Through the first 30 years of its life Lindley combined its training provision with a Christian community in which many of the staff lived. This community approach brought a distinct spirit to the residential settings in which the training took place. The caring community experience remains to this day.

By 1980 the joining of the Hollowford Centre team to what then also included Swinton Castle resulted in increased use of adventurous outdoor activities in personal development for young people. Under the leadership of the Bishop of Sheffield many of the well established industries of South Yorkshire had helped to develop Hollowford and used it to train their apprentices. This work continues today though many of the industries have changed! Annual report from 1990.

The Trust no longer has Lindley Lodge or Swinton Castle, though routinely works in residential settings beyond its main base at Hollowford. Its most recent expansion of work is into urban youth clubs to enable an increasing city based population of young people to benefit from the developmental experiences of outdoor adventurous activities.

A full history of the Trust was published in 2015. ‘Squaring the Circle’ – The Story of the Lindley Educational Trust by Bill Krouwel is available to order in our shop.

Building on the success of its Youth and Community work in Ashton-under-Lyne, the Trust opened a new urban youth service in Pitsmoor, Sheffield in 2019. Despite the challenges associated with 2020’s COVID-19 pandemic this work continued to grow along with the work in Ashton and by 2024 the Trust recognised the work as central to reaching and benefiting children and young people from disadvantaged, vulnerable and challenged backgrounds. 

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