Miss Beryl Billings (Known as Margot Boyd) Charitable Trust

The Miss Beryl Billings (Known as Margot Boyd) Charitable Trust, established in 2009 from the estate of English actress Beryl Billings (stage name Margot Boyd), advances education in the theatrical arts—particularly in Bath—and relieves sickness, promotes health, and alleviates financial hardship for active and retired actors. Governed by three trustees with legal expertise, it embodies a legacy-driven ethos of sustaining performing arts as cultural assets while prioritizing artists' welfare, emphasizing sustainable projects, public benefit, and inclusive community engagement over episodic aid.

It funds theatre appreciation, education, and access initiatives like Theatre Royal Bath's Engage programme and Venue 4 community facilities, alongside health/welfare grants for performers. Supported activities include large-scale community plays, elder programmes, and work with adults with complex needs, targeting actors, theatre professionals, and Bath-linked community groups to foster artistic development and personal resilience.

Eligible applicants must be UK-based (England/Wales), with strong preference for Bath-connected medium-sized organisations and established theatre institutions showing capacity for impact; no strict income limits, but unsolicited applications are not accepted—grants are proactively awarded via trustees' networks. Typical awards range £10,000–£75,000 (up to £100,000+ for capital anchors), focused on projects and capital rather than core costs or unrestricted support. Decisions occur ad hoc through regular trustee meetings tied to strategic opportunities, with no deadlines or open processes.

Distinctively, it avoids grassroots startups or non-theatre activities, standing out as a specialist Bath theatre anchor funder blending arts enhancement with actor wellbeing, leveraging founder ties for transformative, relational investments in a niche cultural ecosystem.