About Cookham Welfare Trust

In its present form, Cookham Welfare Trust was formed in 1973 as an amalgamation of  three previous local charities which were all administered for the Parish of Cookham. 

The original charities (from the Original Scheme of Registration in 1863) were: 

- Cookham Relief in Sickness (1863) - its aim was `to alleviate the suffering and assist the recovery of residents who are sick, disabled or infirm’.

- The Cookham Relief in Need (1903) – its aim was to relieve those who were in conditions of need, hardship and distress.

- The Cookham Educational Charity (1906) - the original aims as stated were to provide financial assistance to boys and young men under 25. “Girls and young women” were added later in the 1930’s. This scheme detailed:-

a) Awards or exhibitions at training colleges for Teachers, universities and other institutions of further education.

b) Providing funds for outfits, clothes, tools, instruments or books to help those leaving school or universities etc., to prepare to enter a profession, trade or calling.

c) Otherwise promoting the education (including social and physical training) of beneficiaries.

The Trust previously operated under the auspices of the Cookham Parish Council for most of the last 25-30 years. The sale of a Parish Council property on Widbrook Common provided a major source of funds for the Trust, which is invested. It also receives regular annual income from the grazing rights on Widbrook and other Parish Common land and dividends. 

To provide financial grants for students and apprentices under the age of 25 years old who are resident in Cookham Parish (covering the three wards of Cookham Village, Cookham Dean and Cookham Rise) for a minimum of six years and are registered for: any apprenticeships or National Vocational Qualification or attending a course they have been accepted for at a college of training, college for teachers, university or further education college.