The Dulwich Estate
The Dulwich Estate is a registered charity in England, one of the successors to the historic charity Alleyn's College of God's Gift, and was founded in 1619. It owns the freehold of around 1,500 acres (6.1 km2) in Dulwich, South London, including a number of private roads and a tollgate.
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.
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.
The Dulwich Estate is empowered to distribute its surplus for charitable purposes to the following beneficiaries only:
Dulwich Picture Gallery ceased to be a beneficiary of the charity in 1995.
The foundation known as Alleyn's College of God's Gift was founded by Edward Alleyn, Shakespearian actor, in 1619 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, The Central Foundation Schools, and St. Saviour's & St. Olave's Schools (Boys and Girls) and also the Dulwich Picture Gallery and Christ's Chapel.
Until 1882, one Board of Governors was responsible for both Educational 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.
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 2005-2006 financial year the Estate distributed £5.49m from its income and £20m in capital to these beneficiaries.
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 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%".
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