Stained glass tree with royal history welcomed home to Arthur Rank Hospice

• 6 May 2021

Visitors to Arthur Rank Hospice Charity will notice a colourful new addition to the window of the Evelyn Day Therapy Centre’s activity room, as they walk down the corridor from Reception towards our Inpatient Unit. Some of our supporters may do a double take: the pretty green, red, blue and yellow tree – with its yellow butterfly, blue water and purple leaf – is likely to be familiar to them.

The history of the window

The stunning piece of stained glass, in the shape of a tree, originally hung on the windows of the entry doors to the Day Therapy Centre at our previous Mill Road location. The Duchess of Kent officially opened the Hospice on Mill Road 1981 and the Earl of Wessex opened our Hospice at Shelford Bottom in 2018 but there is a further Royal twist, which you can read below.

At the request of colleagues and volunteers, the tree was removed when we relocated from the site in 2016 and was carefully stored until a new place could be found for it in our new home.

 

The representations in the window

The piece of stained glass holds sentimental value to colleagues, volunteers and supporters tells its own story. Patients at that time painted the leaves of the tree in different colours which reflected the Hospice’s logo.

The blue wave under the tree represents the iconic River Cam. Whilst most of the colours were chosen to reflect Arthur Rank Hospice’s branded colours at the time, the purple segment at the top was an exception. It has an impressive royal connection: during a Royal visit in 2002, King Charles III (then Prince Charles) took a moment to paint the leaf at the top of the tree in royal purple!

Thanks to Go Glass 

The window was reinstalled as the Charity celebrated it’s fourth birthday, in 2020, at the Shelford Bottom home. During the time in-between, the window was cared for by Go Glass – who kindly moved it from Mill Road, generously polished it up and carefully placed it in a brand new frame which showcases it beautifully, before installing it in its new position.

Our colleagues and supporters know that the most important part of our Hospice is the outstanding care we provide for patients and their families and we were proud to bring this – and the people who make it possible – with us to our new state-of-the-art facility.

However, as we all appreciate, certain fondly-remembered items from a previous home or moment of life can stir positive emotions, associations and memories. This stained glass window is one such magical site, particularly as it was the first thing previous patients, colleagues and supporters saw as they entered the Day Therapy Centre. This is why we have chosen to place the tree in its prominent new location where it can be easily seen by patients and visitors. We are delighted to fondly welcome it home to proudly shine on all who visit us.

 

 

 

Sue Rossiter, Day Therapy Lead comments:

“It is lovely to see the restored glass tree that used to be in the door of the Day Therapy Centre on the old site, installed in the corridor window of our current Evelyn Day Therapy Centre. It is an important part of our Arthur Rank Hospice Charity history and I hope you will agree that it looks great in its new home. Our special thanks to Go Glass who stored, restored and installed the tree for us completely free of charge.”