Pilgrims Hospices has been at the heart of the east Kent community since the Canterbury hospice opened in 1982.
The hospices were the vision of one local nurse, the late Ann Robertson, founder and Pilgrims’ Lifetime President. Ann wanted to make a difference for the people in her community facing terminal illness, following her own experience caring for her husband. Thanks to her devotion, and the help of countless others, today we have almost 200 clinical staff. Together, they support thousands of people each year.
The first hospice opened in Canterbury in 1982, followed by Thanet in 1992, and Ashford in 2001.
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Our Hospice Story 1
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It is a great privilege to have worked with so many forward thinking and talented individuals over the years; in the early years we faced the day to day headache of meeting our financial needs. As the years have passed, we’ve established relationships not only with our generous public but with the business community, who help us to raise the profile of our charity and engage with the wider community.
We remain the welcoming face that will guide people through some of the most difficult times, the support of the community fills our hearts with great joy as we continue our journey to help even more people each year.
Ann, speaking at our 40th birthday party in 2022
Helen Bennett, Chief Executive Officer, with Ann Robertson at Pilgrims Hospices’ 40th birthday party in 2022
The staff at the hospices are truly community heroes, with more than 3,000 people within their care each year. Over the years, Pilgrims has pioneered ground-breaking research in palliative care, embraced innovative, cutting-edge technology to improve the quality of life for patients, and delivers education and training across east Kent for many other health and social care providers.
Pilgrims continues to grow from strength to strength, and in order to provide the much-needed care, our clinical staff are supported by an award-winning charity fundraising team, an established network of profitable retail shops, a successful local lottery, and a wealth of talents through its invaluable volunteer workforce.
From the very beginning, patients have been at the heart of everything Pilgrims do, and we will only continue to grow and develop with the help of the community.
Help us continue our story and be here for anyone who needs us, for generations to come with a gift in your Will.
See the impact your legacy will have on the thousands of people and their families we care for, now and in the future.
Each year, Pilgrims Hospices care for thousands of people across east Kent, with services provided from its three hospice sites in Ashford, Canterbury, and Thanet, as well as in patients’ own homes. It costs over £17.2 million annually to run these services, much of which comes from the generous support of the local community.
17th February 2025
Pilgrims proud to join hospices across England, Scotland and Wales to protect the future of hospice care
We’re proud to announce the launch of the “This is Hospice Care” campaign, a ground breaking collaboration between 143 hospices across England, Scotland, and Wales, brought together by Hospice UK.
It’s finality and uncertainty, brave faces and shedding tears. It’s short days and long nights. Living for now with the weight of tomorrow.
But it’s also love and life and celebration. It’s care at home, and in a hospice, care for those dying and for those around them. It’s going the extra mile, doing away with convention and remembering what really matters. It’s easing pain and bringing comfort, cherishing memories and creating new ones. Part of the community, part of our story, part of us.
It’s allowing anyone, anywhere, to embrace the life we have left.
This is the legacy of hospice care. But we need it to be your legacy too.
Just as this incredible support would not exist without hospices across the UK, hospice care would not exist without you. A gift in your Will helps ensure care at the end of life is here for everyone who needs it, both now and in the future. It’s ours to protect.
Help hospice care live on for all, for now, forever.
Hospices like ours are at the very heart of communities, offering compassionate care and support when we need it most. For many of us, a hospice will touch our lives, whether for ourselves, a loved one, or a friend, providing comfort, dignity, and expert care through life’s most challenging times.
But just as this incredible support wouldn’t exist without hospices across the UK, hospice care wouldn’t exist without you.
We rely heavily on charitable donations to keep our doors open.
That’s why we’ve come together to shine a light on the essential role hospices play in our communities and protect our futures.
We’re asking everyone to consider leaving a gift in their Will to Pilgrims Hospices. By doing so, you can help us continue to provide this vital care, ensuring that everyone has the support they need for generations to come.
Together, we can make surethat hospice care lives on for all, for now, forever.
Each year, Pilgrims Hospices care for thousands of people across east Kent, with services provided from its three hospice sites in Ashford, Canterbury, and Thanet, as well as in patients’ own homes. It costs over £17.2 million annually to run these services, much of which comes from the generous support of the local community.
24th April 2020
Shirley’s story: Why I’m leaving a gift to Pilgrims in my will
Shirley Johnston has experienced first-hand the vital support provided by Pilgrims Hospices to people across east Kent. Her mum and husband both received the charity’s compassionate care at the end of their lives; Shirley decided to give back by leaving a gift to Pilgrims in her will so that other families can continue to benefit from its services in the future.
My first experience of Pilgrims was in 1985 when my mum was cared for at the Canterbury hospice. Many years later my husband, Gordon, was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer and had to undergo major surgery leaving him with a prognosis of 18 months. Despite this, he defied all odds by surviving another eight years! When his cancer eventually came back, I knew it was going to be painful for him so it was important for me that he received support from Pilgrims Hospices, just like my mum had.
It made such a difference, it was so important; Pilgrims became everything as it gave him a purpose and a reason to keep going.
Shirley
He attended the Pilgrims Therapy Centre in Ashford as an outpatient for over a year, getting support with his pain, breathlessness groups, and day therapy sessions. As his carer, I was offered neck and shoulder massages as part of a pamper day. It made such a difference, it was so important; Pilgrims became everything as it gave him a purpose and a reason to keep going. He used to say “I just live at half-mast these days” but would still head into the hospice to read the paper to a friend who had trouble with her sight. When he eventually came into Pilgrims in Ashford for his last few weeks it was so peaceful. As he would have wished he was surrounded by his family at the end.
As we’d spent so long coming to Pilgrims it was like being in a family and I was quite bereft without it after he’d gone. I attended a bereavement group and saw three ladies there that I’d met through the Therapy Centre when Gordon was alive. All our husbands had been patients and had died within four months of each other – so it was a real comfort for us to be able to support each other through such a difficult time. We became great friends and even now we all come back to the hospice once a month to meet up for lunch.
Leaving a gift in my will to the hospice is as important to me as it was to my husband. I could never have cared for either my husband or my mum in the way the hospice cared for them. I’m leaving a gift to the hospice to ensure that this incredible service continues to be here for future generations, for my children and grandchildren.
Shirley
After some time had passed I really wanted to fill the void of what I had lost, so I decided to volunteer as a gardener at the Ashford hospice. Every week, you will find me in the ‘wild’ garden pottering around with my friend, Sue, keeping the gardens a beautiful space for everyone to enjoy.
Gordon and I always spoke about wanting our money to be left to the hospice. When making my new will after I had spoken to my family, I split my estate six ways between my five children and Pilgrims.
Leaving a gift in my will to the hospice is as important to me as it was to my husband. I could never have cared for either my husband or my mum in the way the hospice cared for them. I’m leaving a gift to the hospice to ensure that this incredible service continues to be here for future generations, for my children and grandchildren.
By leaving a gift in your will to Pilgrims Hospices, you’ll help to ensure that each person in east Kent with an incurable illness receives the right care where and when they need it.
Please note: This story was written before the COVID-19 outbreak. For current information about all hospice services at the present time, including visiting our hospices and volunteering, please click here.
Each year Pilgrims Hospices give care and comfort to over 2,400 people in east Kent coming to terms with an illness that sadly cannot be cured. The charity supports patient’s to live life as well as possible until the very end, free from pain and distress. To offer these services charity must raise £11 million each year from the generous local community.
