The Grange is more than a historic building. It is a civic house: a place where people meet, learn, celebrate, create, organise, remember and participate in public life.
Our task is not only to care for the building as it is today, but to increase its capacity to serve future generations. That requires good governance, financial discipline, cultural imagination, practical judgement and long-term stewardship.
We are now strengthening our Board of Trustees as the charity enters an important new phase of development.
This is an opportunity to help shape the future of one of Pontefract’s significant public places.
The Role of Trusteeship
Trusteeship is a position of public responsibility.
Trustees are responsible for the governance, purpose and long-term protection of the charity. They help ensure that Carleton Grange Trust remains faithful to its charitable objects, financially resilient, well led and capable of serving the community over time.
Trustees are not responsible for day-to-day management. That work is carried out by the Chief Executive and leadership team. The role of the Board is to provide oversight, judgement, support and constructive challenge.
A strong board does not run the organisation. It protects its purpose, strengthens its capability and helps it make good decisions.
At The Grange, trusteeship means thinking beyond immediate activity. It means asking what kind of institution this place needs to become, what responsibilities it carries, and how it can be protected for those who will inherit it after us.
What We Are Building
The Grange is being developed as a civic, cultural and community institution.
It brings together community use, public events, learning, culture, hospitality, heritage, family life, local enterprise and civic participation. Its value lies not in any single activity, but in the way these activities come together to strengthen the common life of the place.
Across the country, many important public buildings have lost the organisational capacity needed to sustain them. Carleton Grange Trust is working in the opposite direction: building the governance, leadership, programme, partnerships, income and operational discipline required for a place like this to endure.
The Board of Trustees has a central role in that work.
What Trustees Do
As a trustee, you will help to:
- Protect the charitable purpose and public benefit of Carleton Grange Trust.
- Set the long-term direction of the organisation.
- Ensure the charity is well governed, financially responsible and legally compliant.
- Support and challenge the Chief Executive and leadership team.
- Help assess risk, opportunity and organisational development.
- Contribute to the future strategy for the building, its use and its public role.
- Strengthen the charity’s relationships with communities, partners, funders and civic bodies.
- Act as an ambassador for The Grange and its wider purpose.
- Help ensure the institution is handed on stronger than it was found.
Who We Are Looking For
We are looking for people who understand that public places need care, judgement and responsibility.
You do not need previous trustee experience. We welcome people from different backgrounds who can bring wisdom, skill, perspective and commitment to the future of the charity.
We are particularly interested in hearing from people with experience in:
- Finance, accountancy or audit.
- Law, governance or charity regulation.
- Education, children and young people.
- Health, wellbeing or social care.
- Property, heritage, estates or facilities.
- Culture, arts, music, film or public programming.
- Business leadership or organisational development.
- Fundraising, grant funding or public-sector partnerships.
- Communications, marketing or digital.
- Community development, participation or civic life.
- Youth voice, inclusion or intergenerational work.
We are also interested in people whose experience does not fit neatly into one of these categories, but who care deeply about place, people and public life.
Good trustees bring more than expertise. They bring judgement, independence, patience, seriousness and a willingness to work with others in the long-term interests of the charity.
The Kind of Board We Are Forming
We want a Board that is capable, thoughtful and outward-looking.
The Grange does not need a board that merely preserves what already exists. It needs a board that can help the charity grow into the level of responsibility now required of it.
That means trustees who can hold both practical detail and larger purpose in view.
It means people who understand buildings, but also people.
It means people who value heritage, but are not trapped by nostalgia.
It means people who understand that community life is strengthened by capable institutions.
It means people who can help The Grange become not only busy, but important.
Time Commitment
Trustees attend regular Board meetings and may also contribute to specific areas of work depending on their experience and availability.
The role is voluntary, but it carries real responsibility. We ask trustees to give proper time to reading papers, attending meetings, contributing to decisions and supporting the wider work of the charity where appropriate.
The exact time commitment will vary depending on the role, but all trustees are expected to take the responsibility seriously.
Why Join?
Becoming a trustee of Carleton Grange Trust is an opportunity to contribute to something lasting.
You will help protect and develop a historic public place at a significant moment in its life. You will support a charity that is working to increase public participation, strengthen community life, develop cultural activity, improve civic capability and care for a building that belongs, in spirit, to the life of the town.
This is not only about helping an organisation. It is about helping to shape the future capacity of a place.
The question for The Grange is not simply how it survives.
The question is what it can become.
Express Your Interest
If you are interested in becoming a trustee, we would be pleased to hear from you.
You can complete our expression of interest form or contact us for an informal conversation about the role, the charity and the future of The Grange.
We welcome people who are ready to think seriously, contribute constructively and help steward The Grange for the next generation.
