History
Bill of Parliament
- 1927 – a Bill of Parliament required registration and medical supervision for all nursing homes in England and Wales.
- An amendment was won exempting Christian Science nursing homes from registration.
- The exemption was carried forward in subsequent legislation, but repealed in 2002 in favour of the Care Standards Act 2000. All exemptions were withdrawn.
- Charton Manor is now registered as a ‘care home not providing medicines or medical treatment’.
Hawthorne House
- In the early 1930s a number of Christian Scientists in London began collecting money for the establishment of a nursing home, run on a non-profit basis.
- Viscount and Viscountess Astor bought Tudor House on Hampstead Heath, London, and in 1935 gave it to the newly-formed Hawthorne Trust to operate as a Christian Science nursing home.
- The house – the first Christian Science House in the UK – opened in 1937. It was renamed Hawthorne House.
- The House was sold in November 1987, and Hawthorne Trust bought Charton Manor and relocated there.
- The first known record of a manor house on this site was in the 1086 Domesday Book.
- Construction of the purpose-built Charton Manor began 5 May 1987, with completion 4 July 1988. First guests were received two months later.
Visiting Christian Science nursing service
- Established January 1951, becoming a registered charity in 1964.