Douglas House was originally a guest house, fronting onto Douglas Avenue.

It then became the base for Decca for training staff as they had run out of room at their New Rd premises. They were taken over by Racal and Douglas House was closed down and operations moved to Surrey.

The building was purchased by Leonard Cheshire Homes and adapted to become a residential home in 1971.

Leonard Cheshire, the Founder of Cheshire Homes, was a Group Captain in the RAF when he witnessed the impact of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki in WW2. From the world of mass destruction he turned to the constructive work of providing refuge, care and fulfilled lives for thousands of disabled people across the world.

Douglas House is now a specifically designed residential home for 29 adults and specialises in supporting people who have varying needs as a result of physical & long-term neurological conditions, including cancer care, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, epilepsy,brain injury, Huntington’s disease, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson’s disease, spina bifida & hydrocephalus and stroke.