The Henry Smith Charity


The Henry Smith Charity was founded in England in 1628 from the will of Henry Smith, a moneylender and landowner.
The charity owned the Smith's Charity estate in Kensington which was established on farmland in Kensington and Chelsea in 1685. The Henry Smith Charity sold their South Kensington estate to the Wellcome Trust for £280 million in 1995.
Smith established in his will that the first beneficiaries of the charity were to be English sailors that had suffered at the hands of Turkish pirates.
Today, the charity makes a variety of grants, primarily to social welfare and disadvantaged groups. Beneficiaries include registered charities, community and Christian based organisations and individuals. At the end of the 2017 financial year the Henry Smith Charity had an income of £12.5 million with grants totalling £31 million. The charity had assets worth over £1 billion.

History

Henry Smith was born in Wandsworth in 1548. He was a City merchant and alderman, and he left a detailed will establishing various charitable trusts.