Our story
Four generations of care
Stour Valley Care Group is not a company that happened to enter the care sector. This is our family's life's work — spanning four generations and over ninety years, and still going strong.
First generation
1930s – 1978Phoebe & Stanley Staines
Where it all began
In the early 1930s, Phoebe Staines began her career in the care industry, working as a seamstress at "The Spike" — an old workhouse caring for the disadvantaged in the Tendring Hundred area. In 1954 she moved to Billericay to work in a hospital for older people, before going on to own her own residential care home there. In 1963 she purchased "The Oaks and Chestnuts," a children's home for boys in Tendring, and converted it into a residential care home for older people, renamed "Springbank." After fifteen years of successfully running the home, Phoebe retired in 1978 after an incredible 48 years in the care industry — selling Springbank to her daughter and son-in-law, Freda and Barry Moor, so the family legacy could continue.
Second generation
1978 – 2007Freda & Barry Moor
Building something lasting
Freda and Barry worked tirelessly to grow and build upon the high standards and strong reputation Springbank had already achieved. When they took over in 1978, the home had ten bedrooms; through their continued commitment, it was extended over time to eventually accommodate thirty-five residents. In 2007, Springbank was sold to Southern Cross when Freda and Barry decided to take early retirement — Freda had by then dedicated 50 years to the care industry since beginning her journey in 1957. The next generation had already begun forging a path of their own.
Third generation
1991 – 2014Mike & Jacqui Volf
Raising the standard
In 1991, Freda and Barry's daughter Jacqui, alongside her husband Mike, purchased "Long Furrows" in Manningtree and converted it into a residential care home, later extended from eight to fourteen bedrooms. In 1992 they added "Little Manor," and in 2000 "Meadowcroft" in Bradfield joined the group. In 2001 they purchased "The Spike" — the very building where Jacqui's grandmother Phoebe had begun her journey some 80 years earlier — and sympathetically restored it. In 2013, a strategic decision was made to shift the heart of the business towards private luxury residential care alongside respite and retreat packages: Little Manor was demolished and Mistley Manor built on the site, welcoming its first residents in the summer of 2014 as the new flagship home of Stour Valley Care Group.
Fourth generation
NowJoseph Volf, Michael Volf & Charlotte Hitchcock
Tradition meets innovation
Jacqui and Mike have been joined by their sons, Joseph and Michael, and their daughter, Charlotte, with the whole family working side by side across the homes — each bringing their own strengths and fresh perspective. Meadowcroft has since been thoughtfully renovated to sixteen beds, now re-imagined in the same vision as Mistley Manor as Bradfield Manor: luxury residential care on a more intimate scale. Together, the fourth generation is committed to blending tradition with innovation — ensuring the legacy Phoebe began over ninety years ago not only lives on, but continues to flourish.
“We are a family run business in its fourth generation, providing a wealth of experience with over ninety years' combined experience in care.”
90+
Years in residential care
4th
Generation family ownership
1930s
When our story began
Meet the team
The people behind the care
Four generations of values, lived every day by a team of people who truly care about what they do.