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St Elphin's Park News

What's happening around St Elphin's Park

Darley Dale was historically described as a village, although in truth it's a collection of smaller communities that have grown together. The area, known simply as 'Darley' until the end of the 19th century, expanded 200 years ago when road and rail links were improved. Its railway station from 1873 still remains, although it's now part of a restored steam service run by enthusiasts.

St Elphin's Park is just a couple of miles from Derbyshire's bustling county town of Matlock and, in the opposite direction, less than seven miles from Bakewell. Home of the famous Bakewell pudding, this wonderful, bustling market town at the heart of the Peak District is a delight to visit, with many lovely shops, restaurants and picturesque walks along the river.

When it comes to entertainment and leisure, you're spoiled for choice. As well as the natural splendour of the Peak District National Park, the local area includes the country houses of Chatsworth House and Haddon Hall and the magnificent Victorian Opera House in Buxton. Alternatively, for a spot of retail therapy, there are shopping outlets at nearby Rowsley and in the converted Masson Mills cotton mill. Both are within five miles of St Elphin's Park, so you'll never need to travel far... although the cities of Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield are all within easy reach if you fancy a day out.

Latest news articles

St Elphin's House Renovation - Progress report

April 2012

The staff at St Elphin's Park are delighted that the renovation of St Elphin's House is almost complete. The scaffolding is nearly all down, the pool and the club areas are being tiled and bespoke joinery work in the front hall to reconstruct the staircase including the upper flight of stairs is underway.

Recruitment has begun for people to join the House and Club Staff. Bruce Wragg, General Manager, is looking forward to welcoming diners to the St Elphin's House Restaurant and Bistro when it opens later this summer. There will also be a number of local club memberships available and those interested are urged to register with St Elphin's Park now.

There will be 8 prestigious apartments in St Elphin's House and reservations have already been taken on three of them. You can view the floor plans on the website and obtain more information from the Sales Consultants at St Elphin's Park.

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Join us for an exclusive preview of Thornton Mews

12 March 2012

You’re invited to an exclusive preview of Thornton Mews. We’re just a few weeks from completing the extensive renovation of St Elphin’s House, but we’re opening the doors early to give you an exclusive sneak preview of Thornton Mews.

Originally part of St Elphin’s Girls School, this 1920s building has been converted into four beautifully restored luxury cottages, each with its own unique character. The cottages all have French doors opening out onto patio decking to make the most of the stunning surroundings, as at St Elphin’s Park retirement village you’re only minutes from the Peak District National Park.

Join us for elevenses and afternoon tea from Thursday 29th to Saturday 31st of March at our launch preview.

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Audley St Elphin’s Park Team attends Town Council Meeting

27 January 2012

David Driscoll, Audley’s Property & Business Development Director and Bruce Wragg, General Manager at Audley St Elphin’s Park attended the January Darley Dale Town Council meeting held at the Whitworth Centre. They were pleased to report the good progress being made at St Elphin’s Park to the Council. Only 5 properties remain available in the existing Hamlet (phase one) part of the development. The sales and marketing team have already taken 3 reservations for apartments in St Elphin’s House and it is proposed that building will be starting on Robinson Court shortly, for which there is already a significant list of names of people registering their interest.

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The Story of a Stone

01 January 2012

Audley St Elphin’s Park and St Elphin’s School “old girls” work together to restore a much loved artefact to the Derbyshire Dales.

When St Elphin’s School was closed in March 2005, many people were aware that the owners sold not only the building but also held an auction to sell off all kinds of furniture. Many St Elphin’s “Old Girls” have visited to see what has become, so far, of their former school and home. There is significant interest in the history of the old school and many former pupils have met up and organised reunions. Thanks to Liz Donlan (nee Bailey, a pupil from 1967 to 1973), the old school now has its own Website www.stelphins.co.uk to keep former pupils in touch with news and share their memories.

One contributor, Marianne Jackson (nee Steward a pupil from 1972 to 1976) was searching on the internet for information about the St Elphin’s School building when she came across a piece of stone work, put up for sale by LASSCO, an architectural salvage yard in Oxfordshire. The stone was described as having belonged to St Elphin’s School and Marianne set about identifying where it had come from.

