About

Our story

Latimer began in 2019 with a family who believe young people are hungry for more than they’re being offered. They had watched bright, thoughtful teenagers pass through school without ever being asked the big questions: what is a good life, what do we owe one another, what is worth giving yourself to? They wanted to build a place where those questions could be taken seriously, among friends, away from the noise.

The Aldwell Foundation was set up to make that happen. After a first summer lost to the pandemic, our first cohort arrived in July 2021. Every year since, we have welcomed young people from across the country for ten days of reading, conversation, walking and music. It has always been free, and it always will be.

Why Latimer?

Hugh Latimer (c. 1487–1555) was a Cambridge scholar and one of the great preachers of the English Reformation. He was known for his plain speech, his care for ordinary people and his courage. He was a scholar and preacher who refused to abandon his convictions, and we hope our students will learn to think as honestly and live as bravely as he did.

Think deeply. Live well.