Memories for Mo as Belmore Lodge celebrates 20 years on site of family house
An 84-year-old woman from Hampshire, and resident at Belmore Lodge that now occupies the exact spot where her family’s house once stood, joined fellow residents and guests for a delightful 20th-anniversary celebration.
Belmore Lodge in Lymington opened in 2003 following the demolition of two houses originally on the Milford Road site.
One of them, number 20, was the four-bedroom family home, from 1978 to 2001, of Maureen Marks’ in-laws Adrienne and Ted and niece Sandra.
Maureen, known as Mo, and her late husband Bill were regular visitors, enjoying family gatherings including barbecues in the back garden.
Maureen also lived there for several weeks in 1994 when she was between house moves herself.
Number 20 and the next-door property were sold in 2001, after which Colten Developments demolished the buildings to pave the way for arts and crafts-themed Belmore Lodge.
At Belmore Lodge for the opening of the Lymington home’s 20th anniversary exhibition are, standing from left: former Lymington Mayor Consort and Mayor, Graham and Jane Clarke; Colten Care Operations Manager Peter Doyle; Home Manager Janie Wilkins; Colten Care Executive Chairman Ian Hudson; and visitor Sandra Paice, niece of resident Maureen Marks who is seated far right. Seated either side of the table are Maureen’s sister-in-law Adrienne Marks, right, and fellow Belmore Lodge resident Louisa McIntyre.
Twenty years on from its official opening, Maureen, Adrienne and Sandra joined Belmore Lodge residents and well-wishers for an anniversary celebration.
The centrepiece was the opening of a week-long exhibition in the home’s Botanical Lounge, with photos, news cuttings and other memorabilia charting two decades of community care and local Lymington history.
Maureen, whose family members ran the Lymington bakers’ business Marks Bakery from 1972 to 1996, moved to Belmore Lodge eleven years ago.
“This is a really nice, homely place to live in,” she said. “I can’t believe it’s been so long. I feel like I’m part of the furniture now.”
Sister-in-law Adrienne said: “Time has flown by and, although it does feel strange, there is a sense of reassurance for us that Maureen lives on the same spot where our home was. The Belmore Lodge driveway is even in the same place ours used to be.”
Niece Sandra said: “I grew up and flew the nest from here so it has lots of memories.”
The exhibition was launched by former Lymington Mayor Jane Clarke who, in her Mayoral capacity, officially opened Belmore Lodge in 2003.
“I remember thinking it was a lovely home then,” said Jane. “I recall I had just opened some public toilets in Lymington earlier in the day and thinking this was rather more upmarket!”
Also attending the launch was Ian Hudson, Colten Care’s Executive Chairman, who said: “Colten Developments originally had planning permission for a block of flats but we were told that local doctors wanted more nursing homes in the Lymington area. That was the thinking behind Belmore Lodge being developed, owned and run by Colten Care, offering 55 bedrooms. It was the 13th home we opened.”
The 20th anniversary of Colten Care’s Belmore Lodge coincided with the 75th birthday of Ian Hudson, the care home provider’s Executive Chairman. With him to toast the occasion is Home Manager Janie Wilkins.
The exhibition launch party coincided with Ian’s 75th birthday so Home Manager Janie Wilkins took the opportunity to arrange a cake and presentation for him.
A professional accountant, Ian said: “I joined Colten Care aged 40 and so have spent 35 years at the company. I love working for Colten Care. It’s happy days because it doesn’t feel like work.”
Other Colten colleagues with long-standing associations with Belmore Lodge include Chef Gary Parsons, currently in his 25th year with the company, and Nurse Priya Joseph who is now the Home Manager at Brockenhurst care home Woodpeckers.