Medical dates:

Medical character:

In October 1894 the Lord Mayor, Sir George B. Tyler, laid the foundation stone for a convalescent home "for the printing, bookbinding, stationery and kindred trades".

The Caxton Convalescent Home opened on 28th September 1895.  It was named after William Caxton (c.1415-c.1492), believed to be the first English printer, and had been financed by the Cornish newspaper owner and philanthropist, John Passmore Edwards.  Only the central block, constructed of red brick with Bath stone dressings, had been completed.  The Home had 32 beds (24 for men and 8 for women), but it was intended that it would eventually contain 70 beds.

In 1918 it was proposed to erect a new wing for extra accommodation (six of the beds had been placed at the disposal of disabled men in the trade returned from naval and military service during WW1).  On 20th September 1919, the Lord Mayor of London, accompanied by the Lady Mayoress, laid the foundation stone for a War Memorial Wing to commemorate those in the printing trade who had lost their lives during the war.

The Home was further extended in the late 1920s, when the West Wing was completed and formally opened in June 1928.

At the outbreak of WW2 in 1939 the Home joined the Emergency Medical Scheme.

By the 1970s the running costs of the Home greatly exceeded its income.  It closed in 1977. Convalescent care was offered instead at Caxton Lodge in Eastbourne, until that in turn closed due to lack of demand.

Present status (March 2012)

The building was sold in 1977 and converted into apartments.  It is now known as Caxton House.  An additional wing has been added.