh Hall is an 18th century Grade 1 listed property, set in iconic Grade 2* listed gardens at the centre of a traditional working agricultural country estate of 3500 acres.

The Kelmarsh Trust was established in 1982 following the death of the last member of the Lancaster family who had owned the estate since the beginning of the 20th century.

It’s purpose is to promote, conserve and protect the heritage of the Hall and it’s environs, to make the Hall and Gardens open and accessible for public appreciation and to provide an education resource and facility for a variety of interested individuals and organisations. 

The Trust has a number of sources of revenue including rental income from six working farms and thirty residential properties (which comprise the wider estate); revenue from visitors to the Hall and gardens;  income from a successful Events business which utilises the Hall and grounds for weddings, festivals and corporate events; income from a wind farm located on the estate; returns from a tea room and shop; investment income and occasional grants from various external bodies. The total annual income is c£1m.

The Trust has a strong focus on increasing these revenue streams and exploring other strategic development opportunities across the wider estate.

The Trust is also working to make Kelmarsh one of Northamptonshire’s major visitor attractions - with a variety of events open to the public - including garden walks, musical evenings, food and drink markets, children’s activities, picnics and seasonal fairs.

The Trust is supported by a small dedicated and highly effective team of full and part time staff ably supported by our fantastic volunteers and our first class professional advisors.

Estimate of time needed: 0-5 hours / month. The Trust meets four times each year and there are sub-committee and other ad-hoc meetings.

What are we looking for?

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of the Trust managing one of Northamptonshire’s finest country estates which is a major heritage site, visitor attraction, events venue and education centre as well as being a working estate with several farms and a number of let properties.

We are looking to appoint a new Trustee to join our Board. Specifically we are looking for someone with a finance background, ideally a qualified Chartered Accountant, who has operated at Board or senior management level in either the commercial sector or private practice. The individual will also have a passion for the traditional country house and estate.

What difference will you make?

The Kelmarsh Trust's purpose is to promote, conserve and protect the heritage of the Hall and it’s environs, to make the Hall and Gardens open and accessible for public appreciation and to provide an education resource and facility for a variety of interested individuals and organisations. 

The Trust is working to make Kelmarsh one of Northamptonshire’s major visitor attractions with a variety of events open to the public - including garden walks, musical evenings, food and drink markets, children’s activities, picnics and seasonal fairs.