Focus on Gretton Court

When you walk down to the end of Girton's improbably leafy High Street, you reach a short driveway with an elegant stone sign saying simply "Gretton Court". Entering the manicured grounds, you find a cluster of three-storey buildings in a modern-yet-traditional style. Once inside, the traditional flavour continues with restrained décor and select furnishings. Are these really "sheltered flats for the retired"? The impression is more that of a well-run country hotel.

For Gretton Court (the name derives from a 13th century version of Girton) is indeed a Housing Association, registered with charitable status, but with none of the depressing institutionalised connotations of those terms. The ethos of Gretton Court is to provide the facilities for independent living for retired people in a stimulating and civilised environment. It is not a nursing or care home, but a community of retired people, living in their own apartments, with a full range of common amenities such as a dining room, a common room and conservatory, laundry, hairdressing room and activity centre. Opened in 1974 on land donated by the Pease family of Girton, Gretton Court today would cost several millions to build.

To deal with any emergencies, a Warden is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, who can be summoned by a special bell-pull in every room of every apartment. Practical help is on hand if required with maintenance, administration and cleaning as and when desired, but is not compulsory. Independence and self-sufficiency are encouraged, and residents all have their own lockable front door to their apartment which comprises a hallway, living room, one or two bedrooms (or studio flat), kitchen and bathroom - many even have their own garage. Each resident furnished her or his apartment with their own carpets, furniture, pictures etc. so as to create a distinctive personal ambience. Mail, papers, milk and groceries are delivered to each front door - but the downside is that residents have to pay their own Council Tax!

The residents of the 60 apartments of Gretton Court range in age from around 70 to the oldest who is 98. They must be retired, but active and not require nursing care. Most apartments are for single persons (about one third are men) but there are also 11 larger apartments for couples. Three apartments are reserved for people nominated by the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund. Not surprisingly, there is always a waiting list, and typically it takes about a year to gain an apartment. Residents pay a monthly rent which covers central heating and hot water - but meet their own electricity and telephone bills. Incoming tenants are required to subscribe for a holding of Loan Stock ( a relatively modest sum according to the size of the apartment), which is refunded when the tenancy ceases. Gretton Court is entirely independent of the local authority or other sheltered housing trusts, and is run by a voluntary Management Committee of 14 local people (chaired since 1997 by Mr Richard Wright) who are the successors of the original founding committee of Cambridge academics, professional and business people.

While individuality and privacy are respected, an Entertainments Committee of residents organises a range of activities. The include keep fit, craft group, films, an active art group whose work adorns the corridors, concerts and talks. For the slightly more energetic, there is croquet, and gardening on one's individual plot or in the large greenhouse. A dining room provides optional lunches six days a week, and the catering facilities also support larger social functions.

Keeping Gretton Court running smoothly to its very high standards requires a staff of 18 people, mainly local part-timers. The Administrator is Wg Cdr Robert Smith, who has been in post for 14 years since retiring from the Royal Air Force, and who has pursued a policy of combining continuous improvement with maintaining the traditional values and quality which residents appreciate. On the care side, the Warden is Mrs Sue Davies, a qualified RGN, whose team of Assistant Wardens provide the reassurance that residents' physical and social well-being is always under a vigilant eye.

But for most Girtonians, Gretton Court means the superb three-acre gardens, which are opened to the public once a year in support of the St John's Ambulance. Sweeping lawns, noble forest and ornamental trees, abundant flower beds (the arum lilies are especially fine this year), walkways and pergolas - the residents enjoy a park-like setting and every apartment has views over the grounds. There is even a moorhen nesting by the brook at the bottom of the lawns.

What of the future for Gretton Court? Now with a secure financial foundation, a tradition of high standards, an experienced and capable staff, a supportive Management Committee, and a strong demand for its distinctive form of sheltered housing and lifestyle, the outlook appears positive. In an era when size is all-important, Gretton Court values its compact nature, and its independence from governmental control and big business alike. It is proud of its place in the society and economy of Girton, and of the responsibility to residents for its excellence of care and service.

Contact Address: Gretton Court, 3-5 High Street, Girton, Cambridge, CB3 0QN

Telephone: 01223 276266/277527

Website and Email: none.

"Focus on Girton" is a series of occasional articles on the public service, commercial, charitable and other organisations of Girton for the information of local residents. Articles are written independently by members of the Editorial Team of Girton Parish News, with the consent and cooperation of the organisation concerned. They do not in themselves represent an endorsement of the products or services of the organisation. No connection exists between the publication of an article and any advertising in the GPN, and the article does not form part of any marketing or other promotional activity on the part of the organisation.