Sussex children's hospice Chestnut Tree House set to celebrate landmark year

Surrounded by trees, a crowd started to form at The Dover in Poling to watch Lady Sarah Clutton cut the first turf to mark the start of the work to build Chestnut Tree House children's hospice.

Markers showed where the £3.5million hospice, designed in the style of an English manor house, would be built to help children with life-limiting illnesses and their families.

The distant dream was finally coming true. It had been back in 1997 that trustees and the management team decided hospice care should be extended to include children and young adults.

The money was raised with the help of the Chestnut Tree House Appeal, backed by the Littlehampton Gazette, and the Raise the Roof campaign, calling for people to pay £1 to buy one of the 180,000 clay tiles needed to complete the build.

Lady Sarah had donated the land for the hospice on a 125-year lease and she was given the first of her annual rent payments at the turf-cutting ceremony. This consisted of a dozen mixed lilies, though none white, and a £1 coin, payable each year on her birthday.

Lady Sarah remained totally dedicated to the hospice and heartfelt tributes were paid after she unexpectedly died in her sleep at her home on the Angmering Estate in June 2015 at the age of 73.She had played a key role in founding Chestnut Tree House and took a very personal interest in its services and development, including becoming a personal friend to many of the families, staff and volunteers.

An apple orchard was opened in her memory in April 2017 and a new bespoke sign, made and donated by West Sussex artist Simon Groves of Groves Sculpture, was also unveiled.

This followed the opening of the wheelchair-accessible Woodland Walk in June 2014. The route was carefully designed by Ann-Marie Powell with interactive sensory zones, including a moon gate leading the children into an exciting world of nature to experience and explore.

When Chestnut Tree House was officially opened by Princess Alexandra on November 11, 2003, the hospice was helping 30 children. It now provides care for around 300 children and young people in Sussex and South East Hampshire each year.

Throughout 2024, the charity will be marking this landmark year in its history. Anniversary fundraising events include The Big Hoot outdoor art trail in Chichester and Arundel in the summer and the Sahara Trek in October.

Becki Jupp, deputy chief executive at St Barnabas Hospices, said: "This is an exciting year for Chestnut Tree House as we celebrate the 21st anniversary of Sussex’s children’s hospice.

"It is easy to forget that the modern hospice movement only dates to the mid-20th century – and dedicated children’s hospice care is even more recent, with the world’s first children’s hospice opening near Oxford in 1982.

"Over the past 21 years, we have helped more than a thousand children with life-limiting conditions and their families. Throughout 2024, we will be reflecting on some of their stories, as well as celebrating all the people who make up the Chestnut Tree House community – from volunteers and supporters to nurses and counsellors."

On a visit to Chestnut Tree House today, children can be astronauts in the multi-sensory room, discover new smells and sights in the sensory garden, bounce high on the wheelchair trampoline, or form their own pop group in the music room.

From circus performances to animal visits and social evenings for parents, there are fun and inclusive events for all the family, both at the hospice and across the area – giving parents the chance to just be parents, and not carers, and space for siblings to talk to people who understand.

As well as care provided at the House, there is a community nursing team who visit families at home and take children out to explore their local community to give tired parents and carers a well-earned break.

Chestnut Tree House is also there for specialist end-of-life care and ongoing bereavement support. The bereavement suite, Stars, has a special bedroom for the child to lay at rest, as well as accommodation for the family.