Ashton Court Mansion - Bristol Historic Buildings Trust
Trustee - Fundraising
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Join the Board of Bristol Historic Buildings Trust - help fund the restoration of a Bristol landmark
Bristol Historic Buildings Trust (BHBT) is seeking a new Trustee with fundraising experience to help us bring Ashton Court Mansion back to life.
Ashton Court Mansion is a Grade I listed manor house with origins in the 14th century, set within an 850-acre estate on the edge of Bristol. Around three quarters of the building remains derelict. We are working with Bristol City Council to take a 125-year lease and regenerate the Mansion as a living civic place where heritage, creativity and public life meet.
We are already in the building under a tenancy at will, have refurbished the first rooms and begun taking event bookings. We are converting to a Charitable Community Benefit Society and preparing to launch a Community Share Offer shortly. Beyond that sits the long-term restoration itself - a phased, grant-led programme of significant scale, requiring a sustained major grants pipeline and a matching campaign alongside it.
Our vision is a building that works as a place of celebration, incubation and education, programmed around five areas: food, culture and arts, skills, nature and outdoors, and heritage.
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We need a trustee with significant fundraising experience, who can help achieve our vision for ACM and who can help the Board build the capability to do it repeatedly.
What we are looking for (some, not all, of the following)
- Experience of major capital fundraising, ideally in heritage, culture or the built environment
- A track record with major grant funders - National Lottery Heritage Fund, Arts Council England, Historic England, trusts and foundations
- Major gifts and high-net-worth donor cultivation
- Corporate partnerships and business sponsorship
- Individual giving, regular giving and membership schemes
- Experience shaping a compelling case for support and holding an organisation to a fundraising strategy and pipeline
What the role involves
- Bringing fundraising challenge and expertise to Board discussions, and helping set realistic targets
- Supporting the development of our grant pipeline, major donor strategy and supporter programmes
- Opening doors where you can, and representing the Trust to funders and supporters
- 4 quarterly board meetings per year (March, June, September, December), approx. 2 hours each
- An annual strategy day
- Additional involvement as your skills allow - fundraising, stakeholder meetings, representing the charity at events
- Terms of up to 3 years (renewable)
- The role is unremunerated; reasonable expenses are reimbursed
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About us
We are committed to a Board that reflects the community we serve and the wider Bristol community, and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds.
Our mission: to restore and operate Ashton Court Mansion through a mixed-use model combining conservation, community programming and commercial activity, sustained by a diversified income base of earned income, grants, donations and community investment.
How to apply
If this sounds like you, we would love to hear from you. Informal conversations welcome before applying. More about the project at www.ashtoncourtmansion.org, or contact comms@ashtoncourtmansion.org to request a full information pack.
Send a brief statement of suitability (up to 250 words) and your CV to comms@ashtoncourtmansion.org by 31 August 2026.
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