From Conference Centre to Spirituality Centre

For many years Whirlow Grange was the Conference Centre for the Diocese of Sheffield.

In 2000 a Review Group was established under Bishop Cyril Ashton to look into the performance of Whirlow Grange as the Diocesan Conference Centre and to make proposals for its future. The Review Group was unanimous in saying that:

1.      The conference centre should continue at Whirlow Grange for the future but significant improvements should be made for the provision of bedrooms and improvements to the entrance hall and training rooms.

2.      That a new independent charity (Whirlow Grange Limited) be set up to own and run the Conference Centre. The separate interests of the Whirlow Grange Trust[1] and the conference centre trade to be brought together in a new company.

Whirlow Grange Limited (WGL) was formed to be the new trading arm and, after a change of name, charitable status was applied for with a new Memorandum & Articles of Association.

The review group proposals were accepted by the Diocese in March 2003 and In Feb 2004 Bishop Jack Nicholls launched an appeal to raise £1.3 Million for improvements to Whirlow Grange. The Appeal was in 2 parts:

o   Phase 1 : was to provide en-suite accommodation for 30 bedrooms and other internal improvements including an entrance hall & training rooms in the main house. It was possible to proceed immediately with this, funded by the Trust’s earlier sale of the Paddock Land to Fairclough Homes Ltd for £640k in 1999 and the proposed sale of the Lodge for £240k which would be completed in Oct 2004.

o   Phase 2 :  was to provide a new Spirituality Centre adjoining the Chapel of the Holy Spirit where people could come and renew their Christian Spirituality and where retreats and quiet days could be conducted for small groups. The timing of this project would be dependent on money raised from the appeal.

The transfer of the trust assets into WGL company accounts took place on 17 June 2004 and in the second half of 2004 £594K had been spent on the improvements to the Conference Centre.

WGL traded throughout 2005-2008 run by the charity’s new Board chaired by Richard Blackburn (then Archdeacon of Sheffield & Rotherham), representatives from the Diocese, A representative from the Church of England Board of Education, representatives from Friends of Whirlow Grange, and David Booker as a former  Whirlow Grange trustee. Rev. Nick Helm continued as Chaplain (appointed by the Bishop) to minister at the Chapel for the Conference Centre.

In 2008 another milestone was reached as Phase 2 of Bishop Jack’s appeal (aided by a legacy of £30k) had reached a level whereby the building of the Spirituality Centre could begin. In the latter half of 2008 a new Meeting Room, library, toilets & kitchen was built at a cost of £196k. This included improvements to the Chapel of the Holy Spirit, with a new lighting scheme, new seating and levelling the floor.  Rev. Philip Roderick became Chaplain in 2010.

The Conference Centre continued to trade over the years 2009-2013 but each year there was a financial deficit as the demand for residential conferencing, both church and secular, declined. WGL was forced to take on a number of loans to fund the trading deficits.

In February 2014, after consultation with the Bishop, it was agreed to move to a planned closure on 31 July 2014. A further short-term loan was negotiated with the Sheffield Diocese Board of Finance to cover closure and staff severance costs. Following the closure the Conference Centre and lands to the front were sold to a local developer for £1.355M. Loans of £167k were paid off leaving a net £1.15M endowment fund. This represented a Permanent Endowment of the Charity and £1.1m was invested in units with CCLA (The Church of England Investment Arm). This would provide approx. £40k per annum to fund the running of the Spirituality Centre.

After the sale, the Chapel of the Holy Spirit remained, which has always been a Chapel of Ease within the parish of All Saints Ecclesall (ASE). The Chapel is owned by the parish – its construction in the late 1950s had been paid for by a bequest from a parishioner. The rest of the land, gardens and part of the car park is owned by WGL.

Over the summer of 2014 the WGL Board discussed with the Vicar and representatives of ASE the possibility of jointly running the Spirituality Centre as a Partnership and sharing costs on an equal basis. The users of the Chapel were expected to be:

i)                    The Whirlow community who supported the Spirituality Programme and regular worship in the Chapel

ii)                   ASE who proposed to recommence using the Chapel again after many years (when it had been in Diocesan use)

iii)                 The Anglican Diocese of Sheffield and others who, it was hoped, would use and pay rental for the Centre for small courses and quiet days.

Both the WGL Board and ASE PCC confirmed their approval of the Partnership in September 2014 and it was agreed to run the Centre on this basis for a trial period of 3 years to test the feasibility of continuing the work of the Spirituality Centre.

The Sheffield Methodist Circuit kindly agreed the assignment of Rev. Joy Adams as a self-supporting minister to assist Rev. Philip Roderick (chaplain) in the ministry of the Spirituality Centre. Philip subsequently retired in February 2015 and the Vicar of ASE (Gary Wilton), with the agreement of the Bishop of Sheffield, appointed Joy Adams to succeed him as Chaplain.

Throughout this period Rev. John Stride had chaired the Board. John had been appointed in 2013 and he had overseen the sale of the Conference Centre and the successful launch of the Whirlow Spirituality Centre. John was supported by Board members:  including ecumenical partners, representatives from the Anglican diocese and from the community at the Spirituality Centre.  

Over the next 3 years the Spirituality Centre flourished and those attending services and times of prayer steadily increased and numbers for the Spirituality Programme at the Centre were healthy. The ministry of the Centre was supported in many ways by a large number of volunteers involved in the leadership of services and courses, gardening, cleaning, hosting and numerous tasks to make the centre a safe, sacred place of prayer, learning and fellowship.

The trial period of the Partnership was successful and both partners endorsed its continuation. Donations to WGL increased through both one-off giving at events and a number of supporters committing to a regular monthly donation.

By 2018 WGL and ASE agreed to mark the 60th anniversary of the Chapel of the Holy Spirit by setting up the Whirlow Grange Project. The work of the Project entailed the refurbishment of the Chapel windows and doors together with redecoration work and electrical updating. In addition, the meeting room and kitchen were reconfigured to provide improved facilities and an additional toilet. New storage facilities were created in the Chapel and foyer.

The cost of the Project was £180k and this was shared equally by WGL and ASE.

In June 2020 Bishop Richard Blackburn rejoined the Board as Chair, as the Bishop of Sheffield’s nominee, following his retirement as Bishop of Warrington. Rev. Mark Brown joined the WGL Board in June 2021 as Vicar of All Saints and has continued his parish’s support of the Spirituality Centre.

[1] Whirlow Grange Trust –  The trust had for many years owned the freehold of the land & buildings of Whirlow Grange and leased the property to the diocese as its residential conference centre. Following a Charity Commission Scheme on 17 June 2004 the Trust’s objects were changed to further the objects of the company (WGL) and the Trust’s freehold property encompassing the Whirlow Grange conference centre was identified as a Permanent Endowment of the Trust. In addition, a uniting direction was made so that the company (WGL) and the Trust be treated as a single charity for the purposes of administration and accounts.