Our Story

1943: MHA founded by Rev Walter Hall and the Methodist Church as an independent charity to provide care, support and accommodation for older people in need.

1945: MHA’s first residential care home MHA Ryelands in Wallington opened to improve the quality of life for older people.

1950s: A steady stream of residential homes were opened in the South East, the Midlands, Yorkshire and Lancashire

1977: Housing services established offering sheltered accommodation for rent away.

1988: First MHA Communities group set up providing support to older people in their homes, through volunteers.

1989: MHA’s first specialist nursing care home built, founded on MHA’s principles of privacy, dignity, independence and well-being.

1997: Dementia specialist care delivered in purpose-built care homes, focussing on the person and their individual needs.

2000: Retirement living with care services established combining self-contained accommodation with care and support.

2004: Community services set up to provide MHA’s dementia care to people living in their own homes.

2007: MHA introduces reflexology training for members of staff, enabling them to become qualified reflexologists to enhance care and well-being for residents in several homes. The first three groups begin their courses, to qualify in 2008.

2008: MHA employs its first in-house Music Therapist, to provide support for residents with dementia.

2009: MHA acquires its first retirement village, Auchlochan, in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.

2010: Big Lottery Reaching Community Fund enables MHA to develop further a music therapy service with £302,000.

2012: MHA wins Best Residential Care Provider at the Laing & Buisson Independent Healthcare Awards, and also the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Volunteering Award.

2013: MHA celebrates its Platinum Anniversary.

2015: Our music therapy team win the Excellence in Dementia Care LaingBuisson Award in recognition of their specialised therapeutic care, dedication and research.

2016: MHA selected by ITV to guide the award-winning dementia story line on Emmerdale.

2017: MHA's Chaplaincy team has scooped the 3rd Sector Care award for its work on end of life care.

2018: MHA celebrates 75 years of bringing quality to later life. Read more

Emmerdale star John Middleton cut the ribbon on MHA's 90th care home, Montpellier Manor. Read more

2019: MHA hosted it’s first Walter Hall lecture named after our founder Rev Walter Hall. The annual lectures are designed to focus attention on the complex and pressing needs facing older people.

2019: Launch of the OneMHA strategy for 2019-2022 with the aim to bring or services together to further enhance the support we offer to older people in Britain.

2020: MHA response to Covid-19 and the launch of Digital Communities. As our community groups were no longer able to meet in-person, our activities went online to provide continuing support to people in their own homes.

2021: The launch of our first campaigning effort, #FixCareForAll The campaign called for adult social care to be a national priority in the Government’s coronavirus recovery programme.

2022: Launch of our Communi-tea party. Our national fundraising event bringing people tea-gether! MHA Pennystone Court won a National Dementia Award for Best Dementia Care Home in the UK – a great achievement for the team.

Launched our revised strategy for 2022-2025: The Road Ahead based on how we’re moving forward from the Covid-19 pandemic and to best position us to enable people to live later life well.