The Jack Lane Charitable Trust
The Jack Lane Charitable Trust has funds available for a wide variety of projects in north Wiltshire and south Gloucestershire.
The trust will meet four times a year to discuss applications for funds.
Below is an article which appeared in the local press shortly after Mr Lane died and will give background to the Trust and the sort of projects that will be eligible for support.
Applications should be made to the Jack Lane Charitable Trust, 59 High Street, Malmesbury, Wilts, SN16 9AH or email the clerk to the Trustees at admin@jacklane.co.uk
Millionaire Dairy Farmer Leaves Legacy for Good Causes
by Tamash Lal
FRUGAL farmer Jack Lane has left a legacy of more than £1 million for good causes in the Cirencester area.
After a life of hardship, Mr Lane became a millionaire overnight when he sold his farm near Tetbury in 2000.
He continued to live a modest lifestyle in retirement, and when he died at the age of 81 in February 2001, the lifelong dairy farmer left a legacy to be used to set up a charitable trust.
18 months after his death, the Jack Lane Charitable Trust is held its inaugural meeting.
Trustee Martin Wright, who knew Mr Lane for 12 years before he died, said: "Although Jack was a farmer, and we will be considering agricultural beneficiaries and charities, the objectives of the trust are to promote any charitable cause within the community."
Grants will be available for educational projects, poverty relief, training and employment initiatives, the preservation of historic buildings and for sport, art and leisure facilities.
The cash has been invested and is expected to generate £50,000 a year in interest, which will be distributed in south Gloucestershire and north Wiltshire.
A number of grants have already been awarded, and among the recipients are Lea and Garsdon Primary School and the Watershed Group, which is based at Coates and offers disabled people the chance to enjoy horse riding.
Born in Somerset, Mr Lane bought Larkhill Farm near Tetbury in the early 1950s with his wife Hilda, who died in 1997.
Having no children or close relatives, Mr Lane intended to leave most of the property to a trusted friend and farm labourer, Richard Smith, in returned for his loyal service.
But Mr Smith died of cancer in 1999 when he was in his late 40s.
The property was eventually sold, and the old farm buildings have since been converted into residential accommodation.
Rather than splash out on a luxury retirement home when he left farming, Mr Lane opted to live in a bungalow in Tetbury.
He was already ill with cancer of the mouth, which eventually claimed his life.
Mr Wright, who works for the National Farmers' Union, got to know Mr Lane through his work.
He described him as being the 'salt of the earth' and someone who was well-known in local farming circles and regularly seen at nearby livestock markets.
A man of few vices, Mr Lane never took holidays, and rarely travelled far from his home.
"Jack was a typical farmer," he said, "he lived for farming, and loved anything to do with it. He didn't know any other life.
"He had no money, but when he sold the farm he was suddenly a very rich man.
"He was a very generous person and very honest, but he wasn't interested in money.
"He gave a lot of it away to local people and farm workers who had helped him during his life."