About Us
History of the College
The College was founded by John Huggens, a corn merchant of Sittingbourne, who in 1844 donated the site of the College and endowed it with funds. The College was formally brought into existence by an Act of Parliament of 1847 and opened in the same year. John Huggens himself died in 1865 at the age of 90.
The principal objective of the charity was, and still is to provide almshouse accommodation for persons aged at least sixty years and of limited financial resource, within a community with Christian values.
The original houses were demolished in the 1960s and replaced by thirty bungalows. At the same time the Chapel and Lodge were rebuilt. The Chaplain’s House is the only part of the original College to remain and was originally a farmhouse.
The Chaplain is an ordained minister of the Church of England and is licensed by the Bishop of Rochester to conduct services and to minister here. A close working connection exists between the local parish church St Botolph’s and the Chapel.
Management of the Charity
Huggens’s College is a charity registered with the Charities Commission under registration number 210336. The charity has a single corporate trustee, Huggens’s College Trustee Limited, which is registered at England and Wales Companies House under registration number 14418799. The company must always have at least seven Directors (referred to as Trustees) and can have up to twelve in total with a Chairperson, who is normally appointed for a three year term, taking the traditional title of President. The Trustees are unpaid volunteers and are selected so that between them there is a wide range of skills and experience. The current Trustees include people with experience of health, law, charity, property, local government, banking and investment management. Many are also Directors or Trustees of other charities and voluntary organisations.
Our Staff
The College employs a number of staff including the Chaplain and a Manager. The Chaplain is also the Almshouse Manager and is responsible for the day to day running of the college and looks after the wellbeing of the residents. He lives on site in the Chaplain’s House and conducts regular services for residents in the chapel.
The Charity and Finance manager supports the directors and helps with their meetings, deals with correspondence and enquiries and manages the Charity’s finances. The Charity and Finance Manager works part-time from home.
The College also employs a Lodgekeeper, who lives on site and is responsible for maintenance among other duties, and gardeners, cleaners and welfare staff.
The Future
The Trustees have decided that the proceeds from the sale of some commercial property should be used to increase the amount of almshouse accommodation that we provide. After considering all possible options, the Trustees agreed that this could be best achieved by redeveloping the existing College.
Planning permission is currently being sought to demolish the existing bungalows and replace them with 96 flats. The development will be in blocks of two or three stories which will be built in five phases.
The first phase will be a block of ten flats built at one end of the central green and the second phase will be 30 flats replacing eleven of the existing bungalows.
The timing of the final three phases is not yet determined and will be dependent on the funding position, including the level of Government grants we receive.
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Slightly bigger than the bungalows they replace and will be wheelchair accessible
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Have one bedroom with fitted cupboard space
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Be provided with an oven and hob, fridge and freezer, and a washing machine
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In the future, as these goods wear out, they will be replaced by the College.
The flats will be:
The redevelopment will also increase the community spaces available for Collegians to use and improve the landscaping of the College. Accommodation will be available to enable family and friends of Collegians to stay when they visit.