Wooler woman juggling motherhood and law studies with new management job at Ad Gefrin

The 25-year-old is impressively juggling her work commitments with being a mum and studying law as part of an Open University course.

She has been part of the Ad Gefrin journey from the beginning, initially part-time but now with a full-time role.

And, with that, she has ambitions to grow Ad Gefrin’s hospitality offer over the coming months with new menus and evening dining.

Phili said: “I feel so lucky to have been a part of Ad Gefrin’s journey from the start, and feel genuinely appreciated and valued: not only as staff member at work but as a family member within the Huskynn team.”

She is one of a handful of women leading the charge at Ad Gefrin, all mentored by co-founder Eileen Ferguson.

Ad Gefrin has an ongoing commitment to encourage ordinary women of Northumberland to do extraordinary things – and Phili is seen by the business as a perfect example of one of these extraordinary ordinary women carrying on the traditions of the 7th Century Anglo Saxon Royal Court after which it is named.

Particularly influential Anglo-Saxon women include Aethelburh, a woman that brought Christianity to Northumberland; Aebbe (St Aebbe, also known as Abb): a woman of learning; and Hild, a contemporary of Bede.

2025 is expected to mark a new feature in the Ad Gefrin Museum focusing on women’s stories: ‘ordinary’ voices talking about the extraordinary, spanning from Anglo-Saxon era to the present day, through a series of vignettes.