The history of Stanton House

Stanton House was built in 1879/80 by John Thompson. In 1963 it was sold to Geoffrey Gould - a Christian architect from London. His vision was for Stanton House to be a place of intercession and an engine room for prayer.

In 1977, Geoffrey and his wife Marjorie were introduced to James and Joan Haig-Ferguson whose vision was to provide a place of welcome for missionaries who were home on leave. The vision quickly grew to include creating space for other Christians who, being weary and under pressure, were seeking a peaceful environment for rest and renewal. In 1978 Stanton House became a charitable trust. Almost immediately, Geoffrey died of a heart attack and so James and Joan Haig-Ferguson, with the help of some willing and able helpers, continued the restoration work and building of the fellowship to bring the vision to reality. Restoration was substantially completed in 1984.

The trustees of Stanton House, and the Team, have worked hard through these recent years to restore and upgrade the House and maintain and develop its Vision. In 2017, Charlie Cleverly became Chair of Trustees to Stanton House. He was, at the time, Rector of St Aldates - a large multicultural Church nicknamed a ‘House of Prayer for all Nations’ at the heart of Oxford. His Vision, and that of all the Trustees, is for Stanton House to continue to be an oasis - a place of rest, renewal and prayer.

In 2020 the Covid Pandemic brought pressures and stress upon people in a way never seen in this generation and has been the greatest challenge in Europe since World War 2. It seems the ministry of Stanton House is thus even more important ‘for such a time as this’.