Lucy Beasley, House Manager

Lucy Beasley brings to Cunningham House a proven dedication to the elderly and a professional expertise in nutrition.  She spent her formative years in Derbyshire, but as Pirbright was the home of her beloved maternal grandparents, she has had a deep familiarity with the village all her life.  Lucy attained a degree in Food & Catering Management and pursued a course in Health Promotion before becoming a Research Associate in Nutrition at Liverpool John Moores University, earning her PhD.  Her early career was in community nutrition for the NHS, first in Dudley, and later in Dover.  Her grandparents’ increasing frailty brought Lucy back to Pirbright, and she took her community nutrition skills to the charity Fareshare in London.  Lucy became the main carer for her grandfather upon the death of her grandmother, working flexibly as time allowed. One of those roles was as a cook for Cunningham House as a support to the House Manager.  Within a year of the death of her grandfather in 2013, Lucy became our live-in House Manager.

Lucy is ultimately responsible for the day-to-day running of the House, and for the welfare of the residents.  Besides providing healthy and pleasurable meals twice daily, she is the first port of call for anything that the residents and their sponsors might need.  Lucy is responsible for all H&S checks, and she works closely with our Office Manager Katherine Barker on all administrative matters, sharing the responsibilities for addressing new resident enquiries.  Lucy is also a key member of the House Committee, the volunteer-run group which looks after the fabric and safe running of Cunningham House, and of its relationship with the wider community.

Her years at Cunningham House have been made extra special by the residents, who Lucy describes as “so appreciative of being here, and of all we do for them.  They make my job lovely!”  She went on to say “we are so fortunate to have such a great team, so practical and proactive, we all just get on with the job.