Our history

Parkway Newbury

Our very recent history has seen us join the Mary Hare Hearing Centre in their new shop in the Parkway, Newbury.

This move has been beneficial in terms of both accessibility and space for us which is always a good thing!

We are really excited to see what history we can make for ourselves in this new location and we hope you can be a part of that.

Greenham Lodge

We’re lucky enough to have started our journey based in a Grade 2* listed house on Greenham Common in West Berkshire.

The first Greenham Lodge was built around 1829. It was owned by James Croft and was described as a 'commodious residence’.

The Greenham Lodge estate was bought by Lloyd Baxendale Snr, a partner in the haulage company Pickfords, in 1873. He commissioned a new house to be built on the existing site by the eminent architect, Norman Shaw. And this is the building that we’re based in today.

Norman Shaw based his design for Greenham Lodge on the large Elizabethan mansion to the north of Newbury, Shaw House. Greenham Lodge was completed in 1881 at a cost of £1,970. Unfortunately Lloyd Baxendale Snr didn’t get the chance to enjoy his new home for very long as he died in 1882 and ownership of Greenham Lodge passed to his son, Lloyd 'Harry' Baxendale.

In 1904 some of the estate was sold, which became Newbury Racecourse. And in 1925 part was leased to Newbury Golf Club.

Lloyd 'Harry' Baxendale died in 1937 and in 1938 the remaining 916 acres of the estate were sold.

Photos of Greenham Lodge by John Piper are held in the Tate's archive.

World War 2

With the coming of the Second World War the RAF were based on Greenham Common. And in 1943 RAF Greenham Common officially became USAAF base Station No. 486.

In the autumn of that year the US Army's 101st Airborne Division arrived in the UK. And General Eisenhower commanded the troops, who were camped across the Thames Valley from Reading to Marlborough, from Greenham Lodge.

To this day tyre marks can still be seen on the main staircase inside the house. These were reportedly left by Eisenhower's personal driver who, on the night of 5 June 1944 (the night before D-Day), attempted to drive an overloaded jeep full of inebriated soldiers up these stairs.

Apparently he only managed to get as far as the third step.

From 1948 to 1953, Greenham Lodge became a school for the first time and was called Carmel College.

Then in 1954 the house became a club for USAF officers stationed at RAF Greenham Common. It continued in this role throughout the Cold War period until the closure of the base in 1992.

Supporting Mary Hare School

In 1996 Mary Hare took over Mill Hall School in Sussex – a primary school for deaf children. The school was then moved to Greenham Lodge and became Mary Hare Primary School.

Over the years, Mary Hare School has developed a number of businesses that contribute financially to the school and support of its core focus - the education of deaf children.

In 2002, Greenham Lodge became the home of fast and efficient hearing aid repairs when the Hearing Aid Repair Shop (HARS) opened for business. And in 2006 Mary Hare Hearing Centre opened in Weavers Walk in Newbury town centre.

Collectively the two businesses form Mary Hare Hearing Services. Each of the businesses are jointly owned by Mary Hare and a major hearing aid manufacturer. Because of our unique partnership with Mary Hare, a charitable organisation which has been a trusted name in audiology for over 130 years, 50% of our profits go Mary Hare School. So by choosing one of our products you’re actively supporting the education of deaf children and young people from across the UK.

Who was Mary Hare?

Mary Hare was born on 3 November 1865. She was one of a family of ten.

She was a remarkable woman, establishing a Brighton based uniformed women's police force as well as being an active suffragette. However her foremost achievement was as the Founder of an oral school for deaf children which has now become the UK's largest non-maintained special school for the deaf - Mary Hare School.

Mary Hare's ethos was that deafness was not a mental disability but rather a sensory impairment that presents the deaf child with additional barriers to learning. At the time this was quite a unique approach. To this day, Mary Hare School continues to fulfil her vision for the auditory/oral education of deaf children. Mary Hare died in 1945 two days after her 80th birthday. She wrote in her will, 'my efforts on behalf of the Deaf have been my greatest joy in life.'