Our charity has been working hard to support autistic people for over 55 years. Read on to find out about our early days and how we expanded…
John Brady refused to pay his rates as he felt like his autistic son was not supported by his local council. So he joined with a group of determined parents and founded The Wirral Society for Autistic Children.
Raby Hall opened to its first six residents. We now have over 18 residential properties.
Princess Anne officially opened Raby Hall.
Our name changes to Wirral Autistic Society.
Bromborough Pool Garden Centre was opened. Formerly known as Raby Hall Garden Centre, it provides opportunities for autistic adults to learn new skills and interact with the community. Along with flowers and plants, the garden centre sold benches and planters made by the people we support.
Our narrowboat ‘Raby Enterprise’ was donated by Cammell Laird in 1994. Built by ship workers' apprentices, the canal boat gave people we support the chance to experience life on the waterways of Cheshire.
Dame Stephanie Shirley generously donated funds to help our charity redevelop Bromborough Pool’s village hall, making it suitable to provide both Residential and Day Services. Princess Anne reopened the refurbished Giles Shirley Hall in 2002, named after Dame Stephanie’s autistic son. The sculpture outside, by the artist Charlotte Mayer, is called ‘Caring Hands’.
In this year our first supported living scheme opened. We continue to offer supported living services which suit a variety of needs.
Our Head Office moved to Oak House, in Bromborough, in 2011. In the same year, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, opened The Ferns on March 2nd. Today, The Ferns offers specialist residential care to autistic people with complex needs.
Port Sunlight River Park opened in 2014. It was transformed from a closed landfill site to a 28-hectare park with an array of walkways, wildlife, wildflowers and a wetlands area. We worked with The Land Trust to provide management and maintenance of the River Park until 2022.
We change our name to Autism Together in 2015
Gallagher House opened in 2017 to provide day services in the Birkenhead area - specialising in arts and technology. Our Hardknott Road site also opened at this time, initially providing sessions in woodworking and ceramics. Also in 2017 we achieved the Guinness World Record for team trampolining, with 8 staff bouncing non-stop for 25 hours!
In 2020 we opened The Maples, a new residential service on our Raby site, next door to Raby Hall.
We opened our Sensory Activity Area in the outside space between Raby Hall and The Willows.
We launched our new logo design for Autism Together in 2025!
