Dorothy House

End of life care for all. Celebrating 50 years in 2026 🌷

05/03/2026

Books can be a useful tool in helping children to navigate through life's toughest moments, especially when it comes to grief and loss.

As today is World Book Day, we're sharing a selection of books designed to support children in navigating the associated emotions and worries that can come as a result of a bereavement, and that can help facilitate conversations around death and dying in sensitive, age-appropriate ways. All of these books have been recommended by our wonderful Family Support Team 🩷

What Does Dead Mean? - Caroline Jay and Jenni Thomas, OBE
When Dinosaurs Die - Laurie Krasny Brown and Marc Brown
Love Will Never Die - Clare Shaw
Ollie the Octopus and the Memory Treasures - Dr Karen Treisman
What Happened to Daddy’s Body? - Elke Barber & Alex Barber
Grandad's Ashes - Walter Smith

Looking for suggestions for older children? We also have a selection of recommended books for teenagers as part of our Children and Young People's Wellbeing Hub. To view this list, along with more resources, head over to our website: https://okt.to/MkVP6T

Do you have any reccomendations of books that have been useful for your child? Drop them in the comments below.

04/03/2026

Last week, we welcomed Debbie and Dave Wood to the Hospice where they met with Chelsea from our team for a cheque presentation on behalf of Chipping Sodbury Golf Club. The club raised an incredible £4,500 during Dave's captainship, which they decided to donate to Dorothy House.

In addition, as they donated the funds in support of our Life Lines Appeal during our 36-hour fundraising sprint, the donation was doubled thanks to our generous matched funders.

Thank you to Dave, Debbie, and everyone at Chipping Sodbury Golf Club for their support! 💜

03/03/2026

Sit, meet, tend, grow, harvest and sow! 🌱

We’re excited to be working with our friends at Bath-based horticultural charity, Grow for Life, on the Fox Hill Community Garden project!

Each week, they’ll be offering free gardening sessions, open to anyone in our community. There’s no need to book, just come along and be prepared to get your hands dirty, helping to re-establish a garden for us all to share.

Learn more about the sessions here: https://okt.to/zhmWYq Bathscape

02/03/2026

Don’t just take our word for it! Here’s Bath City FC Manager Darren Way on why you should join us for the Men’s Walk to Support on 14 March.

Darren features in our new Locker Room Chat film which we launched last month, discussing the importance of breaking the silence when it comes to men’s mental health. You can watch the full conversation (and register your place!) here:

https://okt.to/pn9t7r

01/03/2026

Spring is on the way, so what better place to pick up a few new pieces for your wardrobe at our March Warehouse sale? Join us from 9am on Saturday 7 March and bag yourself some bargains!

28/02/2026

Our Snowdrops open garden took place on Sunday 15 February and despite a few rainy patches throughout the day, we managed to get some sunshine too! Thank you to everyone who joined us at Great Chalfield Manor, and to our lovely volunteers who helped everything run smoothly - we're delighted to share that the event raised £1,785!

If you love an open garden, be sure to join us this weekend for our Hellebores event at Kapunda, taking place this Sunday 1 March!

27/02/2026

50 years of care 🌷

This year, Dorothy House turns 50. For half a century, our community has stood with us so that we can walk alongside patients and families. In those 50 years, we’ve directly cared for over 75,000 people. With your help, we can ensure we care for thousands more for another 50 years.

Our care is powered by an extraordinary circle of nurses, health care assistants, doctors, therapists, counsellors, housekeeping, kitchen staff, drivers, retail teams, volunteers, admin teams, fundraising teams, and every supporter who has ever given time, voice, or a financial gift.

At the centre of this circle of care are our nurses. The steady, skilled presence at the bedside, the calm at 3 a.m., the hand that holds, the pain that’s managed, the dignity that’s protected. Nurses like Nicky.

Nicky has been a nurse at Dorothy House for 23 years, and in May 2025, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND). She has bravely shared her story as part of our 50 Years of Care Appeal.

If you can, please make your gift today. Together we will ensure that Dorothy House is there for those who need us for the next 50 years. Donate today: https://okt.to/GwJKQE

26/02/2026

“I think the ‘walk to support’ label is important because part of the issue of not talking about it is because you’re not given the opportunity.”

At the heart of the Men’s Walk to Support is providing an open and informal space for men to chat and share their experiences around mental health, particularly when it comes to grief and bereavement.

There’s less than a month to go until the big day, so be sure to register your place! Choose from the traditional 8-mile route or go for the extra challenge in the form of our 25-mile anniversary route – however you join, every step you take will help us make a difference to the people in our community who need us most.

Sign up now: https://okt.to/u9V4Fa

25/02/2026

A big thank you to Graham Harrison, who, along with family and friends, organised a charity walk in memory of his wife, Tod, who died in July last year. The walk took place on 24 January, which would have been Tod's 66th birthday.

