Medical dates:

Medical character:

In 1894 the banker Harold Baring built Suntrap as a convalescent home for children on behalf of his sister Muriel, who wished to be a nurse.

The house was erected on the site of Fairmead House, which was once part of the High Beach Private Asylum run by Dr Matthew Allen, and which had been demolished in the 1870s.

The Suntrap Convalescent Home opened in 1895.  Originally intended as a convalescent home, it soon was admitting children from the East End of London who were suffering from TB.  As the only treatment for the disease then was fresh air, rest and good food, the children would spend their days in bed.  However, these were wheeled outside into the open air or, if the weather was inclement, into summer houses.

During WW2 (1939-1945) the Home became an annexe of the Plaistow Maternity Hospital.  The Blitz had made the East End a dangerous place and mothers were evacuated from London to have their babies 'in peace'.

The annexe closed in 1946.

Present status (October 2009)

The building remained vacant until the 1950s, when it was converted into apartments for families whose homes had been destroyed by bombs during the war.

In June 1967 the newly formed Municipal Borough of Waltham Forest bought it for £500.  It was made into the Suntrap Forest Education Centre.