History
Dorothy Purdew set up a slimming club business and opened her first club on 25 June 1970 at Frimleys, Northampton. It was a success and led to over 70 clubs opening throughout the South East. In September 1981 Dorothy and her husband Robert purchased Henlow Grange for £350,000 from Leida Costigan and one of their sons Stephen joined the company. Costigan had opened Henlow Grange in 1961 as The Beauty Farm School of Beauty and Physical Culture, the first of it's kind, in the UK. Following the death of Robert Purdew, Stephen took over management of the group.
In 1990 they purchased Springs Health Farm in Leicestershire, followed by another health farm at Forest Mere in 1995. The Hotel de la Paix, a ski hotel in Champéry, Switzerland, was purchased in 1996. The last purchase was Champneys Tring, which with the Champneys name, led to the re-branding of all the resorts. It was opened as the UK’s first health farm in 1925 by naturopath Stanley Lieff, who pioneered the concept of holistic health and naturopathy. He was assisted in this project by London Solicitor, Edwin Herrin.
In 2002, Henlow Grange suffered a fire but following 9 months of renovations, the spa was re-opened.
In 2004, Champneys launched a range of spa products called the Champneys Collection, and in 2006 Champneys opened a high street spa in Chichester. "Champneys Day Spas" have now opened in eight other locations: Enfield, Guildford, Tunbridge Wells, St. Albans, Brighton, Chichester, Milton Keynes and Bath.
In 2006 Stephen Purdew celebrated his engagement to Isabelle at Champneys Tring, inviting over 200 guests, including Liam Gallagher, Piers Morgan and football legends David Seaman, Tony Adams, Gary McAllister and Ian Wright.
In 2008, Dorothy Purdew received an O.B.E in the Queens Birthday Honours List, for services to the Health Spa Industry and Charity. In 2004 £150,000 was raised for Breast Cancer Care. Tommy’s Children Charity and the Disability Foundation were supported in 2006 raising a combined sum of £100,000. During 2008 - 2009 Champneys successfully applied for and was granted charitable status.
In July 2011, Sir Paul Stephenson, Metropolitan Police Commissioner resigned over a stay at Champneys Tring, part of which had been a gift from Stephen Purdew, and in an interview in The Guardian in August the same year, Purdew explained that certain clients receive discounts on the basis of their celebrity status or if they are journalists or hold high ranking positions in public office: "These rugby players are paying but they're coming on a concession rate because it's just making the place buzz. We do that with actors and journalists and dignitaries. It makes Champneys 'The Place'."
In 2012, Champneys Tring teamed up with controversial doctor Professor Mohamed Taranissi to offer IVF treatments at the spa.
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