The Guinness Trust is the oldest member of the Guinness Partnership, a group of housing association

Housing association

Housing associations in the United Kingdom are independent not-for-profit bodies that provide low-cost "social housing" for people in housing need. Any trading surplus is used to maintain existing homes and to help finance new ones...

s. It is a UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 registered charity

Charitable organization

A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...

 providing affordable housing

Affordable housing

Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Although the term is often applied to rental housing that is within the financial means of those in the lower income ranges of a geographical area, the...

.

The Guinness Trust was founded in 1890 by Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh

Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh

Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, KP, GCVO, FRS was an Irish philanthropist and businessman.-Public life:...

, great grandson of the founder of the Guinness Brewery, to help homeless people in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and Dublin.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Iveagh Trust

Iveagh Trust

The Iveagh Trust is a provider of affordable housing in and around Dublin, Ireland. It was initially a component of the Guinness Trust, founded in 1890 by Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, great-grandson of the founder of the Guinness Brewery, to help homeless people in Dublin and London...

 based in Dublin took responsibility for Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. The Guinness Trust extended its objectives outside London in 1962 and today operates in all parts of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is not related to the brewery company. The history of its 1st century was published by Peter Malpass in 1998.

The President of the Trust is Princess Antonia, Marchioness of Douro

Princess Antonia, Marchioness of Douro

Princess Antonia of Prussia, Marchioness of Douro, Duchess of Ciudad Rodrigo, OBE , is a great-granddaughter of Wilhelm II, German Emperor.-Biography:...

, and the Chairman is Peter Barton, Deputy Lieutenant

Deputy Lieutenant

In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....

 and former High Sheriff

High Sheriff

A high sheriff is, or was, a law enforcement officer in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.In England and Wales, the office is unpaid and partly ceremonial, appointed by the Crown through a warrant from the Privy Council. In Cornwall, the High Sheriff is appointed by the Duke of...

 of Greater London

Greater London

Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...

.

Guinness Partnership

The Guinness Trust Group is now known as the Guinness Partnership. In total, the group owns over 50,000 homes. Its patron is HRH The Prince of Wales

Charles, Prince of Wales

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...

.

Members

The members of the Partnership are:

Name	Established	Activity	Size
Guinness Trust	1890	Housing in London, East Anglia and the South East	23,000 homes
Guinness Hermitage	1998	Housing management in the west of England. Initially named Parchment Housing Group, it was amalgamated with other Partnership members and renamed in 2007
Hermitage Housing Association		Housing with support services in Hampshire	3,800 homes
Hermitage Care	1997	Care and support services in Hampshire Hampshire Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
Gorseway Care		Nursing Nursing home A nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...  & residential homes & flats on Hayling Island Hayling Island -Leisure activities:Although largely residential, Hayling is also a holiday, windsurfing and sailing centre, the site where windsurfing was invented....
Portsmouth Friendship Centre	2007	Project for diverse communities in Portsmouth Portsmouth Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
Midsummer Housing Association	1985	Milton Keynes Milton Keynes Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...  and the Midlands English Midlands The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...	4,200 homes
Guinness Northern Counties	1966	North of England, especially Manchester Manchester Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater... , South Yorkshire South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...  and North Derbyshire Derbyshire Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx... . Founded as Northern Counties Housing Association	Over 20,000 homes
Guinness Housing Association		Bath, Somerset, Bristol Bristol Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007... , Gloucestershire Gloucestershire Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....  and Wiltshire Wiltshire Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
Kennet Housing Society		General and special needs Special needs In the USA, special needs is a term used in clinical diagnostic and functional development to describe individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. For instance, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the International...  in Wiltshire, Bath and Mendip Mendip Mendip is a local government district of Somerset in England. The Mendip district covers a largely rural area of ranging from the Mendip Hills through on to the Somerset Levels. It has a population of approximately 110,000...	Owns 440 homes, manages 1,200
Wycombe Friendship Housing Association		Saunderton Saunderton Saunderton is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in a valley of the Chiltern Hills, about three and a half miles north west of High Wycombe, four miles south of Princes Risborough. It lies on the main A4010 road, and has a station on the Chiltern Main Line between the two... , Downley Downley Downley is a village and civil parish in the Wycombe district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is high in the Chiltern Hills, overlooking the town of High Wycombe. Although today it is almost indistinguishable from the urban spread of the latter town....  and Central Wycombe High Wycombe High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
Guinness Developments Ltd	2004	House-building company
Guinness Care and Support Ltd	2005	Services for residents with support needs

History of the Partnership

The Parchment Housing Group was created in 1997, as the parent company of Hermitage Housing Association, Hermitage Care and Gorseway Care.

In 1992 the Guinness Trust Group acquired the Parchment Group. The combined group is now known as The Guinness Partnership.

Northern Counties Housing Association joined the Partnership in 2008.

External links

• The Guinness Partnership official website