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Company History
The Company was established in 1875 by Frederick Edward Towner, a local cabinet maker and undertaker in the fledgling community of St Leonards-on-Sea, Britain’s first New Town.
Frederick ('F. E.')'s grandfather, Thomas, was a builder from Seaford who, along with many builders and artisans from all over Sussex, was commissioned by the architect, James Burton, for the New Town scheme. Work on the project commenced in 1826. Thomas Towner decided to bring his family with him to create a home here. For over 100 years the family home was at 69 Norman Road and indeed the current Chairman of the Company, Edward Towner, spent his childhood and teenage years there.
Arthur C. Towner and staff circa 1900
F. E. Towner - Founder
F. E. Towner died in 1900 and the business was continued by his son, Arthur Charles Towner. The firm was made a Limited Company in the 1930's which is why it bears Arthur’s name and not his father’s. Arthur died in 1935.
The business continued through his son, Arthur C. Towner II. Arthur C. Towner II handed over managerial control to his youngest son Raymond in the late 1960's (his eldest son Arthur C. Towner III died in 1965).
Ray Towner retired in 1987 when his son Edward became Managing Director. After 46 years in the business Edward retired in 2021 and passed the baton to his son, Oliver.
The company was originally located at 25 Norman Road, St Leonards-on-Sea. During the Second World War the premises were destroyed when a bomb landed in Norman Road. Arthur was actually in the building at the time but emerged safely, although somewhat dusty. We re-located to 2 - 4 Norman Road which is where you will find us today.
In the 1940s, 50s and 60s we had many strings to our bow: a furniture shop, upholsterers, furniture removals and storage, builders, decorators and plumbers as well as funeral directors and monumental masons.
In the last quarter of the 20th Century some of the departments struggled as competition increased (for instance, the furniture shop couldn’t compete with the likes of MFI and Ikea) so we decided to concentrate on what we are good at - funerals and stonemasonry.
Norman Road early years (Towners' shop on left)
Hastings Town Centre showing Albert Memorial (and Towners' cart on the left)
Arthur C. Towner (front right) and staff circa 1900
The funeral industry has been ravaged by aggressive takeovers of small, family run businesses by big national and international funeral conglomerates like Service Corporation International, Dignity, Funeral Partners and the Co-op. When the Co-op bought out the family firm of Jempsons in Battle we saw an opportunity: by opening a branch there we could ensure the people of Battle continued to have the option of a local, family owned undertaker. Our Battle office and chapel of rest was opened in 1995. When the same thing happened in Bexhill - the Co-op bought out the family firm of Mummery - we saw a similar opportunity and so our Bexhill office and chapel of rest - in Station Road - was opened in 1999.
Since then both branches have attracted more and more business which endorses our belief that, when dealing with an undertaker, most people want to be able to telephone John Smith Ltd and speak to Mr Smith himself, rather than be diverted to a call centre. Having outgrown the Station Road premises, in 2013 we moved to our new funeral home, Audley House, in Albert Road, Bexhill. With the acquisition by LM Funerals Ltd of family firms D. C. Mercer & Son and Banfield & Pomphrey in June 2010 we became the only remaining local, independent, family owned funeral directors in the whole of Hastings, St Leonards, Bexhill and Battle.
In 2016 we moved from 19 Market Square, Battle to 43 High Street, Battle, having spent a year repairing and refurbishing the property which is a lovely Grade II listed Georgian building.
In 2019 we divided the undertaking and stonemasonry departments into separate limited companies: Arthur C. Towner Ltd and Arthur C. Towner (Stonemasons) Ltd. This made our administration simpler and meant our undertaking business could de-register for VAT. Both companies have the same owners: Edward Towner, Beverley Towner, Hannah Towner-Roethe and Oliver Towner. If you have an enquiry about stonemasonry you can contact any of our three funeral offices or our stonemasonry workshop direct.
43 High Street, Battle
For almost 150 years we have been proud to provide a caring, professional service to bereaved people in our local area. We like to think that, in the 21st Century, our standards are higher than they have ever been but we are also constantly looking for ways to improve and widen the choice available to our clients. From traditional, horse-drawn funerals to environmentally-friendly ‘green’ funerals, we work with each family to provide just the right type of service so that, when they look back on the day of their loved one’s funeral, it is with a sense of comfort and pride.
