The Free Hospital Trust Fund (FHTF) for Children & Young People - Block Application Grant

Background and History

The Free Hospital Trust Fund has been in existence since 1947 and originates from the creation of a free hospital for sick children from poor families in 1866. Below is a brief history of the hospital and the creation of the Trust Fund

In 1866 a free hospital for children of the poor was established next to St. Lucy's Home of Charity between Kingsholm and Longford. The home, a converted villa east of the Tewkesbury road, was occupied by the sisters of St. Lucy, an Anglican community founded in 1864 by Thomas Gambier Parry of Highnam to train nurses and tend the sick in their homes. By 1866 the sisters, who were sent to many parts of the country, nursed some patients in the home.

Gambier Parry also conceived the idea for the children's hospital in connexion with the home and paid much of the building costs. The hospital, a brick building designed by William Jacques, opened in 1867 with 22 beds. Children of the poor from any distance were admitted and out-patients were treated at a house in Bell Lane. The hospital was supported by subscriptions and donations.

In 1872 the sisters of St. John the Baptist from Clewer (Berks.) took over the work of the sisters of St. Lucy.

In 1876 Gambier Parry moved the home to a large house at the corner of Hare Lane and Pitt Street. The new home included a ward for fee-paying incurables from 1885 and adjoined the hospitals out-patient department, (which occupied the building known as College Gardens) from 1873 to 1905, when a new dispensary opened in the hospital's grounds. In 1921 the sisters gave up their work at the hospital and the management committee made new arrangements, introducing payments for patients' keep according to means.

Further changes in management came in 1928 when the Clewer sisters resumed their work, and from 1929 children sent by the Gloucestershire Royal Infirmary were admitted. The Clewer sisters were succeeded at the hospital in 1939 by the nursing sisters of St. John the Divine from Deptford (Kent).

In 1941 accommodation was increased but in 1947 the hospital was closed and sold to the city corporation. The proceeds of the sale supported a fund for the relief of sick children.

Purpose

The trustees of the Free Hospital Trust Fund aims to offer support to financially disadvantaged families in Gloucestershire where the children and/or their parents have health problems (physical, emotional, or social). 

Who can apply

Registered charities, not for profit organisations, Infant, Primary and Secondary schools and SEN schools currently based and operating within Gloucestershire

Examples of successful funding applications can be found within the download section to the right of this page.

Funding

A guideline of £3,500 (though this can be flexible in exceptional circumstances) as a single non-recurring grant - for priming projects which should benefit multiple disadvantaged children over a sustainable period of time

Deadlines:

• Applications can be submitted at any time.
• Applications received at least 2 weeks before the next Trustees meeting are usually considered at that meeting
• Trustees meetings for 2024 are 19th January, 12th April, 28th June & 4th October

Clothing and Shoes grants 

Grants for clothing and shoes, further details about The Free Hospital Trust Fund (FHTF) for Children & Young People - Early Help Assessment (EHA) and Non EHA applications can be found HERE