Edward Hain Centre in St Ives gets a patron with 150-year family ties

A family connection that goes back a century and a half has come full circle at a former hospital on Albany Terrace.

The Edward Hain Centre in St Ives has announced that His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Cornwall, Colonel Sir Edward Bolitho KCVO OBE, has become its Patron.

A link that goes back 150 years

The appointment carries special significance because of who came before. As far back as 150 years ago, the Bolitho family’s mining and banking businesses had strong connections with the Edward Hain shipping line.

And it was that shipping line which, in 1919, funded the purchase of the building that now houses the Centre.

📷The Edward Hain Centre, St Ives

From memorial hospital to community hub

The building started life as a private home. It was converted into a hospital founded in memory of Captain Edward “Teddy” Hain, who died at Gallipoli in 1915.

The Edward Hain Memorial Hospital served the community for almost a century before it closed in December 2020.

What happened next came down to local people. Following a remarkable fundraising campaign, the community saved the historic building from development, and in 2023 the Edward Hain Centre was set up as a health and wellbeing hub serving St Ives and the surrounding areas.

Sir Edward attended its opening in September that year and has continued to take an interest in how it has developed over the past three years.

Today the Centre offers a growing range of clinical and preventative services across all ages, along with community activities and support for local organisations. St Ives Foodbank is also based there as its strategic partner.

“A tremendous honour”

Announcing the news on its Instagram account, the Cornwall Lieutenancy said: “It is a real pleasure and privilege for Col Sir Edward Bolitho to become a Patron of the Edward Hain Centre…A fantastic organization making a real difference through healthcare and wellbeing, supporting the St Ives Foodbank and preserving a valuable piece of local history.”

Staff and trustees say they are thrilled.

Centre Director Sharron Goldingay said: “Having the Lord-Lieutenant of Cornwall as our Patron is a tremendous honour. When he visited the Centre recently, our Chair, Lynne Isaacs, and I were able to show him not only the progress we have made since we opened, of which we’re incredibly proud, but also share our ambitions for its growing role in the community.”

What comes next for the Centre

Its aims include expanding its role as a community health and wellbeing hub, strengthening partnerships with health and social care groups, and making sure the historic building stays at the heart of community life for generations to come.

Sharron added: “We are hopeful that Sir Edward’s association with the Centre will help us build new relationships and raise awareness of the contribution community organisations can make across Cornwall.”

📷Colonel Sir Edward Bolitho KCVO OBE, Lord-Lieutenant of Cornwall