We recently had a visit from John Kinsman and his family, who live in Sweden. John contacted us asking if they could visit Ashgate Hospice whilst on holiday in England to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, Jack Kinsman.

Jack lived in the buildings from around 1906-1915, which were owned by his uncles, Tom, Jim and Sam Barnes, who looked after him when his father, who was in the army, was posted abroad. John wanted to visit some of the places that were part of his grandfather’s life, including the buildings that are now Ashgate Hospice.

It was an absolute pleasure to welcome John and his family to Ashgate Hospice to show them the old house as it is now. We also shared some old photographs, one being of the wedding of the butler, Walker, and his wife, that was taken just outside what is now our cafe. John and his family are pictured in the same spot, as was everyone at a wedding all those years ago, which is absolutely fascinating! There is also a lovely photo pictured below of Jack, aged 4 years, playing cricket in what could be within our Victorian walled garden at the rear of the hospice.

John said: “Jack spoke very warmly of Ashgate, and he had many great childhood adventures there. It was so good to visit the place and to have a really good sense of the place where old Jack spent his early years.”

John also very kindly shared Jack’s memoirs with us. You can read them here.

Thank you to John and his family for visiting us and sharing information about the history of the building and the people that lived there.

If you have any links or can add to the history of the building which is now Ashgate Hospice, please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you!