A journey through our timeline
1970 - A DREAM BEGINS
Julia moved to Maytree cottage in 1970 and in 1974 her Aunt gave her £500 to play on the stock exchange, she invested the proceeds wisely and purchased the land adjacent. Her Love and dedication has transformed this once wild land into a peaceful haven.
1972 - A HIDDEN HAVEN
It Began As A Wilderness!
Julia's love and dedication has transformed what started as a wilderness full of household rubbish, broken glass and general debris into the peaceful haven it is today.
1973 - The Pond
Reclaiming the pond which had appeared on maps for hundreds of years but first we had to find it again
Julia working all hours, which she still does, to reclaim the once hidden pond which now thrives as it should.
When the M25 was constructed the pond water Levels changed and Julia was advised that to maintain the energy and the frequency of the Land, the pond had to be retained. She decided to have the pond lined and also made smaller in order to extend the car park on the pond side.
1983 - Foundations
The foundations were dug out for a flat roof garage, land was cleared for planting which Julia sieved herself pouring all her love into it.
And from a flat roof garage, to a garage/barn, such an improvement.
1988 - Renovations
Planning permission was granted and the building transformed into The Upminster Complementary Healing and Teaching Sanctuary. Installation of a window on the west side of the Sanctuary.
1998 - OFFICIAL OPENING
The official Opening Day was on 5th October 1998. This day fell on Julia's Mum's birthday, Elizabeth, who cut the ribbon at the grand opening..
First across the threshold was Ron, a Long time friend and client of Julia.
Such an absolutely delightful Gentleman.
We had lots of support from dear family, friends and clients on this special occasion.
DOUBLE CELEBRATIONS
Cutting the cake with Mum. Big smiles all around and Julia's Husband, Roy celebrating with her Mum was always supportive and enthusiastic of Julia's dream of The Sanctuary and gave Julia a generous donation towards the refurbishment of The Sanctuary.
Myrtle our cat liked to keep an eye on things, and looking out for the peacocks that would often pop over from a neighbouring property to share the seeds with the doves.
The garden is a constant. ongoing project very near to Julia's heart. and will always be her dream to create this space for every living being.
2006 - ROSE QUARTZ
Jeff Steadman donated our beautiful Rose Quartz Crystal to The Sanctuary in August 2006.
Our crystal still stands pride of the place in the centre of The Sanctuary garden, surrounded by wild flowers dedicated to the Elementals and our beloved Mother Earth.
2007 - Open Day
In June 2007 we decided to host our first open day to invite members of the community to meet our therapists and enjoy the gardens. We had lots of therapeutic activities going on.
Our resident dog Jack spent a lot of time drooling under the cake table.
2008 - 10th Anniversary
After 10 years of Learnings in the Teaching Room, relaxations in the garden, yoga in the sunshine and a variety of treatments for our clients, we continued to pour love and dedication into The Sanctuary as we still do today.
By our 10th year we had built a team of remarkable therapists who were professional and above all heart-centred bringing many new treatments to The Sanctuary and many new faces.
2010 - In remembrance
ELIZABETH JOYCE COSSER
On the 2nd January 2010, Julia's Mother, Elizabeth passed away. She had worked as a District Midwife in Upminster for 26 years. She delivered over 1200 babies at home over her career. Many of her patients came to The Sanctuary for treatments. Elizabeth, known as Joyce, always shared Julia's dream to create a healing Sanctuary. Joyce encouraged her daughter with all her projects for which Julia is truly thankful.
THE DALAI LAMA
Julia had Longed to meet the Dali Lama, and he was everything she had hoped, a loving compassionate and very special soul. She met him at a meeting in Congress just prior to the Iraq invasion. He was so warm, kind and interesting and Julia has never forgotten the valuable time she shared with him.
2011 - In remembrance
RUTH MORAG DIXON
Our beloved Ruth Morag Dixon died on 16th February 2011. She had dedicated 12 years caring, healing and supporting her clients at The Sanctuary as well as all of us. We had all grown to love and respect her. She was kind, gentle and dedicated and exuded warmth and joy. Ruth is sadly missed and we thank her so sincerely for her Love and inspiration. God Bless You Ruth.
2014 - New Reception
In 2014 The Sanctuary was given a bright new entrance, reception area and remodelling of the treatment rooms inside. We are convinced that Ruth Dixon guided us during this transformation
NEW LOGO
A beautiful new logo and website were also created to complete the look. This logo was donated by Elizabeth Kucinich, Julia's daughter.