Tod was known for helping others, giving her time to local causes. She was cared for by Dorothy House in her final days, and her family and friends organised the walk from Winsley to Bath, as a way of saying thank you and raising funds. Currently, their fundraising total sits at over £3,000!

Thank you to everyone who took part in Tod's Walk for their incredible fundraising efforts 💜

24/02/2026

In addition to our recent Men's Walk to Support Locker Room Chat, our new collaboration with the Bath City FC Foundation brings a new National Lottery funded Bereavement Help Point to Twerton and Whiteway, Bath, which launches on Thursday 5 March.

Open every Thursday from 5:30pm to 7:30pm at Twerton Park Football Ground, the new BHP will offer free activities and board games in a safe space for anyone seeking support with grief and loss. This is an extension of the nine open-access Bereavement Help Points currently facilitated by Dorothy House and our community partners, intentionally aimed at anyone in the local community in search of support and connection after work or in the early evening.

Find your nearest Bereavement Help Point here: https://okt.to/jkC69G

23/02/2026

The Fox Hill Community Garden in Bath has been untended for several years. Residents, with some support, have cleared it back, and it's now time to get it growing again!

Our friends at Grow for Life will be offering free gardening sessions from next week, open to anyone in the community. There’s no need to book ahead, just come along and be ready to get your hands dirty, helping to re-establish a garden for us all to share. Sessions will run from 11am to 1pm on the following dates:

Wednesday 25 February

Wednesday 4 March

Wednesday 11 March

Wednesday 25 March

The Fox Hill Community Garden project is an exciting development in our partnership with Dorothy House and Grow for Life, which we announced in July last year. The partnership aims to increase awareness of, and access to, therapeutical horticultural programmes and general nature connectedness in B&NES, Somerset and Wiltshire.

Learn more about the sessions here: https://okt.to/sLozpK

22/02/2026

A big thank you to everyone at Frome Medical Practice who have chosen to support Dorothy House for the next two years! Their team was invited to nominate their favourite charities, with staff then voting on their preferred one to support.

Karen Creffield, Managing Partner at the Practice said, “We are looking forward to growing our relationship with Dorothy House. Our fundraising team is already planning a number of fundraising events over the next couple of years and we are looking forward to strengthening our working relationship, raising awareness with patients about the services offered by Dorothy House and ensuring our patients and their families who need it can be supported by the charity.”

One of the ways in which we support people in Frome is through our weekly Coffee Connection sessions, co-hosted with We Hear You. These are free open-access groups available to anyone in the community affected by a life-limiting illness. They provide a chance to drop in and enjoy a hot drink and a chat with other people in similar situations, with staff and volunteers available to provide support and advice. Frome sessions run every Tuesday at the Cheese & Grain, from 10am to 12pm, and the group is open to patients, family members and carers.

We're wishing the whole team at Frome Medical Practice the best of luck with their fundraising, and we're looking forward to hearing how they get on!

(Pictured: Steven James and Emily McCaffrey, Frome Medical Practice Fundraising Team)

Address

Dorothy House Hospice Care
Bradford-on-Avon
BA152LE

Telephone

+441225722988

Website

http://www.dorothyhouse.org.uk/

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Dorothy House, Winsley

Dorothy House Hospice Care was set up in 1976, based at the Bath home of its founder Prue Dufour, A woman of vision, determination and deep faith, she saw a need for care of terminally ill patients in their community, rather than in hospital.

Over the years Dorothy House has grown to reflect the changing needs of palliative care, and we now provide our services to a population of 550,000 over 700sq miles. From the hospice’s beginning to the current day our purpose has remained the same, to provide compassionate care to our community to enable those with a life-limiting illness to live well and die well.

Our Care and Services

Whether you are with us as a patient, carer or family member, please be assured that we will give you all the care and support we can. This could be through a range of different services, complementary therapies, Group Workshops and Creative Arts Sessions Click here to find our more.

Patients can be seen at Winsley or at our Outreach Centres, and in some cases are visited at home. Support can also be provided to patients during a stay at the Inpatient Unit or whilst attending the Day Patient Unit.

The services we provide ensure that our patients and their families are supported in a way that meets the needs of everyone involved. This could be through our Hospice at Home Team, Family Support Team, Nursing Clinics, Physiotherapy & Occupational Therapy and many of our other teams and sessions.

Our Shops

Dorothy House also has 27 retail stores across Wiltshire, Bath and parts of North East Somerset, providing quality pre-loved items of clothing, books, music and furniture to the local community.

Our stores rely upon the genorosity of our communities for donations. We receive and process 1000’s of bags every week, with our staff and volunteers ensuring that we don't miss those hidden gems that may be hiding at the bottom of a bag or box.

We have also recently launched our free online furniture collection service. Making it now even easier to donate your furniture and electrical items to Dorothy House.