About Us

The registered name of the charity is the Elizabethan Schools Foundation (Charity Number 1190463).

We are an investor in the young people of Fulham, assisting them to reach their full potential as individuals who will in turn contribute to the benefit of the local community and wider society.

A short history of the Foundation:

  • a local charity for the benefit of the young of Fulham who are currently in full time education
  • the Foundation was set up in 1856 by a notable local resident, Charlotte Sulivan, in memory of her mother Elizabeth
  • Elizabeth was the sister of Lord Palmerston (the British Prime Minister in 1860) married to Laurence Sulivan a wealthy local landowner living in Broom House, Fulham, now demolished and under the site of the Hurlingham playing fields
  • Laurence established the Elizabethan Schools (then housed in the Gothic revival style building on Broomhouse Lane opposite the Hurlingham playing fields) in memory of his wife Elizabeth to educate poor children in Fulham
  • the Elizabethan Schools (there were three schools – infants, boys and girls) was a ‘ragged’ school, a 19th century creation for the education of destitute children
  • Charlotte was the youngest child and inherited her considerable fortune from her father which she put to use for charitable purposes in the Fulham area – she was a friend of the then Bishop of London (the Bishops of London resided in Fulham Palace at the time), a connection which is continued to this day with the Bishop of London being responsible for the appointment of three of the five Trustees
  • the following links provide some further background reading:
  • the Foundation fell dormant in 2004 as the Trustees had become either incapacitated, retired or deceased over time and it was de-registered by the Charities Commission

During 2019 and 2020 a committed team of new Trustees was appointed by the Bishop of London and the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and two years were spent working with the Charities Commission to re-establish the Foundation with the intention of honouring the original charitable objectives of Charlotte Sulivan’s bequest.

In December 2020 the Charities Commission and CCLA (the charities investment managers) agreed to reinstatement of the Foundation and we are now active in the local community once again.