Our Story

The Camphill movement was founded in 1939 by Dr Karl König, who with friends and colleagues who had fled Nazi-occupied Europe took over an old estate called Camphill in Aberdeen, Scotland. It became the first Camphill community.

König believed in the abilities and holistic wellbeing of people with disabilities, and in using the arts to unlock and develop each person’s potential. Camphill communities are still alive with art, craft, drama and music. From Aberdeen, Camphills spread around the world, run by co-workers who adopted Camphill as a way of life rather than a job. It was decades ahead of its time in working alongside people with learning disabilities instead of marginalising them.

Camphill MK is unusual among Camphill communities for its urban setting. Most early communities were on farmland or remote country estates; Camphill MK set out to create a community within a city, where residents could find work and enjoy everything a city offers.

Morwenna Bucknall and Ann Harris, who had both worked with König in the 1950s and 60s, were instrumental in founding the community. The parents’ group of the Camphill Village Trust, a chance talk by Camphill founder Thomas Weihs, and a forward-thinking Milton Keynes Development Corporation brought the idea to life: Camphill was invited to play a part in the new town from the beginning.

It was built on the idea that people with learning disabilities should be part of the wider community, not marginalised from it, which was still a pioneering idea at the time.

In 2026 Camphill Milton Keynes became Camphill Milton Keynes & Northants, following the integration of the homes previously known as William Blake House. Today we support more than 100 residents and employ over 200 staff, and we are building new accessible homes so people can live with us for life.