ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the historical development of sheltered housing, and traces it from the mediaeval almshouses to its twentieth century form. Sheltered housing, like many other forms of social provision in this country, has developed by evolution rather than precept. The year 1960 witnessed a record number of local authority sheltered housing units being built – a total of 4,515. By the start of 1970 the number of units of sheltered housing in England and Wales had risen to almost 100,000 – compared to 21,000 in 1960. Housing departments were encouraged to build accommodation for the elderly which contained three elements: accommodation for a warden, communal sitting rooms, and alarms linked to wardens’ accommodation. There are two substantial areas, related to development, on which the Oxford survey supplies valuable information. The first concerns the number of purpose-built as opposed to converted schemes. The second concerns the geographical distribution of sheltered-housing schemes.
