The Rosmini Centre has taken over the buildings and the land that was known during the war and after as the "aerodrome", a site used by the RAF to fly planes to where they were most needed. After the war it was progressively bought by the Trustees of Ratcliffe College and let out for farming use. It became known as "the Ratcliffe Farm", and such it remained until a year ago, when the Trustees of Ratcliffe College entered into an agreement with the Trustees of the English Province and it opened as the "Rosmini Centre House of Prayer". By that time all the buildings were in a very dilapidated state, and only now progress is being made to restore them to serve the purposes of a Rosminian Centre - a house of prayer, a library, a house for accommodation, a chapel, etc. Works so far have concentrated on the main house for the residence of a small Rosminian Community, and a library attached to the house; work has started on the second residence house and it is hoped that it will be completed by the beginning of September 2007.
In the meantime, negotiations about the land - just over 100 acres - have started between the rosminian community, the poplar tree company and the forestry commission for the possibility of planting many trees all around the area. The idea is to create a large wooded area for the benefit of visitors to the Centre, and perhaps for the use of the local community (with clear restrictions).
What follows are a variety of pictures of buildings and land as they stand at present (BUT see additional lines).
NB: The above was written some time ago. If you care to look at all the pictures you will see what has become of some of the buildings and of the land. As I write this note today 17th April 2008, over 30,000 trees are being planted by a team of about 10 men working at an incredible speed and high efficiency. What was arable land has now become a new forest in its infancy. The chapel of Blessed Antonio Rosmini has now been completed, and also the Gentili House that can provide accommodation for up to 8 people.
April 23rd 2008: A group of over 50 students with their teachers came to the Rosmini Centre for a special day of revision in preparation for their forthcoming GCSE examinations in Religious Studies. They arrived at 10 am by coach, gathered in the chapel for prayer, and then proceeded immediately to the business of the day, revision, divided into five groups in different areas of the Centre, with a teacher in charge of each group. They behaved impeccably, showing great commitment and desire to learn - a true credit to their school and teachers.
Here we show some of the pictures of the day:
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