The Parish of Holy Trinity with St Columba, Fareham

William Price Charitable Trust

Registered Charity 307319

A Brief History Of The Charity

In 1721 William Price, a prosperous timber merchant of Fareham, drew up his will. Land and money were left to establish a charitable school in his house in West Street for 30 poor boys and girls in the parish of Fareham.

The original parish of Fareham has now been split up to form the three town parishes of St Peter & St Paul, Holy Trinity with St Columba and St John the Evangelist.

The school, set up in his old home (see right) in 1725, became boys only from 1820 and finally closed in 1901 when it was felt that it could no longer provide an education appropriate to the times. It then transferred its boys to the National School in Gordon Road.

The engraving (left) from 1852 shows the Old Market Hall with William Price's school house to the right. After the school closed in 1901 the house was demolished and the town fire station was built on the site. Today that old fire station has gone and the area is part of the Town Square.

A plaque now records the site of the original school.

The Charity then founded a new school for 100 boys which was opened on a site in Park Lane in 1908. During the 20th century the school changed its status several times and in 1957 became Voluntary Controlled, which meant that total financial responsibility for the running of the school passed to Hampshire County Council, although the Charity remained the landholder of the site.


From 1973 onwards the school was gradually converted into a sixth Form College for boys and girls. At the time the Charity Commission expressed some concern that the ages of the students (16 -18) were not in accord with the original intentions of William Price, but in the event the College was allowed as the educational element of the Charity.