Our new Managers at Middlefields House

Chris Boyes – General Manager

Chris Boyes’ career has been in housing management, most recently with Anchor Hanover, a large housing association with accommodation for older people. He managed a series of area teams responsible for repairs and safety. “My role was basically keeping people healthy and reasonably happy in their homes,” he says.

Earlier this year he decided to look for something that was different and challenging, where he could use the skills he had developed, but most importantly, where he would be really serving the Lord. Living in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, he was interested in the job in Chippenham but only mildly, until he read about Pilgrims’ Friend Society’s vision for Middlefields House.

Chris says, “It struck a chord with me. I’ve done a lot of work over the years in community development in housing and [with the design of four households] could see immediately the value of having a smaller-scale, family approach. It is so completely different and more positive than the stereotype of a large home with lots of people sitting around a big room – to me, it seemed more genuine family.

“What also attracted me was the opportunity to do something with the wider community, to link with churches and other bodies around. It could break down some of the barriers between older people ‘out there’ and older people in the care home.

“If I’d had any doubts, they vanished during the application process and the interview. We started with reading the Word and prayer – such a contrast to years of secular meetings. What comes over from those who work with Pilgrims’ Friend Society is that this is a calling, a vocation.

“Middlefields House is a lovely building, with beautiful rooms, and we will put the heart into it – the love and care.”