Romsey Mill

A small charity with a big impact, the team at Romsey Mill help disadvantaged children, young people and families learn new skills that help them into school, college and the workplace and enable them to create a caring network of strong, supportive friendships.

Stand in front of Parker’s Tavern and wander to the far corner of Parker’s Piece, the park outside University Arms, and you will find the bustling, shop-lined Mill Road, which leads to a railway bridge with Romsey Town beyond. Built in the 1880s to house railway workers and their families, this was a thriving, self-contained, low-income neighbourhood quite literally “on the other side of the tracks” from the leafy university area. In Romsey, the street names (Malta, Cyprus, Hobart) and pubs (The Jubilee, The Empress) reflected the height of the British Empire, but a century on the area was bleak and its community neglected and struggling.

In 1980 the vicar of St Martin’s Church on Suez Road, the late Peter Phenna, took matters into his own hands and recruited five other local churches as well as East Cambridge business leaders to found the Romsey Mill project. It began by opening Romsey’s first large youth club – which had a queue snaking around the block on its first day – and now, more than 40 years on, helps more than 2,000 people every year.

Romsey Mill’s focus is on pre-school children; marginalised young people struggling in education or involved in anti-social behaviour; young people with autistic spectrum conditions; and young mothers and fathers in Romsey Town and other areas of Cambridge; parts of South Cambridgeshire; and Hampton in Peterborough.

Providing long-term help for long-term relationships, Romsey Mill’s team of youth and family workers guide participants through innovative projects that develop their skills and enable their progress towards training, work, and positive involvement in the community. As participants grow in confidence, learn new skills, and establish strong, supportive friendships, they report experiencing positive change in their personal lives, the ability to overcome challenges, and the excitement of embarking on fulfilling paths that inspire change around them.

Romsey Mill achieves these results through hosting youth groups; educational courses; personal and social development programmes to help make friends, learn important life skills such as eating healthily on a budget or how to be a parent; the opportunity to engage in the creative arts and music; sports projects; youth leadership programmes; and enriching adventure trips.

As each decade unfolds and presents ongoing and new challenges, Romsey Mill’s devoted patrons, staff and volunteers are on hand to help the next generation face the future with confidence, and we at University Arms are delighted to pledge our support for their dedication and expertise.

For more information, please visit www.romseymill.org or ring 01223 213162.