Sue Ryder Hospice seeks options to end financial burden of Thorpe Hall in Peterborough
The hospice charity Sue Ryder wants to hand over responsibility for Grade I listed Thorpe Hall.
Sue Ryder, which owns the mansion house off Thorpe Road in Peterborough, wants the property to be well maintained in future - but not at the expense of the charity.
Estate agent consultancy GL Hearn has been brought in to help find interested parties.
The hospice charity provides care for people from the Stamford, Peterborough, Bourne and Deepings areas in a modern building next door to Thorpe Hall and its Grade II listed gardens.
Martin Wildsmith, chief commercial officer for Sue Ryder, said: “As part of these conversations, Sue Ryder is being very clear that our aim is for the existing hospice to continue to operate from its location on the site, whilst securing an outcome which ensures the mansion house is maintained for future generations to enjoy.
“As the current custodians of Thorpe Hall we are doing what we can within our limited charitable funds to care for the mansion house building, as we recognise its local significance and national importance.
“However, its age and listed status mean this is becoming increasingly challenging, and we are about to search for specialist contractors to undertake significant repairs to safeguard the building.
“While these repairs are necessary to keep the building safe, at a time when the cost of providing our care has gone up by 20 per cent and more people than ever before need our palliative care and bereavement support the mansion house is diverting our charitable funds away from those who depend on our services and instead towards building maintenance and repairs.
“We cannot allow this to continue.”
In response to the increasing costs of delivering its vital palliative care and bereavement support, Sue Ryder recently launched its ‘Cost of Dying’ campaign, sueryder.org/CostofDying
Thorpe Hall dates from the mid-1600s and was a maternity hospital from 1943 to 1970. In 1986 it was acquired by the Sue Ryder Foundation and used as a hospice until £6million was raised to open a 20-bed modern facility in the grounds in 2015.