Eventually, it was identified as a Stone Finial with a crest that was purchased in the auction and that it once sat over two storeys high on an ornamental balustrade at the top of the building above the school’s front door. The stone weighing over 200 kgs, had been removed from its precarious position during the late 1960’s when work had to be done on the fabric of the building. The stone and a few other pieces of balustrade were placed in amongst the rose bed, outside the front door and it is from here, that many former pupils remember seeing the “INVICTA stone”.

Liz and Marianne contacted Audley to find out what could be done to bring the stone back to where it belonged. Working together, they brokered a deal with LASSCO to return the stone from Oxfordshire to the site where it would commemorate all who had been educated at the school and the restoration of the building.

Specialist stone masons from Cruden Construction are now working to restore and reinstate the stone. As the restoration of St Elphin’s House continues the Invicta stone will be given pride of place on the terrace balustrade for all to see.

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Retirement USA

01 November 2011

Tony and Carol Gregory who live at Audley St Elphin’s Park, travelled to America to take part in an exchange programme where they swapped lifestyles with a couple from Senior Resource Group Maravilla Community, in Santa Barbara, California. Both couples experienced retirement living across the pond, taking part in the day to day activities and meeting other residents.

Audley initiated the exchange to gain further insight into retirement living, dispel myths and challenge stereotypes of ‘old folks’ homes. Nick Sanderson, Audley CEO said: “For too long there have been negative stereotypes attached to retirement living and we’re hoping to address these with the exchange programme. At Audley, we have pioneered a new UK concept, a village environment which offers a chance to downsize and maintain independence, but with the security and peace of mind that when extra help is needed, it’s readily available without having to move again. “Retirement villages are already well established and accepted in America and we’re keen to share knowledge with SRG and look at ways we can learn from each other, challenge perceptions and develop our offerings.”

Tony said: “We were delighted to have taken part in the first ever exchange visit and fascinated to see how the US villages operate. We decided to move here just before I turned 70 so we could be settled and enjoy our retirement. Our daughters both live abroad, so they feel happy we’ve got people around us and we can lock up and visit them without worrying about leaving the house.” “Some of the retirement developments in the US are much larger than St Elphin’s Park but the combination of a vibrant community; great facilities, help available if you need it and lovely spacious apartments or cottages is available on both sides of the Atlantic. For us, we wouldn’t swap St Elphin’s Park!”

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Residents Support Hearing Dogs for the Deaf

December 2011

Residents and staff at St Elphin's Park have donated the magnificent sum of £140 to sponsor the initial training of a puppy for the Hearing Dogs for the Deaf.

Socialising and training a puppy to get it ready to learn the skills it needs to support a deaf person takes time and patience. The money raised will support the costs of looking after a puppy for over 18 months. Hopefully the puppy will eventually go on to transform someone's life.

Instead of exchanging Christmas cards, everyone wishing to take part in the scheme has made a donation and signed one giant card which is on display At St Elphin's Park for all to see.

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St Elphin's Park - Thornton Mews Launch Event 23 & 24 September 2011

20 September 2011

Thornton Mews launch event
Friday 23 and Saturday 24 September 2011

Thornton Mews offers a unique opportunity to purchase a highly individual "mews style" cottage, set in an enviable, elevated position at the heart of the Audley St Elphin's Park Retirement Village. All of the 4 mews cottages have delightfully sunny, south facing patios with French doors leading from each lounge / dining room.

Guide prices £360,000 to £405,000
Book now to secure a place at our launch event.

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Audley St Elphin's Park Residents US-Bound in Retirement Exchange

09 September 2011

Tony and Carol Gregory are about to take a holiday with a difference. In September the couple, who live at St Elphin's Park, will be travelling to America to take part in an exchange programme that will see them swap lifestyles with a couple from Senior Resource Group Maravilla Community, in Santa Barbara, California.

Both couples will experience retirement living across the pond, taking part in the day to day activities and meeting other residents.

Audley initiated the exchange to gain further insight into retirement living, dispel myths and challenge stereotypes of 'old folks' homes.

Nick Sanderson, Audley CEO said: "For too long there have been negative stereotypes attached to retirement living and we're hoping to address these with the exchange programme. At Audley, we have pioneered a new UK concept, a village environment which offers a chance to downsize and maintain independence, but with the security and peace of mind that when extra help is needed, it's readily available without having to move again.

