01
Ask the Feoffees
- Got a project, need or idea that would benefit the people of Tetbury?
- Write to us at info@feoffeesoftetbury.co.uk and make the case.
- The trustees consider it against the deed — the same test used since 1633.
Get involved
The trust belongs to Tetbury. So does the say.
Make a case, mind a meadow, or put your shoulder to the town's oldest institution — the door's been open since 1633.
Three ways in
Pick the door that suits you.
02
Help mind the town's places
- Use the open spaces — that's what they're for.
- Got hands, skills or materials that could help maintain them? Tell us.
- Many hands have kept this town loved for four centuries. Yours are welcome.
03
Serve the town
- New Feoffees are elected by the Thirteen when vacancies occur.
- The Thirteen also approve the accounts each year — a check that's kept the trust honest since the 1700s.
- Interested in serving? Write and tell us about yourself.
What the trust means
Why "in trust for the inhabitants" still matters.
Plenty of towns have pretty buildings. Tetbury has something better: proof that a community can own its own inheritance and govern its own generosity. The £840 paid in 1633 was the town investing in itself — and the return has been running for four hundred years.
The Feoffees' job is simply not to be the generation that drops it.
Latest accounts on the register: income £110,880, expenditure £116,849.
Fair questions
Things people ask about the Feoffees.
What is a Feoffee?
A Feoffee is a trustee of an ancient endowment. Tetbury's Feoffees date from 1633, when four townsmen bought the manor of Tetbury in trust for the inhabitants. Today there are seven Feoffees, supported by the town body known as the Thirteen.
What does the charity pay for?
The charity uses its assets for the best possible benefit of the people of Tetbury — including the advancement of education, the provision and maintenance of open areas and recreational spaces, and the upkeep of the Grade I listed Market House.
Can I ask the Feoffees for support?
Yes. If you have a proposal, a need or a project that would genuinely benefit the people of Tetbury, write to the Feoffees at info@feoffeesoftetbury.co.uk and make the case — that is exactly how this charity has worked since 1633.
How are new Feoffees chosen?
New Feoffees are elected when vacancies occur, and the accounts are approved each year, by the Thirteen — Tetbury's historic consultative body, whose rights in this were established in the eighteenth century.