Dementia care home given the personal touch as residents name facility after famous landmark

A specialist dementia care home set to open in the next summer has been named ‘Lydia Eva Court’ after a famous landmark in Gorleston, Norfolk.

The £6.9m care home, which is being built by care group Norse Care, will be named after Lydia Eva, the last surviving steam drifter in the UK.

Lydia Eva is now the only example of a drifter with her original steam engine, and is moored on South Quay in Great Yarmouth, open as a working museum.

Residents from Magdalen House, Clere House and Mildred Stone House were given the opportunity to choose their favourite name for the new home which they will move into next summer.

The care home will be built close to the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston on the site of the former Peterhouse First School.

Karen Knight, managing director of Norse Care, said: “We wanted to give all the residents who are moving the opportunity to choose the name of their new home. After a very close vote, and some great suggestions from the local community, the residents chose Lydia Eva Court, and we’re delighted that it’s a name with such close links to the area.”

Lydia Eva is listed by the National Historic Ships Unit alongside the Cutty Sark, HMS Victory and SS Great Britain on their list of the 60 most important vessels in the UK.

Alan Bagley, chairman of the Lydia Eva and Mincarlo Trust, said: “We’re so pleased the residents have chosen to name their new home after the Lydia Eva. She has a great history and such a strong link to the communities of Gorleston and Great Yarmouth.”

With large en-suite rooms and a secure garden for residents, the 88-bed care home will provide specialist dementia care as well as offer better support to less mobile residents through new assistive technology.

Colleen Walker, NorseCare board member, said: “I think it’s absolutely right that the residents of the new care home should have the final say on its name and I commend them for their excellent choice. Lydia Eva is a name that is synonymous with Norfolk’s east coast and holds great historical significance for the communities of Gorleston and Great Yarmouth.

“I know that building work is progressing well on the site and I am sure that Lydia Eva Court will be a first-rate addition to NorseCare’s current care home provision in Norfolk, as well as being an exciting new development that the people of Gorleston can be proud of.”