Huggens College

Who we are

The College was founded by John Huggens, a corn merchant of Sittingbourne, in 1844 and officially opened in 1847.

The Principal Objective of the Charity is to provide Almshouse accommodation for members of the Church of England, or other Christian denomination, who are of good character, are retired or semi-retired, are of limited financial resource and are capable of independent living.

The College is governed by up to twelve Trustees, one of whom acts as President, usually for a period of three years. There should always be at least seven Trustees. The Trustees are unpaid volunteers.

The Trustees are supported by a Charity Manager who helps with their meetings, deals with correspondence and enquiries and manages the Charity’s finances. The Charity Manager works part-time from home but the other five staff are employed at the College.

There is a resident chaplain who organises the day-to-day running of Huggens College and looks after the wellbeing of the residents. There is also a lodgekeeper, who lives on the premises, and helps the chaplain in his work and is the first port of call should there be a problem with a Collegian's bungalow.