Our 75th anniversary garden party!

On the 8th September 2021, The Almshouse Association joined with our members, who have been holding parties all over the UK to celebrate both their own special events and landmarks and the Association’s 75th anniversary, by holding a special garden party in the beautiful grounds of Bucklebury House in Berkshire.

Bucklebury House forms part of the Bucklebury Estate which is owned by Almshouse Association Trustee and Berkshire High Sheriff, Willie Hartley Russell. Willie very generously offered his grounds and marquee to the Association when covid restrictions and venue closures thwarted our previous plans.

On the day, the weather was incredibly kind to us and after such a long time of being unable to get out and meet with trustees, members, supporters and ambassadors, it was just so wonderful to be able to ‘step outside’ and greet old friends again!

The day started at 12.30 (slightly earlier for Association staff setting up the event!) when guests were greeted by CEO Nick Phillips and the team and invited to enjoy drinks and canapes in the beautiful gardens of Bucklebury House.

We were blessed with stunning weather that really lit up the smiles on everyone’s faces as friends and colleagues greeted each other for often the first time in almost two years. So much has happened, there was lots to catch up on!

At 1.30 everyone was invited into the celebration marquee and Chair of The Almshouse Association, Elizabeth Fathi opened the Garden Party.

Liz warmly welcomed everyone and talked about almshouses through the ages from their philanthropic beginnings in the 10th Century to the exemplar 21st Century new builds and renovations. Between them these provide safe, secure independent homes within a compassionate community for over 36,000 people and there are hundreds more in planning!

The Chair then introduced a very special video message from HRH The Prince of Wales, who has been the Royal Patron of The Almshouse Association since 1992 and instigated the annual Patron’s Award to recognise outstanding almshouse projects.

” Ladies and Gentlemen, the 75th anniversary of The Almshouse Association is a great opportunity to recognise and celebrate the achievements of all the member charities and the work of the Association over the decades. For this reason, I am only so very sorry I am unable to join you in person during your celebrations, but I will be thinking of you and raising a toast to you all!

Now, as Patron of The Almshouse Association since 1992, I know from my many visits to almshouses that your work in managing these extraordinary homes is of such great value, not only to the residents, but also the local community and to the wider society…”

Please click here to watch the video of HRH The Prince of Wales

Next, the Association’s CEO Nick Phillips spoke of the roots of The Almshouse Association; from a small meeting of minds of a few forward-thinking representatives of London Almshouses to where we find ourselves today with 1600 member charities, all independent but all sharing the same values and dedication to providing homes to people in need and preservation of our small but mighty humanitarian institution.

Nick introduced the new research being undertaken that we hope will aid better understanding of the importance of almshouses, not just for their compassionate and charitable benefits, or the splendid heritage and beauty of many of the buildings, but with facts and figures. These, together with the help of strong representation through our trustees, ambassadors and supporters, will demonstrate how significant a role almshouses play in the provision of exemplar affordable housing that can save the government millions of pounds every year.

A short break followed and guests were given an opportunity to explore more of the ‘series of rooms’ that form part of the gardens.

The gardens were first established in the twelfth century by the Benedictine monks of Reading Abbey who designed an elaborate system of seven fishponds which feed into each other and grew herbs and flowers for medicinal purposes. These gardens were later lost and the current, wonderful gardens were created by Willie Hartley Russell. More on their potted history which includes their abandonment after a a devastating fire in 1832 can be found here.

Guests were then treated to a special poetry reading by Association Ambassador and renowned poet Kevin Crossley-Holland who had written a new poem dedicated to The Almshouse Association to commemorate our 75th anniversary. The poem is called ‘An alms-basket’ and really captures the spirit and warmth of almshouses. A copy can be downloaded here.

It was then a great honour for Chair of the Awards Committee, Simon Pott to welcome special guest the Right Honourable Theresa May MP to the stage. Simon spoke about the different awards and introduced each award recipient.

Theresa May presented each of the charities that were able to be there on the day with certificates for the 2019 Garden and People Award and was very happy to pose for photos with them all. The award winners were Lady Lumley’s Almshouses, Thornton-le-dale, North Yorkshire; Partis College, Bath, Somerset; Yardley Great Trust, Birmingham; St Joseph’s Homestead, Stratford-upon-Avon; Guild Cottages at the Municipal Charities of Stratford-Upon-Avon and The Day Foundation, Coddenham, Suffolk

And, after waiting very patiently for more than 2 years, the award winners of the 2018 Patron’s Award were presented with their Patron’s award shields by Theresa May. We hope that they will now finally be able to take pride of place outside their inspired almshouse developments.

A delicious afternoon tea of delicate sandwiches and a tasty selection of pastries and cakes was then served; sparkling drinks were raised to toast the celebration when Trustee and host, Willie Hartley Russell joined Chair, Elizabeth Fathi to cut The Almshouse Association’s 75th anniversary cake. During the tea, guests were treated to a video of photographs from charities and events that have taken place over the years and all over the country – click here if you would like to take a peek!

As the day drew to a close and no more cake could be eaten, CEO Nick Phillips announced the winner and runner up of our summer photo competition. Their wonderful photos can be found here .

Elizabeth Fathi then presented Willie Hartley Russell with a commemorative garden spade and tie to thank him for opening up his beautiful gardens to celebrate The Almshouse Association’s 75th Anniversary and making it a day to remember.

Despite the pandemic thwarting our plans for a big celebration open to all our members, it was a joyous day and we came away feeling that we had done the forefathers of the Association proud.

We thank everyone who shared the day with us for making it so special and all our members who have held celebrations around the country.

We are very much looking forward to being able to see and welcome many more of our members at The Members Day 2022 next June!

Photography by David Jensen

Posted 21 September 21