Lytchetts Residential Care Home

Lychetts opened as a Residential Care Home for the elderly in 1990, having twelve rooms, all purpose built on the ground floor, most with individual access into the garden. It quickly became established as a home and found its place in the village community, involving residents with the local churches, St Martin’s and the Methodist Chapel, the school, playgroup, Cubs and Brownies. Fundraising events have been held to support many local groups and organisations.

We occupy a site of 0·7 acres, the building being surrounded by landscaped gardens including a large vegetable plot. There is a henhouse and a large rabbit run and one resident has her own dog. The gardens are put to good use for some of our annual events, for example Bonfire Night and the July Jamboree, which we have held for the last eight years. This involves an evening of fun for all the family, Broadmayne’s answer to the need for a local racecourse; one of the evening’s events being a series of ‘horse’ races run by the children on hobby horses . One year we were lucky enough to have the Cheltenham Gold Cup make a ‘guest appearance’ from the local racing stables at Whitcombe Manor.

Lychetts has also become a local source of employment as the majority of our staff come from the village or neighbourhood. Two girls who worked here at weekends and holidays whilst at school have gone on to careers in Nursing and another to become a Speech Therapist. As we approach the start of the new Millennium we have a lively bunch of residents some of whom have been with us since our very early days. There is at present an age range of 76 to 102, a span of generations even at this stage of life. Over half our residents either come from Broadmayne or have family in the village, thus we feel we are fulfilling a village need. In fact the lady who originally owned Lytchetts, when it was a private house, has returned here to live, and is helping to tend the garden she initially created.

Certain areas of the garden are designed to encompass the needs of our residents. These include raised gardens which can be tended and sensory areas. The latter includes wind chimes, aromatic plants, plants to attract birds and butterflies, textured stones, and fruits to nibble. Lytchetts has proved to be a success at combining the talents of both the proprietors into one business. Carl had a career in the catering trade, having previously owned an outside catering firm ‘Shooters the Caterers’ based in Dorchester and the Wine Bar ‘6 North Square’. Alison meanwhile had been a nurse in Birmingham and Sheffield, and had worked locally at the Winterborne Hospital and West Dorset Hospital. Our three children, Adam, Richard and Freya have adapted well to their extended family and enjoy having all these extra Grannies and Grandpas. This is especially useful when doing school projects on Victorian times or issues about the First and Second World Wars

. We see our way forward into the 21st century continuing to encourage our residents to lead as active, fulfilling and independent a life as each one’s own capabilities allow. We like the ‘niche’ that we have made for ourselves in the community, but are always mindful of ways to improve upon this.

Carl and Alison Borries