About

The Foundation is named after Sir John St Barbe (1655–1723) of Ashington Manor. It was set up to provide education for the poor of the villages where Sir John held lands, through the Elementary School in Marston Magna.

The school closed in the 1950s and when the buildings were sold in 2003 a fund was established to provide bursaries to young people from Marston Magna, Rimpton, Chilton Cantelo, Ashington and Limington.



We make grants of up to 50% of the cost (subject to a maximum of £500 per student per annum) for any course of extra-curricular study, vocational or further education. Applications are not means-tested and are welcome at all times of year.

The chosen course of study should result in a qualification, and the trustees will require a report on the student’s progress from the teacher. There is no restriction on repeat applications for successive years although the Foundation will not support students following the award of a higher degree or equivalent.


Trustees: Sir Jonathan Marsden (Chairman), Rev. Bruce Faulkner (Treasurer), Isabel Bannerman (Secretary), Kirk Hutton and Lucy Caruth.