ABOUT LAWES AGRICULTURAL TRUST
Land North East of Redbourn is being brought forward by the Lawes Agricultural Trust, a charity established in 1889 through a Declaration of Trust by Sir John Bennet Lawes FRS, founder of Rothamsted Experimental Station in 1843.
The Trust’s charitable object is “to advance the science of agriculture for the public benefit through original investigation and research, which may embrace all or any subjects connected to or bearing upon agriculture, including animal or vegetable physiology, meteorology, botany, and chemistry.”
Our main assets are the land and buildings at Rothamsted, Harpenden and Brooms Barn, Suffolk. We use these assets to pursue our charitable object in several ways:
1. Providing land and buildings for agricultural and related sciences conducted by Rothamsted Research.
2. Offering accommodation to key workers, students, and staff, enabling them to live locally on modest scientific salaries.
3. Granting financial support for scientific costs to Rothamsted Research, mainly through an annual “Director’s Vote” set by the trustees.
4. Supporting the Rothamsted campus to enable collaboration with small companies, enhancing the uptake of agricultural and environmental research, in partnership with RoCRE Limited (Rothamsted Centre for Research & Enterprise).
We provide housing for nearly 200 people, support fellowships for young scientists from developing countries, and fund capital projects to modernise facilities or develop new buildings. Additionally, we provide an annual research grant to the Director of Rothamsted Research, supplementing core funding from the Government.
Through these activities, we contribute to the employment of over 500 people in the district, making Rothamsted one of the area’s largest employers.
Land North East of Redbourn
