St Monica Trust marks 100 years with centenary celebrations
The St Monica Home of Rest, as the Trust was known then, first opened its doors to residents on 25 June 1925. The Home was the fulfilment of Henry Herbert and Dame Mary Monica Wills’ wish to establish a charity to provide accommodation and financial support for missionaries returning to England after a lifetime’s service overseas. Since then, the St Monica Trust has continually evolved, creating and promoting communities where older people flourish.
As it marks a century of care, St Monica Trust celebrated its 100th anniversary with three landmark events — a Centenary Service of Thanksgiving at Bristol Cathedral (18 June 2025), Centenary Garden Parties at all five of its retirement villages (19 June 2025), and a Centenary Organ Recital at Cote Lane retirement village (22 October 2025). Read on for highlights of these memorable events.
St Monica Trust - 100 years of caring
For 100 years, we have been building on Dame Monica Wills’ legacy, evolving our services, innovating our approach, and creating communities where older people flourish. Our celebrations this year have been a time to reflect on how we continue to deliver Dame Monica Wills’ vision and look towards the next 100 years of the St Monica Trust with pride and optimism. From residents and colleagues to volunteers, trustees and the wider community, we are proud of everyone who has contributed to what the Trust is today. This centenary video brings together the voices of residents, colleagues and guests as they reflect on what the St Monica Trust means to them.
St Monica Trust Centenary Poem
In May 2025 we commissioned local poet Beth Calverley to write a special poem for our centenary year. Beth co-created the poem with residents, helping them express what matters to them most about St Monica Trust. Here's Beth reading the poem
Centenary Service of Thanksgiving
On 18 June 2025, residents, colleagues and friends of St Monica Trust gathered at the beautiful Bristol Cathedral for a very special Service of Thanksgiving to mark our centenary. It was an opportunity to come together to reflect on and celebrate the Trust’s past and anticipate it’s exciting future as we look forward to the next 100 years.
Centenary Garden Parties
On 19 June 2025, simultaneous garden parties for residents were held in each retirement village to celebrate the centenary. Screens were provided at each site to link all the locations together and in this way all five sites were able to enjoy the speeches given by Tim Ross, President of the St Monica Trust and Peaches Golding OBE, Lord Lieutenant of Bristol. A time capsule was also buried at each site and a short film about this formed part of the 30 minute live stream.
The garden parties reflected perfectly the values of the Trust and that of our Founders and were a fitting way, along with the cathedral service, to mark our centenary.
Watch the archived live stream of our Centenary Garden Parties.
Centenary Organ Recital
On 22 October 2025, our Centenary Organ Recital was held at the Cote Lane retirement village to celebrate the return of our newly restored and magnificent Willis organ, as well as 100 years of the St Monica Trust.
We were thrilled and privileged to welcome Thomas Trotter to Cote Lane for this special centenary event. Thomas is a world-renowned organist and one of Britain’s most widely admired musicians, with an international reputation. He performed a wonderful mix of pieces from different times and styles, including several well-known and lively works that showcased the organ’s incredible range and brought a joyful evening to our residents, colleagues, and guests.
Cameras projected his remarkable performance in real time, allowing everyone to appreciate the skill and artistry behind every note. A huge thank you to Thomas for such a captivating performance, and to everyone who joined us for this memorable evening.
