Capernwray Hall

We were SO blessed to be able to visit Capernwray Hall, a 19th-century mansion and first ever Torchbearers centre, near Carnforth, England (just about 30 mins south of the Lake District) on our way to Austria.

Major Ian Thomas and his wife, Mrs ‘T’, bought the house back in 1946 for retreats and conferences, and then started the Bible school a few years later. Mark Thomas, one of their four sons, is the director there now and showed us around the campus.

Just this week they opened up their new conference centre after knocking the old one down a year ago! Here it is behind Charlie and Jocelyn.

The campus is beautiful and their facilities here are amazing. SO much happens here throughout the year. This week they have a youth camp called ‘Connect’ happening, and then Spring school will begin again with around 170 students! We’ve met a few students that are volunteering here before they come to Austria for spring school. It’s been nice to meet a few faces before we arrive there and start our roles as RAs. And it has been so great to finally see this place where it all began after hearing so many stories from Mrs ‘T’.

Did you know that Chris made a documentary about how the ministry of Torchbearers began told from the perspective of Mrs ‘T’ called “The Capernwray Story”? It is an incredible story of how God used ‘ordinary’ people to do His work, and impact the lives of many.

You can watch the trailer here.

OR better yet, you can now order it online on the Brand new Torchbearers online store! Check it out by clicking here.