Introduction

Gryphon Educational Trust was established in February 2017 to provide a fund to promote scholarship in a specified range of disciplines.

Working closely with literary and historical societies, study groups, galleries, museums, publishers, etc, the Trust identifies opportunities which will be of benefit to individual scholars, yet which might not be accessible to them without some financial assistance.

The Trust makes only small grants and strictly limits the number of beneficiaries for any particular activity. However, working in conjunction with selected organisations, the Trust is able to target its bursaries in such a way it can assist the scholars who will most benefit.

 

Areas of Research Currently Being Promoted by the Trust

Lewis Carroll: If you are a scholar researching the life and works of Lewis Carroll, we encourage you to make contact with us, in case we can help. We offer small grants to assist with purchase of books or attendance at events.

History of Book Illustration: We are keen to support anyone researching the history of book illustration, the lives and works of illustrators, etc.

History of Logic and Mathematics: Scholars working within these areas are invited to contact us; particulary in relation to conferences and other events.

The trust has a strong commitment to support the Heath Robinson Museum, in Pinner. The trustees believe that the museum and its collection offer significant un-tapped opportunities for scholars.

Constitution

The Gryphon Educational Trust is a charity in the United Kingdom established by a Deed of Trust and recognised by HMRC as a charity for tax purposes. It is managed by a Board of Trustees.

The Trust was established to:

A.	award bursaries to individuals in recognised higher education or to independent scholars for any of the following purposes:
	i.	to cover the attendance costs of lectures, conferences and other scholarly events;
	ii.	for the purchase of study materials including books;
	iii.	to cover the cost of membership of learned societies or organisations where these can be shown to have a relevance to the recipient’s field of study.
B.	sponsor lectures, conferences and other events whose primary purpose is for education.
C.	support the publication of scholarly works by any means including making grants towards research or to cover publication costs or by making a commitment to purchasing and distributing such publications.

The Trustees currently define the areas of studies to which they will award grants as the life and works of Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson) and subjects tangentially related them, such as children's literature, the history of mathematics, the history of photography, book illustration and Victorian studies.

 

Applications

We currently have no specific events or activities on our calendar for which we are making grants. If you wish to apply for funding to facilitate your attendance at an event or for membership of a learned society which you think fits within our areas of interest, please go to the Contacts section and send us an email. If you are the organiser of a lecture, conference of other scholarly event and think we might be able to assist, please get in touch.

During 2023 our activities included:

• A pledge to fund student places at the Children's Books History Society Study Day in October 2023.

• A donation to a fund for the restoration of an important film adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Phantasmagoria from the late 1980s. This restoration work was completed in April 2023 and the film was shown at an online conference and is now available for viewing online.

• A donation to support the development of a project to archive important interviews with Lewis Carroll Scholars.

• Supplying research materials to scholars

• Supporting the curatorial team at the Heath Robinson Museum.

During 2022 our activities included:

• A pledge to fund student places at the Children's Books History Society Study Day in October 2022.

• Supplying research materials to scholars

• Supporting the curatorial team at the Heath Robinson Museum.

During 2021 our activities included:

• A pledge to support the exhibition programme at the Heath Robinson Museum for 2022.

• A pledge to fund student places at the Children's Books History Society Study Day in October 2021.

• Paying for internet facilities for the Heath Robinson Trust

• Supplying research materials to scholars

• Supporting scholars at Queen Mary University of London attending an online study day at the V&A museum.

During 2020 our activities included:

• Supplying research materials to scholars

• Paying scholars' membership fees for the Lewis Carroll Society of North America

During 2019 our activities included:

• Supplying research material to scholars

• Supporting scholars attending the Children's Books History Society annual Study Day on families in children's literature

• Paying scholars' membership fees for the Lewis Carroll Society

• Paying scholars' membership fees for the Imaginative Book Illustration Society

During 2018 our activities included:

• Supporting scholars attending the Children's Books History Society annual Study Day on animals in children's literature

• Supporting scholars attending the Sussex Centre for Folklore, Fairy Tales and Fantasy conference on Lewis Carroll and George MacDonald

• Supplying research material to scholars

• Paying scholars' membership fees for the Lewis Carroll Society

• Paying scholars' membership fees for the Imaginative Book Illustration Society

Contribute

The Trust is funded by donations from individuals.

100% of donations are used for our stated purposes. All of the Trust's running expenses are covered by other means.

We are pleased to accept donations of all sizes and donations made by UK tax-payers may be Gift-Aided.

If you wish to make a donation or find out more about how we raise and use the funds we receive, please go to the Contacts section.

Contacts

For all enquires please contact the Trust's Bursar by email.

admin@gryphoneducationaltrust.org