Centre for Health and Pastoral Care
&
Centre for the Study of Theology and Health
Company Limited by Guarantee. Company No. 4647338
Charity Commission No. 1099836
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Centre for Health and Pastoral Care & Centre for the Study of Theology and Health Company Limited by Guarantee. Company No. 4647338 Charity Commission No. 1099836 |
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Holy Rood House is wheel chair friendly and there are ramps to gain access to the ground floors of both Holy Rood and Thorpe Houses |
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"All Creatures Great and Small"
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If animals play an important part in your life then you will want to discover Holy Rood House and Thorpe House, home to Tricky Woo and Miss Warner, the real life Mrs Pumphrey, overlooking Sowerby Flatts and the Hambleton Hills. As an holistic therapeutic centre we find that animals are an intrinsic part of the life here. Not only do our animals bring us delight, but they offer their own way of bringing us healing, through touch and sound, and their gentle response to our gentleness to them, and of course the fun they bring - their appealing ways! |
| Merry, the Miniature Shetland pony, is a recent addition to the paddock. He came from a rescue centre and has settled down very well with Bubble. |  |
Bubble the goat has befriended him and the
chickens provide some of our eggs.
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| Stanley and Elizabeth's black Labrador Meg is a regular visitor. |
| Our fish in the pond bring additional interest to our herb garden and the Thirsk School Wildlife club comes regularly on Friday lunchtimes to monitor the pond wildlife and to help keep it clean. | One visitor to the pond has been Fraser
Hines -alias Joe Sugden from Emmerdale. Here he interviewed Elizabeth
for a short TV film.
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| We also have our indoor fish as part of our therapeutic programme. Placed in the "welcome room" our guests, sometimes anxious on arrival, find it helps them to relax. Of course young children who visit are often ushered in to "see the fish". |  |
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In the garden stands a dovecote made of oak from Fountains Abbey. We feel that doves are an important symbol for a healing centre. They symbolise not only inner, personal peace but peace for the world. This is an important aspect of the work of the trust and every Thursday lunchtime in the Chapel overlooking the dovecote, prayers are offered for World Peace. |
| Also from the Chapel window we can watch
the wild birds as they come for the nuts that hang on the trees.
Holy Rood House welcomes residential guests as well as day visitors, and there has always been a welcome to guests who wish to bring their pet with them. Over the years we have enjoyed having many different kinds of dogs staying with us, and one hamster. We have learnt so much about ourselves and about God through our relationships with the animals and the wildlife, as we discover affection, dependence and interdependence, gentleness, beauty, and the satisfied feeling following hard work in caring for them. We enjoy our links with the local community too, as so many come to share the animals with us, school groups, play groups, Sunday schools. Children living with illness have found friendship and affection, those living in fear of people have broken down some of the barriers of communication by responding to the animals, and people who have not laughed for some time have found themselves laughing again. Thorpe House and Holy Rood House are the home of a Centre for Health and Pastoral Care which celebrates its 10th birthday in Sowerby in 2003. The Directors, Stanley and Elizabeth Baxter, lead a team of people of all ages, most of whom are volunteers, to provide a safe and relaxed environment for our many guests who arrive from all over the country. Holy Rood House offers professional Counselling and Therapies to all kinds of people for all kinds of reasons, and we take seriously the issues of loss following the death of a pet. Bereavement counselling is available as well as training in this area for those working in veterinary surgeries who so often find themselves with grieving owners of pets or livestock.
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