Thomas Taylor Charity
About the Thomas Taylor Charity
Thomas Taylor was a Dronfield blacksmith who died in 1681. His blacksmith's shop was near to the corner of Church Street and High Street in Dronfield. In his will, Thomas Taylor directed that all his property in Dronfield should go to the son and daughter of a kinsman of his in London and then to his brother James. The £4 rent for the property was to be paid yearly to James at the Market Cross in Dronfield. After the deaths of named heirs, Thomas Taylor asked that their inheritance should go to the overseers of the poor in Dronfield and their successors. The profits from it were to be used to fit out poor children of the town as apprentices to "any lawful trade or trades in any place or places within the Kingdom of England".
The Thomas Taylor Charity is still administered today for the benefit of young people in Dronfield. Grants of up to £100 are available for young Dronfield residents (between the ages of 16 - 21) starting trades or further studies.
The Thomas Taylor applications are usually open from August 1st to October 21st annually.