Governance

The Historic Towns Trust is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (number 1160040) whose stated objectives are:

‘the advancement of education and knowledge through the support and promotion of research into the history and topography of cities and towns in Great Britain and by the dissemination of the results of such research, in particular by the publication of Historic Town Atlases and other maps and related works.’

What kind of charity is the Trust?

The HTT became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation early in 2015 and was fully operational on 1st October 2015 at the start of the Trust's accounting year. The charity obtained a new registration number (1160040) replacing the previous charity, also called the Historic Towns Trust (registered charity number 313437) which was originally founded in the 1960s (see Our History).

The original charity is still formally linked to the new charity. A Charitable Incorporated Organisation is a type of registered charity which gives the benefits of incorporation whilst requiring it to report to only one regulator, the Charity Commission. The CIO has slightly different aims from the previous charity and a clearer structure of governance.

The Constitution of the Trust, as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation registered with the Charity Commission for England Wales, is available to download below. The Constitution was agreed by the Charity Commission in January 2015. Minor amendments (mostly relating to the length of trusteeships) were submitted to the Charity Commission in December 2022.

How is the Trust governed?

The Historic Towns Trust is formally governed by a board of trustees which sets the strategic direction of its operations at four meetings a year.

The day-to-day running of the charity is co-ordinated by an Executive Steering Committee which oversees the HTT's current projects.

The Committee currently comprises six trustees plus the Trust's Cartographic Editor. The six trustees are:

• The Chair

• The Honorary Secretary

• The Honorary Treasurer

• The chairs of the three operational committees, as detailed below.

View a full list of all our Trustees and Committee members. The terms of reference of the Executive Steering Committee are available for download below.

Executive Steering Committee Terms of Reference

All trustees serve on one of three operational committees:

• Projects & Programmes (overseeing current and future atlas and map projects)

• Communications, Outreach and Marketing (including the educational reach of the charity)

• Friendraising and Fundraising (strategic financial affairs)