Christ's Hospital - Official Opening
T
he newly refurbished Christ's Hospital Almshouses were opened by John Bercow, former MP for Buckingham and Speaker of the House of Commons, on 20 March 2015.
Roger Harrington, Chair of the Trustees of Buckingham Almshouses and Welfare Charity thanked the people without whose contribution the refurbishment would not have been a success:
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Ms Kathy Green, project manager,
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Mr Alan Watson for surveying, design and architectural services,
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Mr Andrew Whiting, quantity surveyor,
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Mr Geoffrey Hallam and Mr Seb Willett, structural engineers,
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Mrs Carolyn Sims of the Charity Bank which loaned us some of the money – (unfortunately she could not attend but was represented by Mr Peter Hughes, Midlands and East Regional Manager for the Charity Bank),
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Mr David Bonner of Network Archaeology,
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Mr Iain Purves and Mr Ian Brand from Ashmore Built, the builders – as well as all the lads from Ashmore who worked tirelessly for 10 months to bring the project to fruition,
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The vice-chair of the Trustees, Mr Paul Hirons, who attended a number of meetings in London of the Almshouse Consortium Ltd on behalf of the Charity,
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Finally, a special mention for the secretary Miss Karen Phillips whose contribution to this project – as well as the day-to-day successful running of the Charity – was, and is, immense.
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Also, not forgetting the residents whose lives were disrupted by having to move out for nearly a year – it is hoped that they agree it was worth it in the end.
Mr Bercow cut the ribbon and opened the refurbished almshouses.
The cutting of the ribbon was followed by the unveiling of a memorial plaque to the previous chair of the Charities, Mr Denis Foote, who was very involved in the project from the outset but sadly died in October 2013 and was unable to see the final result. He was a Trustee of the Charity from 1974 and chair from 1983 until February 2013 when illness forced his retirement.
Photographs courtesy of John Credland
Roger Harrington, 20/03/2015