MERCHANT VENTURERS LOOK TO THE FUTURE
Tracing its heritage back to 1287 the Society of Merchant Venturers is one of the nation’s most fascinating civic institutions, with its history woven into the story of Bristol.
The culture and focus of the organisation have evolved significantly in recent years as the Merchants look to help tackle some of the key threats and opportunities facing the greater Bristol area.
How times are changing. For five centuries Bristol’s Merchant Venturers were reticent about releasing their names – now they are not only releasing their membership list for the first time, but putting their biographies onto a brand new website launched this week (Merchantventurers.com.)
Nick Hood the current Master of the Merchant Venturers explains: “Publishing our members’ names is a very small thing – but it reflects a much greater change in the culture and approach of our organisation.”
The list of names makes interesting reading. The organisation comprises a broad cross section of prominent and successful men and women from across the Bristol area with significant charitable and educational interests.
Together with some of the region’s leading entrepreneurs and business leaders there are university professors and directors of NHS Trusts.
“Our membership reflects the make-up of the economic and civic life in the greater Bristol area. The economic life of this region was for a considerable period dominated by a small number of traditional industries, including shipping, packaging and tobacco.
“The cigarette industry alone provided some 40,000 local jobs in its heyday – with maybe three times this number indirectly dependent on this one trade,” explains Nick Hood. He describes the membership of the merchants being drawn historically from a small ‘cocoon of enterprise’.
Bristol has seen these ‘bastion’ industries reduced, with their dominance replaced by new industries, including highly successful legal, accountancy, creative, media, hi tech and specialist manufacturing businesses.
“Our membership has evolved to reflect these new entrepreneurs,” says Nick Hood. “We are increasingly attracting younger men and women who are people of enterprise, risk takers – which is what the Merchant Adventurers are about.”
Awarded their Royal Charter by Edward VI in 1552, the Merchants Venturers were at the centre of establishing Bristol as a great maritime city with an enterprising impulse. From inspiring John Cabot’s voyage to the New World to helping finance the Great Western Railway and the ss Great Britain, the Merchants ran the Port of Bristol until the early 19th century.
With responsibility for the port of Bristol passing to the City Corporation, the Merchants have concentrated their energies on a range of altruistic priorities.
In recent years the Merchants have worked ever more closely with the wider community and the new website highlights their objectives, which are above all ‘to contribute to the prosperity and well being of the Greater Bristol area through active support of enterprise and commercial and community activity.’
There is a serious focus on enhancing the quality of life for local people, with special attention being given to ‘young, older and disadvantaged people.’
Also highlighted is ‘the promotion of learning and the acquisition of skills by supporting education and acting as effective stewards of the charitable trusts, heritage, ancient buildings and open spaces for which the society is responsible’.
Nick Hood explains: “The new generation of Merchant Venturers are more widely representative and their charitable and educational work has grown and is becoming better known. As a result perceptions of the organisation have changed considerably in recent years.”
The Merchant Venturers are led by a core of determined, highly motivated individuals that have embarked on a process of modernising the organisation – without losing its ‘mystery or heritage’. These individuals include the current Master, Nick Hood, Trevor Smallwood and Colin Skellett – together with the Treasurer Richard Morris.
“I believe that there is a vital role for the Merchants to play in encouraging some of the region’s most talented men and women to give their time, creativity and energies to focus on some of the great challenges facing Bristol and the city region.
“With a new spirit of openness and acceptance from key partners we are taking forward this commitment – we are in good shape to play our part in the ensuring the success of this great city into the 21st century.”
Education
Education is a key priority for the organisation. “Nothing is currently more important to the Merchant Venturers than seeing Bristol’s education system become one associated with high levels of achievement,” says Nick Hood.
The Merchant Venturers are committed to seeing that a step change in the quality of secondary education in Bristol is reflected in its provision of skills and resources to the state sector.
The Merchants are involved in sponsoring and supporting the development of two Academies, which are due to open in September 2008.
A capital commitment of £2million has been agreed by the Merchants’ in support of the new Merchants’ Academy in Withywood, which is due to replace Withywood Community School. Other significant additional resources and skills are also being provided by the Merchant Venturers and their co-sponsors, Bristol University for this project.
As a sponsor, the Merchants are heavily involved in all aspects of the Academy, chairing the Academy Trust and working closely with Bristol University, the Secretary of State for Education, Bristol City Council and the local community.
The Merchants also sponsor Colston’s Girls’ School, which is on track to become an Academy in September 2008. At the beginning of March, this school became one of the UK’s first Independent schools to sign an Academy Funding Agreement.
Care for Older People
Through some of the trusts which it administers the Merchant Venturers has been closely involved in the care of the elderly in Bristol for more than 350 years, initially as Trustee of the Merchants' Almshouses in King Street and Colston's Almshouses on St. Michael's Hill. Both almshouses are currently undergoing various degrees of refurbishment and redevelopment to bring them fully up to the Government’s Decent Homes Standard.
Today its largest commitment to the elderly is the management of the very substantial endowment of the St Monica Trust. St Monica is a pioneer in the concept of providing independent living for the elderly and disabled.
The Trust runs two major developments in Westbury-on-Trym both providing a range of sheltered apartments with care and social amenities on site together with a modern care home. There is also a substantial development in the Bedminster area of Bristol which offers 121 ‘Extra care’ sheltered housing apartments. This service is, in part, run in partnership with the adult care department of Bristol City Council. Further, the Trust is presently developing a site at Sandford, North Somerset, which will provide a 108 unit retirement/care village and a separate specialist care home for 71 residents.
Between them they provide homes for over 800 people.
Through another trust, the Cote Charity, the Society administers Cote House, which provides 13 single and double sheltered apartments and a residential home accommodating 23 residents, adjacent to one another in Westbury-on-Trym. Plans are now well in hand to open in 2009 a new, dual purpose 40 bed residential home, to be known as Katherine House, to replace the current 23 bed home.
The new Merchant Venturers website can be found at www.merchantventurers.com
ENDS
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