The Friends of Conquest Hospital Spring Craft Fair will be held at Sedlescombe Village Hall, with space for 23 fantastic crafters to sell their wares. Visitors can expect a wide range of home-made crafts including needlework, woodwork, pottery and jewellery.
We’ll have refreshments available for purchase and there will be a tombola too. Entry is free, as is parking

The Friends of Conquest Hospital Annual General Meeting will be held at the Durbar Hall, Hastings Museum on Saturday 17th May at 3pm. If you would like to attend, please RSVP to info@conquestfriends.co.uk. All welcome.

Christmas Craft Fair 2024

Our Christmas Craft Fair held in late November was a great success, with plenty of shoppers visiting to peruse and purchase from the very talented crafters showcasing their wares. The tombola was as popular as always, and the refreshments did a roaring trade, selling out by the end of the event. A huge thank you to the wonderful ladies of Brede WI, who ran the refreshments on the day and baked many of the goods we had on offer. Thank you also to our additional volunteers, both bakers and on-the-day helpers. Without dedicated volunteers, these events simply couldn’t happen. The total raised at this event was a fantastic £1164.32.

Gardeners Question Time 2024

Thank you so much to the Lower Torfield Allotment Association for a wonderful evening in November at the Gardener’s Question Time fundraising event! With some interesting questions from the audience and excellent answers from the expert panel, it was an enjoyable and fun evening. Special thanks to Andrew Colquhoun for organising the event for us, to the expert panelists Emma Davies, Horticulturist, Stephanie Donaldson, Garden Writer (on Instagram as The Enduring Gardener), Penny Foxwell of Plot and Pantry at Lidham Hill, and to the volunteers of the evening. The total raised from this event, including generous donations came to £1359.79 for which we are very grateful indeed!

Autumn Craft Fair 2024

We had a wonderful day in September at our Autumn Craft Fair in Northiam! Between glorious sunshine and heavy downpours, many visitors came to browse and buy from our talented crafters, and enjoy tea and cake. We raised a fantastic £1091.15, which we are delighted with. This event couldn’t have happened without the support of our incredible volunteers! We were fortunate and grateful to be assisted by members of Northiam WI and Northiam Bonfire Society in addition to our regular event volunteers, and with their help the fair ran smoothly and was a great success. A huge thank you to all involved, and to the lovely stallholders and visitors.

Ashburnham Open Gardens 2024

We hosted a delightful Open Gardens fundraising event on a sunny Wednesday in July, bringing together the local community and keen gardeners at Glydes Farm and Little Midge near Ashburnham. Donations are still coming in from this event, with the total now exceeding £3000, which will help The Friends of Conquest Hospital fund additional equipment and services to support our valued local hospital.

The event, made possible by the generosity of the garden owners, showcased the beauty of these two stunning country gardens and raised vital funds for the Conquest Hospital. Visitors were serenaded by the beautiful music of Glashin, with Paul and Jo Dengate on guitar and flute, respectively. The event also featured a tombola, fun games, and a plant stall with generous donations from the public and Fairlight Hall.
Culinary delights were plentiful, with ploughman’s lunches expertly prepared by The Pumphouse Café & Deli, cheese from Cheese On Sea, cheese scones baked by Doroteya Turner, and a vast array of cakes made by many kind and generous volunteers. Visitors also enjoyed lovely coffee from a machine kindly lent by Warbleton Church.

The event’s success was made possible by the dedication of numerous volunteers, including regular fundraising helpers, first-time volunteers, and 19 members of the AXA Health finance team who participated as part of a company sponsored volunteering day. Their fantastic, helpful, and friendly support was invaluable, and The Friends extend their heartfelt thanks to all involved. The local community around Ashburnham also played a crucial role, supporting the event by minimizing road disruption and even postponing muck spreading to ensure a pleasant atmosphere for visitors!

This was our first Open Gardens event; from the positive feedback from visitors, it certainly won’t be our last! If you are interested in opening your garden to help raise funds for The Friends of Conquest Hospital, organising a company sponsored volunteering day or for other ways to get involved please contact info@conquestfriends.co.uk.

Summer Craft Fair 2024

We held our Summer Craft Fair at the end of June, which was our first event to be held in Ninfield, and we are delighted to advise that due to the hard work of our volunteers and support of our stallholders the event raised a fantastic £822.23 for The Friends. We saw slightly lower footfall than we would have liked (we’re blaming that lovely summer sunshine that kept everyone outdoors) but it was a lovely day regardless. A huge thank you to our volunteers on the day, as well as our incredible bakers.

Winchelsea Gardens 2024

We were kindly invited to run the refreshments in Winchelsea New Hall for Winchelsea’s Secret Gardens Open Day in April. We also ran a plant stall and tombola too. From the event, we raised a fantastic £897.55 for The Friends of Conquest Hospital. This simply wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our wonderful community. The volunteers on the day were dedicated, friendly and hard working. We also had volunteers bake and donate some incredible cakes and savouries. In addition, we received some very generous donations of plants, including some that proved very popular from Fairlight Hall Gardens. We’d like to thank the organisers of the event, who invited us us along as part of their open day for the National Open Garden Scheme. Thank you also to those that helped, donated or attended the event – we really do appreciate your support.

Spring Craft Fair 2024

Our Spring Craft Fair held in late March was a fantastic event, with some beautiful crafts on offer from talented local crafters. With plenty of donated homemade cakes and savouries on offer, the refreshments were very popular, as was our tombola. This event relies on the wonderful volunteers that bake for us in advance, and help out on the day too. We raised a fantastic £938.68 from the event. Thank you to our stall holders, visitors and volunteers for making it such a wonderful day.