Lempriere Pringle 2015

Charity Details

Full Name: Lempriere Pringle 2015  
Founded: 2015 (originating charity 1992)
Type: Independent
Where Operates: England and Wales
Headquarters: Bishop Auckland, DL14 7BH
Charity No: 116516

History and Activities

Lempriere Pringle 2015 is the successor charity to The Lempriere Pringle Trust established by the enterprising philanthropist Jonathan Ruffer in 1992. It is a vehicle he uses to make grants and loans to the various charitable causes he supports.

The first of these causes is the transformation of “Auckland Castle into a faith, art and heritage destination of international significance, reinvigorating the town of Bishop Auckland and the wider area through social and economic regeneration”. This ambitious project is managed by the Auckland Castle Trust. A related project is the spectacular Kynren visitor attraction, a historically themed light show for audiences of 8,000 that tells a mythologised tale of England over 2,000 years, performed on multiple occasions during the summer season by 1,500 local volunteers. There were 17 performances in 2018. Kynren is organized by a second Bishop Auckland charity, Eleven Arches. In total, grants of £3,060,458 were made to the Auckland Castle Trust and Kynren in 2016/17.

The second cause supported by Lempriere Pringle 2015 is that of advancing the Christian religion. In 2016/17, the trust made grants to support a small number of Christian charities totalling more than £6.5 million. The largest beneficiary was the Seedbed Christian Communities Trust, which received a grant of £5,300,000.

Strengthening community-based organizations it the third cause supported by the charity. The largest beneficiary in 2016/17 being the County Durham Community Foundation, which received a grant of £1 million to help people back into employment, raising aspirations and fulfilling potential. On first announcing his support for the community foundation in 2012 Jonathan Ruffer explained that he was “keen to support and build teams that will improve social deprivation and empower people … County Durham Community Foundation is one of those teams and by allowing them – as the local experts – to reach the parts that need help most, that leaves me time to channel my energies into developing my Auckland Castle project.”

Lempriere Pringle 2015 does not solicit applications for grants. There is no formal applications procedure. Rather, the trust proactively engages with the organizations it supports in pursuit of common goals and shared objectives.

Vital Statistics (year to 31/03/2017)

References