In the heart of a “sleepy” corner of Shropshire sits The Quinta Christian Centre – a country house on 50 acres of estate, offering meeting spaces, accommodation and camping for Christians. But 2025 isn’t just any year for The Quinta – it’s its 40th, and you’d best believe celebrations have been taking place.
On a Saturday afternoon, as a long, sunny summer drew to a close, around 150 people from local churches gathered at The Quinta for coffee, cake, and an opportunity to reflect on the Centre’s heritage – giving thanks for all that has happened over the last four decades and praying for what lies ahead. But what has happened in the past 40 years? Well, Centre Manager Alistair Nurden spoke with en from the depths of Quinta Hall: “Thomas Barnes [a Christian MP] is the man who built this building that we’re in. He built it partly as a country retreat for him, his wife, and children. But he also wanted it to be somewhere where pastors could come on retreat. For [over 150 years], Christians have been coming to this very spot, on retreat, to rest, relax, and meet with God.”
In August 1871, Barnes – the then owner of the Quinta Estate – hosted The Oswestry Institute Annual Fete and Picnic, welcoming more than 3,000 people to Quinta that afternoon. Six days later, a report of the event in the Oswestry Advertiser said: “The event was an opportunity for the dwellers in towns to get away from the worry and toil of ordinary life to a spot where one can drink in the beauty of the trees and flowers and bathe the weary senses in repose.” Nurden added: “We’re doing the same thing [almost 160 years] later: we’re still providing somewhere for dwellers in towns to come and bathe their weary senses in repose.”
Nurden told en that you can “sense” the long history of Christian involvement in “this little sleepy corner” of Shropshire. When asked what he hopes The Quinta will achieve in the next four decades, Nurden replied: “If we can achieve exactly the same as we’ve done in the last 40 years then that would be great.”
According to Nurden, The Quinta aims to be an affordable, flexible resource for churches, supporting Christian ministry without focusing on profit. He wants the Centre to remain affordable, value for money, and accessible, while providing a safe environment for ministry activities. “So many church leaders say to me that you can achieve more on a weekend away than you can in the rest of the year, and I don’t find that hard to believe, so we want to remain available for churches to do that,” Nurden added.
The local community was able to take part in some of the activities available to groups at The Quinta.
Assistant Manager Andrew McKay told en that the Centre’s 40th anniversary celebrations were a great opportunity to remember God’s faithfulness and provision.
On the Sunday, there was a chance for the local community to explore The Quinta, finding out a bit more about what goes on around the site – as well as taking part in some of the activities available to groups, and enjoying (more) coffee, cake, and barbecued goodies. “Unfortunately, the weather was pretty damp, but we still welcomed over 100 people, all of whom enjoyed themselves and were well fed!” McKay concluded.
When asked about the purpose of The Quinta, and whether its aim is to serve the local community more generally, Nurden told en: “We have about 12,000 people come up the drive every year. The vast majority of those will be Christian, so our mission, our strapline, is to facilitate the Christian church in this country doing their ministry. Our ministry is to help them do ministry. But we are part of the community in Weston Rhyn.” The Quinta team felt that the 40th anniversary celebrations were a perfect opportunity to say to the local people: “Hey, we’ve been here 40 years, come up and see what we do.”
To celebrate four decades of The Quinta Christian Centre, Peter Bevington has written a book marking the occasion by reflecting on the Centre’s history. An Unbelievable Inheritance is now available to buy, with profits from the sale of the book reportedly being given to Centre Ministries for the “benefit of all users of The Quinta.”
