Stanborough Park, the headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the UK and Ireland is 100 years old this month -- October 2007 -- at least as far as church ownership is concerned. However, retired historian, Dennis Porter, claims it made an appearance back in 1348. All is revealed in the October 12 edition of Messenger, the official Journal of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Pictures of the park and a lot more of Adventist history in the UK is available in the historical archive.

But what was the Park like as a place to work and live?

Phillip Richards went to the school as a pupil in 1946 and then returned there to teach from 1962 until retirement. The secondary school "annex", as it was then called, was very run down with pot-holes in the playground, and in the first year the cricket pitch was still a potato field. "But," he says, "the whole school was like a big family with 80 pupils and just 5 teachers." Pupils from Stanborough will remember Mr Richards for his strictness – though that used to taper off the older you got – but as a young pupil at the school he recalls that "if you got caught you got the stick – but you very rarely got caught!" While the current park is still a very beautiful place his best memories are of the old days when the woodlands stretched around the side and top of the school – a wonderful place for play during the school lunch hour.

Former BUC President, Pastor Cecil Perry loves spring on the Park. As the trees and flowers come to life, with the joy of the verdant green and seeing the children from both schools taking full advantage of it. He says, "Being able to work in such an environment was sheer inspiration."

Pastor Fretson Taylor also knows the Park well. He started as a Voice of Prophecy Bible teacher in 1962 and later served as principal until his retirement in 1997. He remembers living in "Holy Row" as the houses along the top of the Park were affectionately called. When his mother learnt they were going to live on the Park she reminded him of the time when she was staying with friends on the Park. "She was returning from town on the bus and when it was approaching the Park the conductor shouted out, 'Next stop the New Jerusalem'". That respectful view of the Park did not necessarily reach further north. Pastor Taylor once visited a Wolverhampton church to preach where the local elder announced him as, "Pastor Taylor, VOP Principal from somewhere down the M1."

Eric Lowe has spent the last ten years on the Park, serving as Executive Secretary. He became a young Adventist up on the North Wales coast in the mid-fifties which meant that Stanborough Park was not high on his list of memorable places. But he remembers former residents of the Park and employees of the Hydro bringing to north Wales their varied tales about some of the larger than life characters who had lived and worked on its hallowed turf. "In addition," Eric writes, "during the summer months, BUC personnel found our seaside resort a pleasant place to preach at on a Sabbath morning and so we became familiar with these 'holy men' in their dark suits who inhabited the rarefied atmosphere of Stanborough Park."

Role reversal came to Eric as now, forty years down the line, he is one of those 'holy men'. He says, "For the past 10 years it has been my working 'home' and for those privileged to have an office looking out across the Park what a fantastic environment it is in which to come to work each day. Trees which were probably little more than saplings are now majestic specimens which inspire one with the Creator's wisdom and power. When the mental resources are taxed to the limit as they wrestle with this or that administrative chestnut it is good to be still and remind oneself of the majesty of the God we serve."

As Park Manager from 1973 - 1989 Stanley Maxwell was well acquainted with the various aspects of Stanborough Park. His duties covered the upkeep of the Park and the houses though not the institutions. During most of that time, he states, "I was very fortunate to have Mr John Emm as the groundsman. Not only did he know what needed to be done and when, but also was prepared to put in overtime when the work required it." Mr Emm was a kindly soul, despite his hard work ethos he always had time for the pupils in the boarding school who often got a free tow up the park hanging on to his tractor trailer as they rode their bikes – something that would not be allowed with today's health and safety laws. He also took a gentle attitude to those caught scrumping apples in the orchard! There are some pictures of the Park under snow in the picture gallery but, Mr Maxwell states, "gone are the days when in winter it was necessary to get out the snow plough to keep the roads clear. I took my turn helping out the groundsman having to remember that when the plough was attached to the tractor the brakes no longer worked resulting in some scary moments."

Today the grounds are cared for by Gary Montague. He takes equal pride in keeping the headquarters estate looking trim and proper. He says, "I love working on Stanborough Park as it is a very varied job. I enjoy meeting all the people coming through the park and all the members of staff who say how much they appreciate using the park for events and walking through such a nice quiet place."

The Park is no longer as large as it used to be but is still an important place in the Adventist Church in Britain. "Visionary leaders purchased the Park one hundred years ago," states Eric Lowe. "It is a strategic location for a national office. While the centennial celebrations of its purchase may raise many nostalgic disappointments for some regarding all the comings and goings of institutions and parcels of land, there can be no doubt that the ministries which its purchase has facilitated down through the years has brought incalculable blessings to the church family across the Union territory."

Today," states Pastor Perry, "with its majestic trees, the church, the two schools and the headquarters office, Stanborough Park is a peaceful place of tranquilly amidst the busyness of a church engaged in God's mission."

The Photos below give a small view of the park then and now. The archive photos are from the historical archive. Full details of each picture are available in the archive and a number are available in higher resolution. Archive pictures are copyright according to the conditions and limitations on the site. Modern pictures by Victor Hulbert.

Submissions to the historical archive are always welcomed. For details of how to submit visit the archive.