Richard Platt

In 1597 Richard Platt who had twice been a Master of the Brewers' Company received Letters Patent from Queen Elizabeth I to found a school and almshouses at Aldenham in Hertfordshire. In 1599 he drew up orders for the School and appointed the Brewers as Governors. Today the Brewers' Company remains Trustee of the Foundation of Richard Platt and the Aldenham School, an independent school for boys and girls. The Almshouses were rebuilt over the years and finally sold in 1986. Income from the proceeds is now used for the benefit of those in need in the Parish of Aldenham.

Dame Alice Owen

Alice Owen was brought up in Islington. Having narrowly escaped being shot by an arrow in her youth she vowed that if she was ever in a financial position to do so she would endow some charitable foundation. She was the widow of three wealthy men, a Brewer, a Mercer and finally a judge. In her will dated 1613, she entrusted the government of almshouses and a school which she had recently established in Islington to the Brewers' Company. The almshouses no longer exist but the school, Dame Alice Owen's School, which had a phased move from Islington to Potters Bar between 1972 and 1976, exists as a voluntary aided co-educational comprehensive school of 1200 pupils. The Company continues to manage the trust funds and the estate in Islington which supports this school and education in Islington.

Other Trusts

Smaller trusts administered by the Brewers' Company include James Hickson's educational charity and almshouses; charities set up by Samuel Whitbread to support people in need who have served in the brewing industry, and John Baker's Trust which supports widows and unmarried women aged over 70 resident in the parish of Christchurch, Spitalfields for the last 5 years.