The history of Crescent House Care Home

The early records of this care home go back to 1866, when Mrs Alice Marsham was concerned about the deterioration of women shopkeepers’health, due to extremely long hours of standing with no rest and low wages.

Many of these women then had to look after their families,and if they were ill, they would have been unable to pay for medical cares.

Mrs Marsham collected enough money to rent and furnish a house in Brighton as a convalescent home for 31 women,

After two weeks of rest and sea air, the results were so encouraging that the work continued for three more years with great success.

Unfortunately, the lease on the house ended and so a temporary residence was obtained In Dover.

On the 19th of November 1879 Alice Marsham, with the help of George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (ex-Prime Minister), and John Derby Allcroft, an English philanthropic entrepreneur. set up a charity under the name of the London and Brighton Female Convalescent Home,

With this new finance, Mrs Marsham bought a large house in Royal Crescent, Brighton This was opened as a ladies’ convalescent home with 70 beds and by 1916 the home had expanded to 90 beds,

In 1889 Mrs Marsham made note of a young orphan girl whose employer had gone abroad, leaving her sick in hospital, She was too weak to work, her slender savings and clothes having been disposed of for bread. She was sinking. from exhaustion and starvation & would rather die than

beg,” She remarked.

Her care was paid by ‘The Free Fund’, Her strength was restored, and her clothes were replaced from The Dorcas Wardrobe (a charity which offered Skills, clothing, resources and pastoral care) After four weeks she had recovered and returned to employment.

The home remained open until 1939, when it was requisitioned for the duration of the war,

Women’s health and working conditions improved after the war and so the charity decided to focus more on care for elderly ladies,

Crescent House was then considered too large, and the premises were sold

In 1946 much smaller house, at 108 The Drive in Hove, was purchased to accommodate 14 ladies needing permanent Care,

1972 saw the house enlarged to accommodate a bigger kitchen and dining area. Further renovations added en-suite facilities to some of the
bedrooms and the building of a new wing.

Two more en-suite bedrooms were added in 2023 and so at present Crescent House can accommodate 19 ladies and gentlemen

Recent improvements have included a residents’ lift, air conditioning in the conservatory and a large garden gazebo.