About the Emerton-Christie Charity

 

The Emerton Christie Charity was originally two separate will trusts established by Mrs. Cecil Christie, the Mrs. C. M. S. Christie Will Trust, and the sisters Maud and Vera Emerton, the Emerton Charitable Trust.

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When their various estates were wound up, it was proposed by the managing solicitors at the time to amalgamate the trusts to save on administrative expenses and maximise the potential value of charitable donations. This was possible because both trusts were unrestricted in their scope. With the agreement of the trustees and the Charities Commission the assets of the Mrs. Christie Will Trust were passed to the Emerton Charitable Trust in 1995 and 1996, and the name was changed to the Emerton-Christie Charity.

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Alan Niekirk, Tony Walker and David Richards were the original trustees of the newly combined charity. Following David’s death in 2003 the remaining trustees established a David Richards Memorial Prize at the Royal Academy of Music with a one-time bequest of £75,000.

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Following Alan Niekirk’s death in 2010 the remaining trustees agreed to set up an Alan Niekirk Scholarship at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. This is funded by annual grant currently set at £10,000.

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While all of the original benefactors had their charitable preferences, the trustees continue to examine all of the requests received.

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A list of the current trustees can be found on the Charity Commission's website here.

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