GEORGE AND JEMA
The reason the Maytree Cottage garden was separated by fencing was because our cheeky adopted stray, George, was rather partial to going over the road to steal a neighbour's hens.
Jema loved to challenge anything she was told and would do the opposite. She ruled the roost and was the most delightful and loving companion.
2015 - New Partnerships
Ruth had introduced Amanda Amanda and Julia connected instantly. Amanda looked around, went up to the Teaching Room and about ten minutes later came down and said "I love this place, when can I start?".
Over the years they realised they shared the same ideals as they worked tirelessly and enthusiastically together. They planned The Sanctuary refurbishment with help from Ruth and her friends. The refurbishment was completed in October 2014. In 2015 they became Joint Partners in The Upminster Sanctuary.
APOTHECARY GARDEN
The new Apothecary Garden is complete which was designed by Jackie Apostolides, The Sanctuary's former British Herbalist and her husband, Steve.
2020 - LOCKDOWN
In February 2020 Julia and Amanda's contract ceased. Amanda left to take up her new role as a Bowen Instructor on March 17th 2020. She formed Essex Bowen Clinic and set off to build her own business in Ongar.
At that time on 23rd March 2020 a complete "lockdown" was declared by the Government due to the Covid 19 pandemic. The Sanctuary was forced to close temporarily for 14 weeks
We all remember this time of sanitisers, plastic aprons, masks and guards, forever etched in our memories. We passed safety checks with flying colours.
Julia used this time to improve and upgrade while the world went quiet. Julia maintained and improved the gardens. Her old friend Simon Mikeli and his team painted The Sanctuary "Cooking Apple Green". They also refurbished and upgraded The Sanctuary to meet Covid Safety Requirements. The teaching room was painted and the floor re-sanded and polished.
The Ken Rhodes Group installed new windows in The Sanctuary and within 14 weeks The Sanctuary was reopened. During 2020 a skeleton staff worked due to severe working restrictions only when medically referred. They comprised of Gursharan, Michelle, Katrina, Sam and Julia. Sadly the rest of the Team were legally enforced to work from home. Clare continued to hold the fort working very efficiently as Office Administration for which we are grateful.
2025 - OUR TEAM GROWS
After Lockdown we resumed our valuable practices and slowly things normalised. The Sanctuary was again offering a wide range of therapies and continued to build an amazing team.
OUR ROOMS
We have 3 therapy rooms, 1 counselling room, a Teaching / Yoga Studio upstairs and the barn in the gardens to offer our services. These rooms host many modalities such as aromatherapy, massage, reflexology, acupuncture, healing, talk therapies, osteopathy, sound baths, drumming, yoga, workshops and many others.
NEW LABYRINTH
In April Julia found an old photo of a Labyrinth while scrolling her phone and decided it was time to birth one at The Sanctuary as it has always been a goal to have one. Julia sent the photo to her gardener Glen who had drawn it out in one afternoon, before you knew Julia had sourced the granite and ball.
On delivery Glen got started and before you knew it our Labyrinth had come to life. We celebrated our new addition with a Summer Solstice Garden Gathering. The Labyrinth is being used by a variety of our therapists and is open for clients use.
2025 - Summer solstice
The Labyrinth was completed in a matter of days and with 2 weeks to Solstice we decided it was a great time to celebrate the opening of the Labyrinth. Our Summer Solstice Garden Gathering included Reiki sessions. Reflexology sessions, a Cacao ceremony, Qi gong by the Labyrinth, drumming sessions, Soundbath & Breathwork sessions and a Rite of the Womb Ceremony.
Our raffle table was full of generous gifts kindly donated by our therapists and artisans.
2025 - NEW WEBSITE
Julia worked closely with her team and a dedicated developer to bring a fresh, modern look and enhanced functionality to The Upminster Sanctuary's online presence. The new site was designed to showcase her diverse holistic offerings, and provide a welcoming, user-friendly experience for clients and visitors. This digital transformation marked a significant milestone in expanding Julia's reach and connecting more deeply with her community.
The History and timeline of the Upminster Sanctuary
Throughout its history, The Upminster Sanctuary has evolved, from a neglected plot into a thriving centre for healing and teaching to a space for workshops and classes and a place to hold outdoor self-improvement events.
It is Julia’s ambition to keep building on the success of the last 26 years, and constantly look at how she can develop and improve the therapies and services she can offer to the local and wider community.