Our History

In 1956 Major Richard Carr-Gomm resigned his commission with the Coldstream Guards of the British Army and bought a property in South London, for £250. It was run down, had six rooms, no bathroom, outdoor lavatory and two cold taps. It was to provide housing for four people - the only qualification being loneliness. He was the first housekeeper and was dubbed by the press "The Scrubbing Major".

Abbeyfield was the name of the street where the first volunteers met, and the name commemorates a large and charitable medieval abbey which had been dissolved by King Henry VIII some four hundred years earlier.

Today this prototype has provided a vision and the impetus for hundreds of Abbeyfield Houses operating all around the world. Worldwide there are 1100 Houses serving the needs of over 9,000 residents. Abbeyfield is active in 17 countries.

Abbeyfield Houses Society of Canada was established in 1984, as a registered charity. The first House in Sidney, BC, was established in 1987. There are currently 40 Canadian Abbeyfield Societies and 29 Houses and ten more planned or under construction. Each Abbeyfield Society is financially independent, and acts autonomously under the governance of its own Board.

Abbeyfield Houses Society of Kingston began in 2002, when a group of concerned individuals identified significant shortfalls in the retirement housing options for the aging population in the City of Kingston. After examination of available and planned solutions for the housing of the elderly, they determined that the Abbeyfield model provided a definitive supportive housing alternative for lonely seniors in Kingston. A Board of Directors was established, and Abbeyfield Houses Society of Kingston, Inc. was incorporated in 2001. Federal Charitable status was awarded in early 2002.

With the full support and guidance of the national and international Abbeyfield organizations, the Kingston Society is committed to the establishment of a facility which embraces the Abbeyfield concept, yet responds to the specific needs of the Kingston community. The success of the Abbeyfield concept provides the opportunity to think globally but act locally.