About The Crichton Trust
Our Story
The Crichton Trust is a company limited by guarantee with charitable status, established in 1996 to promote, regenerate and care for The Crichton and other buildings of historic interest throughout Dumfries and Galloway.
The Trust has the overall strategic responsibility of ensuring that the site is managed and developed to an appropriate standard. Our mission is to preserve, enhance and interpret the historic character of The Crichton and develop it with a clear identity as a place of educational, commercial, recreational, cultural and artistic excellence taking account of accessibility and stakeholder and community needs for the benefit of Dumfries and Galloway.
Our Vision
At The Crichton, our aim is to provide a space that inspires people, creates connections and drives innovation, enterprise and collaboration with a 100 year perspective forward and back..
Our strategy outlines our goals and how we will work towards achieving these; we want to show why we’re committed to the work that we do, how we’re going to do it and what we’re aiming to achieve along the way. Our hope is to inspire action within the local community and further afield as we look to tackle climate change.
We are committed to preserving, enhancing and interpreting the historic character of The Crichton Estate, and we want to develop it with a clear identity as a place of educational, commercial, recreational, cultural and artistic excellence, taking account of accessibility and stakeholder and community needs for the benefit of Dumfries and Galloway.
Our goals look to address the challenges of our time, so by using our unique rural location as the test bed for ideas and solutions, we’re working towards achieving Net Zero and addressing the underpinning issues of an aging population and technological advancement.
Our Team
We are led by a dynamic and motivated team of people who are excited by the prospect of harnessing the full potential of The Crichton to change the world.
Our Board of Trustees are selected via an application and interview process, and we aim to appoint those with skills in specific areas that will benefit The Crichton and our goals.
Our dedicated team of executives, managers and employees oversee the day-to-day running of the The Crichton and its venues, properties, projects and events. The work of the Trust is also supported by a number of casual staff and volunteers, as well as contractors and partners.
Our History
The story of the Crichton begins in 1823 with the death of Dr James Crichton of Friar’s Carse who left to his widow, Elizabeth, the then considerable sum of around £100,000 to be used for charitable purposes. With the help of her friend, the Rev Henry Duncan, Minister of Ruthwell Parish and founder of the Trustee Savings Bank, Elizabeth attempted to endow a College of University status in Dumfries ‘for the education of poor scholars’.
