About Maggie's

Maggie Keswick Jencks

Maggie Keswick Jencks was born in Scotland in 1941, the only child of John and Clare Keswick. Her father’s family traded in the Far East and during her childhood she travelled between Dumfriesshire, Shanghai and Hong Kong, which left her with a love of China and a life on the move.

She went to Oxford University and studied English Literature before opening one of the first boutiques in London, called Annacat.  She then joined the Architectural Association as a student and married Charles Jencks, the architecture writer and critic.  Charles and Maggie had two children, and lived and worked in Dumfriesshire, London and Los Angeles.  Maggie designed gardens and lectured on the subject all over the world.  Her scholarly celebration of Chinese landscape gardening and philosophy, The Chinese Garden, was published in 1978.

Maggie was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1988. When it returned in 1993, she was told she had only a few months to live. She joined a trial treatment for advanced metastatic breast cancer at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh which won her an extra 18 months.

During this time she developed strong ideas about cancer survival. She noticed how much better she felt when she started to take an active role in her treatment. She formulated her idea of a basic requirement for people in the same situation; a small domestic haven which could concentrate on an individual’s needs as a person, not just as a cancer patient. She then put all her energies into making such a place happen.

As a result the first Maggie’s Centre, in Edinburgh, opened its doors in 1996.  

Maggie died on 8th July 1995, a year before the centre opened. Her warmth, determination and passion for life are apparent throughout the Centres and the programme activities.  Maggie’s legacy stands in the creation of these welcoming havens that encourage people to find their own best way of coping with the disease.