Our Mission and Goals

Trinity in Camberwell is the focus of the charitable and outreach work of Trinity College, Cambridge.

Set up by University Fellows in Victorian times as a mission in the parish of St. George’s Camberwell, the charity has been has been supported by Trinity students, staff, Fellows and Alumni ever since.

Today Camberwell remains one of the 5% most deprived areas in the country. Trinity in Camberwell runs The Trinity College Centre which opened in 1982. The Centre is used by a variety of different groups for example a day centre for asylum seekers and refugees and a group for adults with learning disabilities. As the only community facility in the area, the Centre is also much used by various cultural and religious groups, as well as for family celebrations.

The commitment of time and resources by current and past members of Trinity College Cambridge enables this work to be maintained and developed even in austere times. Strong personal links are maintained between the College and the Camberwell community through visits by parishioners to Cambridge, and work by the undergraduates helping run projects in Camberwell. College members, past and present, continue to donate time and money to maintain and expand the vital work of the charity

History

The Doomesday book (1086) speaks of the settlement of Cambrewelle with its Saxon church - St Giles’. The name may derive from the Old English Cumberwell or Comberwell, meaning 'Well of the Britons'. An alternative theory suggests the name may mean 'Cripple Well', and that the settlement developed as a hamlet where people from the City of London were expelled when they had a contagious disease like leprosy, for treatment by the church and the clean, healing waters from the wells. Up to the mid-19th century, Camberwell was visited by Londoners for its rural tranquillity and the reputed healing properties of its mineral springs. Like much of inner South London, Camberwell was transformed by the arrival of the railways in the 1860s.

To continue to read the history of Trinity in Camberwell Click Here

Friends of Trinity

The Friends of Trinity in Camberwell are a group of College members and supporters who donate money for specific requests in Camberwell, and who organise visits from Camberwell to Cambridge.

The Friends raise funds to cover a broad scope of activities:

• Supporting the food hub

• Supporting the Pop in group

• Providing supplementary teaching resources at St George’s Primary School

• Aspirational experiences, such as visits to the theatre or day trips to the seaside

• Dragon’s Den type competitions

• Participating in the annual Cambridge Science Festival

For us, nothing compares with the excitement and enthusiasm shown by all we interact with, be it performing in the school play, learning how to make a submarine in the maths department in Cambridge, or simply sharing a meal.

Trustees

The Trustees are drawn from the parish of St George’s Camberwell and Trinity College Cambridge and meet twice a year.