Claridge House, a retreat centre, provides a space where people of any faith or none may stay for a while in peace and stillness before returning, rested and renewed, to their everyday lives.
It was opened as a healing centre in 1954, by members of the Friends Fellowship of Healing, a Quaker interest group.
In 2016, it became an independent CIO, and now offers individual and group retreats, bed and breakfast and a range of courses, focusing on health and spirituality. We serve an excellent vegetarian menu and are mindful of sustainability in the use of our resources.
The objects of the CIO are: To advance physical and mental health by the provision and maintenance of a centre for healing, rest and renewal in accordance with the principles of the Society of Friends for persons, regardless of their religion or belief.
We aim to embody in our welcome the Quaker understanding that each person is a unique and precious individual and to provide a friendly, high quality service that nourishes a spirit of well-being in all who cross our threshold.
We serve the above objectives by offering a range of residential and non/residential short courses of a therapeutic or healing nature, mainly at weekends. During the week we also support full and half board individual or group retreats. Having identified a growing national need, we are in discussion with a carer placement agency about a joint venture offering short residential breaks to long term family carers.
When the house is not fully occupied, we offer bed and breakfast to supplement our income from courses and retreats. Our imaginative vegetarian menu is universally praised by guests and we have beautiful landscaped gardens to encourage private meditation.
