‘This visit will undoubtedly be the highlight of an already fantastic year of achievement at Fairthorne Manor. Her Royal Highness will officially open Ben’s House which is the culmination of long held dream to redevelop the buildings and facilities at Fairthorne Manor for the benefit of the 20,000 children and young people who visit every year.’
Royal Visit at YMCA Faithorne Manor
On Thursday 17th September 2009, HRH The Princess Royal arrived at YMCA Faithorne Manor for a site tour and to open the new accommodation block named Ben’s House.
‘This visit will undoubtedly be the highlight of an already fantastic year of achievement at Fairthorne Manor. Her Royal Highness will officially open Ben’s House which is the culmination of long held dream to redevelop the buildings and facilities at Fairthorne Manor for the benefit of the 20,000 children and young people who visit every year.’
Chris Hand (CEO, YMCA Fairthorne Group)
Ben’s House is a purpose built accommodation block built in a vehicle free, child friendly zone designed specifically to meet the needs of groups of young people from all backgrounds and their leaders. It can sleep up to 72 children / young people and 12 leaders and can be configured in 7 different ways to create separate units to accommodate up to 3 groups, of varying sizes.
The building is named in remembrance of Ben Self (1987 – 1996), a disabled child who was a frequent visitor to the YMCA Fairthorne Manor Daycamps scheme. Ben inspired many of Fairthorne’s staff, past and present and the dedication is a fitting reminder the lasting impression he made on many of our staff.
The area in which Ben’s House is built was originally a walled garden, however it has had several other uses over the years, including an archery range, a swimming pool and a farm.
The new dining room, named the Daffodil Room, can seat up to 200 and includes additional facilities such as toilets and washrooms as well as a new servery and wash-up, modernising our catering facilities.
In addition, Fairthorne Manor is excited to be the operator of a brand new, environmentally friendly wood chip fuelled, biomass boiler, that now supplies heating and hot water to the majority of buildings on the 110 acre site.
By using wood chip to fuel the boiler, Fairthorne Manor will effectively be reducing the carbon emissions from its heating systems to zero, as biomass fuelled boilers are considered, by environmental agencies, to be carbon neutral.
Recognition of Fairthorne Manor’s Outstanding Nursery and Kim Mansbridge’s ‘Early Practitioner of the Year’ Award 2009
YMCA Childcare Manager Kim Mansbridge has wowed audiences by scooping the Early Years Practitioner of the Year award in the Children’s Stars Awards 2009. The national awards scheme, run by children’s charity 4Children and supported by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC), takes place annually in honour of the unsung heroes who work day in, day out to improve the lives of children and young people. Kim will be meeting HRH The Princess Royal to receive extra recognition of her fantastic achievement.