Letitia Tilbury Tarner

Tarner Tower and Park, Brighton

In 1896, Letitia Tilbury Tarner and her friend, Lord Haddo, founded a benevolent charity which today we call 'LTT'. At first the charity was set up to support All Soul's School in Essex Street, just off Eastern Road in Brighton, which had been opened in the mid nineteenth century following a bequest from the TilburyTarner family. Later the charity extended its work to religious education and other areas.

Letitia Tilbury Tarner lived for most of her life at St John's Lodge. This was a large three storey house built by her grandfather, the surveyor - Edward Tilbury, who also oversaw the construction of All Soul's Church (the first Wagner church) that was consecrated in 1834. In the 1930's, when she was in her eighties, Lettita Tilbury Tarner disposed of the house and its land; the grounds of the house are now Tarner Park in Sussex Street. During her lifetime, Letitia Tilbury Tarner had a significant impact on Brighton and she become one of the town's first Lady Mayors.

Our Present Trust

When All Soul’s School closed in the second half of the twentieth century after a local government education reorganisation, the proceeds from the part of the land which Letitia Tilbury Tarner’s charity had endowed were returned to it. These funds, together with those from Lord Haddo’s own charity, form the basis of today’s trust which was registered on 19 June 1964 and is administered by a group of trustees, one of whom is always the Vicar of St Mary’s, Brighton. The purposes of our trust are to use its limited income and resources to advance education and religion in Brighton and Hove.  

The present charity known as 'LTT' was founded by two indentures dated 30 June 1986 and on 4 December 2002, the Charity Commissioner made a further scheme consolidating the charities, updating administrative powers and widening the benefit area to the City of Brighton and Hove and surrounding areas. 

Our trust's income today comes from an investment portfolio of stocks and shares managed by our London stockbrockers, J M Finn & Co.

Grants

For many years, our trust has been supporting St Mary’s, Brighton with a small annual grant towards educational and religious activities.

Click here for the link to St Mary's, Brighton website

Grants have also been made annually by our trust to schools in ‘the Prime Area’ to help them buy resources to support the teaching of Religious Education in the classroom. If sufficient funds have been available, our trust has given grants to schools in the rest of Brighton and Hove. Grants have also been made to churches in Brighton and Hove Deaneries to help and support them in their work with children and young people.

The Prime Area

This is the area of Brghton historically linked to our trust and is bounded by the Seafront, Wilson Avenue, Elm Grove and London Road. The trustees give priority consideration to applications from 'the Prime Area'.