"Retirement villages are already well established and accepted in America and we're keen to share knowledge with SRG and look at ways we can learn from each other, challenge perceptions and develop our offerings."

The couples will be keeping a record of their trip via social media channels with Twitter and Facebook updates, in addition to keeping a written diary.

Tony said: "We're delighted to be taking part in the first ever exchange and are looking forward to seeing how the US village operates. We decided to move here just before I turned 70 so we could be settled and enjoy our retirement. Our daughters both live abroad, so they feel happy we've got people around us and we can lock up and visit them without worrying about leaving the house."

To follow the exchange, please visit the Audley Retirement Village Facebook page or follow @AudleyAdviser on Twitter

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Free Advice on Downsizing

11 August 2011

Audley St Elphin's Park is hosting a free seminar entitled 'How to sell your property' on Thursday 18th August.

The retirement village in Darley Dale will be running two sessions at 10.30am and 2pm with advice from property experts from Bridgefast Property Services and PXS. The seminars will explain how to make property selling easier, with information on services which can manage the process for you.

Paul Morgan, operations director at Audley said: "For some people, moving house after many years in the same place can seem a daunting task. We hope the seminars will offer useful advice and information to help make the process easier."

"Audley has teamed up with some of the best people in the industry to offer a part exchange scheme and an all-inclusive property marketing and sales service, which aims to relieve stress and enable you to start living the retirement lifestyle you deserve."

Gill Markham, head of operations at Bridgefast Property Services said: "Bridgefast specialises in providing property based solutions to retired homeowners looking to downsize. We offer a fully managed property sale service, dealing with all aspects of selling a property which is tailored to individual requirements and aims to maximise the sale proceeds in the shortest possible time. We can also arrange advance funding before the property is sold if required to pay a deposit or even for an outright purchase."

For more information on the seminars and to book your place, please call 01629 258 001 or visit www.audleyretirement.co.uk.

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Join St Elphin's Park at The Bakewell Show - 3 & 4 August 2011

25 July 2011

Bakewell Show is one of the oldest agricultural shows in the UK. 2011 sees the 181st show and it has evolved from a purely agricultural display to the diverse event it is today with something for everybody!

Come along to stand 316 near the WI marquee and say hello to the Audley St Elphin's Park team, perhaps join us for a refreshing Glass of Pimms or enter our prize draw competition.

We are looking forward to the 2011 Show, along with several regular favourites such as the sheep show, the beach, the mounted games and the 15 minute theatre; there will also be the riveting Chariots of Fire Display refined to include a pair of driving sheep and a ride and drive bullock!

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Summer Open Weekend - Audley St Elphin's Park - 6 & 7 August 2011

25 July 2011

6 & 7 August 2011
An opportunity to view the last few properties in the exclusive Hamlet Collection at Audley St Elphin's Park. The homes on Crompton Close give you the feel of a picturesque Derbyshire village set amongst superbly landscaped grounds with beautiful Dales scenery all around. A community of like minded neighbours, help on hand should you need it, freedom from chores and security to enjoy your retirement lifestyle as you want it to be.

Please call us to book a personal tour 01629 258 001

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Chatsworth Country Fair 2011 - 2/3 & 4 September 2011

25 July 2011

Chatsworth Country Fair is held over 3 days in the park of Chatsworth House, home to the Dukes of Devonshire. It has become one of the largest events of its type in England, and is an essential part of the Derbyshire and Midlands calendar. The Country Fair hosts one of the largest Horse Driving meets of the year, one of the biggest hot air balloon lifts in the country after Bristol, a major sporting clay pigeon shoot, a much-loved pipe band contest, a top-class sheep dog trial, one of the best gundog team tests in England, a busy fishing area, a large fine food village, one of the most significant gatherings of Vintage Cars in the Midlands, a countryman's area, and many more Have-A-Go sections and exhibits.

The Country Fair is a great day out, with good fun for all ages combined with a strong country theme. There is much to explore, discover, watch, try and enjoy - as well as some great shopping.

Do come and visit the Audley St Elphin's Park team, pick up our latest information, have a rest and a refreshing drink before continuing your day exploring the Show

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Either way, if you'd like to find out more, or to book a place at an event, please do call
Alison Davies on 01629 258 001.