As we usher in a New Year, the ATD Fourth World Trust would like to share with you some news about Braendam, a large estate near Stirling in Scotland which was entrusted to us by Lilias Graham in 1981.

Until very recently, the estate was operated by the Lilias Graham Trust as a centre to support families living in extreme poverty in Scotland. Unfortunately, due to funding constraints the Lilias Graham Trust has ceased operating, and the estate has reverted to ATD Fourth World. Having spent some time last year exploring our options, we have taken the difficult decision to sell the property.

We’d like to ask for your help in doing this.

Who was Lilias Graham?

Lilias was born in London in 1917 to a family with Scottish aristocratic heritage and a strong social conscience. Following her family’s tradition, in the 1930s, she volunteered in the Docklands of East London among people living in poverty. During the war, she was for a time a cook sergeant in the ATS and ended up running services canteens. In 1944, she joined the United Nations Refugee and Relief Agency, working in Egypt, Palestine, Greece (during the civil war) and Austria.

She returned to Britain in 1948, and completed a training course aimed at making Christianity relevant to the social needs of the country. Then in 1952 she wrote to John How, the then Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway, offering herself for work among the poor in Glasgow. She was appointed as a lay worker by the Scottish Episcopal Church, but the Church initially resisted her desire to live in the Gorbals, because it was considered far too risky for a single woman.

In the end, she got her way, and her flat on Abbotsford Place, in the heart of the Gorbals, became a drop-in centre with a playroom, a nursery and a room where local women, the Old Hens’ Club, could meet and talk. In addition, the women ran a second-hand clothing store, known as the Hen House, in nearby Bedford Street.

There was also a youth centre, and one evening she told a participant that the centre would be closed for the week because she was going on holiday. ‘What’s a holiday miss?’ came the response. Realising the families in the Gorbals rarely if ever experienced a vacation, she set up the Glasgow Children’s Holiday Scheme.

In the 1960s, Kit Russell, a field work tutor for the London School of Economics, began to send students on placement with Lilias in the Gorbals. It was through Kit that Lilias encountered Mary Rabagliati – then working at Frimhurst – and finally Jospeh Wresinski. This began her relationship with ATD Fourth World.

Hope and the roots of Braendam

In 1972, Lilias moved to Braendam House – having inherited from an aunt – and it became the centre of her activities. In particular, families from Glasgow and all over the country were welcomed there for holidays. Lilias was keen that whole families, including fathers, could enjoy holidays together and Braendam allowed her to do that. This was advanced thinking at the time. When Lilias decided it was time to retire, she gifted Braendam to the ATD Fourth World Trust in 1981.

The Glasgow Braendam Link was set up for those families who had been to Braendam. There was a community flat where there were meetings, lunches, creative activities and discussions around public policy, plus there were home visits and accompaniment. The connection with ATD Fourth World strengthened. They marked The World Day for Overcoming Poverty, October 17th, and a replica of the plaque was place in George Square, Glasgow. Plus the Braendam Youth Group became involved with the ATD International Youth Movement. It all opened up families and young people to the wider organisation and a sense of being part of something much bigger.

Elaine Downie, a current friend of ATD Fourth World, who was a part of the Braendam Glasgow Link in the 1990s said of Braendam House that it ‘was a place of joy, it gave the families a chance to talk together in a relaxed environment. The Link was created to help them hold onto a bit of what they’d experienced there.’ She continued: ‘Lilias was so natural with the people. She believed in people’s humanity and that shone through.’

By the early 2000s, the prevailing social policy and financial environment meant that the ATD Fourth World Trust began to lease the property to The Lilias Graham Trust. With funding from local social service departments, this charity provided months long parenting capacity assessments and support for families affected by disruptive relationships, social exclusion and poverty.

The current situation

Unfortunately, further changes in social services and the funding situation, has led to The Lilias Graham Trust winding up. Despite efforts to find another solution with those friends of ATD who had been involved with Braendam and the Braendam Glasgow Link in the past, the only sensible resolution appears to be to sell the house and grounds and use the money to continue Lilias Graham’s legacy in other ways.

Over the years, Braendam has had a special place in the hearts and vocation of those involved with ATD Fourth World, especially in Scotland. However, ultimately, our mission is to support people rather than take care of buildings. Currently, we feel our presence alongside the poorest families would be better served if money and human capacity were not so invested in bricks and mortar.

Can you help?

The Braendam Estate has now been put up for sale. Whilst we are sad that this chapter is coming to and end, we are also excited about the possibilities that the sale proceeds will provide to support more people living in poverty.

The property is listed with Halliday Homes, linked here. We would love it if you could spread the word to anyone you think may be interested in purchasing it.