Early History

Farncombe House

For more than four centuries a building has stood on the site of Farncombe House at Broadway, Worcester. The first building was an ox hall but a mansion house replaced it in 1780.

Farncombe House stands 750 feet above sea level, on the top of Broadway Hill, with magnificent views. On a clear day one can see across to the Black Mountains of Wales and the Wrekin in Shropshire. The first title deed dates to around 1560 The early owners were the Brookes family of Farncombe who lived on the site between 1720 and 1760. It then passed into the hands of another branch of the family, the Cotterells, and it was Sir John Cotterell who was responsible for building the first mansion house there in 1780.

Training Starts at Farncombe

Foxhill Manor

When Mr Jørgen Philip-Sørensen bought the estate in 1964 to be the UK Head-quarters for Group 4, Farncombe House was being used as a hotel, standing in 28 acres. He also purchased the old Farncombe Farmhouse with 71 acres, and this property was converted into a residential training school. There has been adult education on the Estate ever since.

In 1970, the adjoining property - Foxhill Manor - came onto the market and Group 4 bought it. It had been built as a private residence in 1909 and stood in 100 acres. The two estates were combined with a new road down the hill. It was on this lower part of the Estate that classrooms, residential accommodation and leisure facilities were developed through the 1980s and '90s. This Centre was the focus for Group 4's exceptional commitment to training. For many years Group 4 trainers ran the Trainer Training courses for the British Security Industry Association. These laid the basis for training standards in many other companies. The Centre served Group 4's own companies across some 50 countries and provided a commercial training service to a very wide range of UK organisations and clients from over 90 countries. Every year thousands of delegates came to the International Learning Centre while trainers travelled all over the world to run courses for clients.

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