Hayes Conference Centre

The main building viewed from over the main lawn

The Hayes Conference Centre is a group of buildings in Swanwick, Derbyshire, UK which are used for conferences and other functions.

History

In the 1860s, Derbyshire entrepreneur Francis Wright built the building which now houses the centre's reception as a wedding gift for his wife, Louise Charlotte Rudolphine von Beckmann, and his son Fitzherbert. The residence was named Swanwick Hayes.[1] The conservatory was built by Fitzherbert Wright, who owned the Butterly Ironworks Company at the time; the Butterly Company also built St Pancras railway station, which the conservatory building resembles.[2] In 1910, First Conference Estate Ltd., now known as Christian Conference Trust, bought the building for £11,500, roughly one-fifth of what it cost to build. The building was expanded and renovated at a cost of £10,240 and turned into a Christian conference centre. The first conference on the new site took place in 1912.[1]

During the Second World War years, the building was used as a POW camp for German and Italian prisoners. The site, now named Hayes Camp,[3] was the second camp to fail to hold the famous German escapee Franz von Werra, "The One That Got Away". von Werra's escape tunnel can still be seen at the conference centre.[2] Manchester City F.C. goalkeeper Bert Trautmann and theologian Jürgen Moltmann were also held as POVs at the Hayes.[4]

Amenities

The centre, which has had many additions since it opened, provides sleeping accommodation for up to 400 people in 274 rooms (11 of which are for disabled persons). Most rooms are en-suite though an ever decreasing number have shared washing and toilet facilities. There are two main dining rooms and full-time catering staff work there alongside cleaners and other workers. There are 30 rooms designed to hold meetings in. The largest two hold 420 and 400 with two other large ones holding 150 and 140. Other facilities include a bar, five a side football pitches, a games room and a chapel with room for 350. There are internet access points in many of the rooms.[citation needed]

Most of the clients using this 90-acre (360,000 m2) estate are Christian groups, as the centre has been run by the Christian Conference Trust since 1996.[5] In addition, the centre is home to the Swanwick writers' summer school.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b Armitage, Jill (15 November 2013). Ripley & the Golden Valley Through Time. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-4456-3299-5.
  2. ^ a b Rogers, Jan (25 May 2011). "Ex-POW camp Christian centre celebrates centenary". BBC News. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  3. ^ Moshenska, Gabriel (10 May 2013). The Archaeology of the Second World War: Uncovering Britain's Wartime Heritage. Pen and Sword. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-4738-2230-6. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  4. ^ "Hayes conference centre celebrates centenary". www.christiantoday.com. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  5. ^ "100 years of Christian conferencing at High Leigh". www.cct.org.uk.
  6. ^ "About". Swanwick School. Retrieved 7 February 2024.

53°04′11″N 1°23′19″W / 53.0696°N 1.3887°W / 53.0696; -1.3887