From 1946 to today

Chaseley’s first medical consultant, Dr. Ludwig Guttmann, went far beyond the walls of this home. His ideas gave rise to the National Spinal Injuries Unit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, and ultimately to the Paralympic Games — a global movement born from the conviction that people with disabilities deserve the chance to excel, not simply to survive. That conviction has never left Chaseley.

People, not profit

Set in a historic house overlooking the Eastbourne seafront, we are one of only a small number of charity-owned care homes in the UK dedicated solely to neurological disability. As a registered charity, every decision we make is guided by our residents’ interests — not commercial pressure.

People, not conditions

Our residents are aged between 24 and 90, drawn from across the UK by Chaseley’s experience and reputation. A jockey injured at work. A football fan hurt on a family day out to see a match. A musician living with advanced MS. A young business owner whose life changed in an instant after a road traffic collision. These are not conditions we care for; they are people we support.

Care here is personal and practical. Skilled nursing sits alongside rehabilitation, therapy, and the everyday routines that help people keep control, confidence, and connection. We also extend our specialist neuro-physiotherapy services to people from the wider community — because our charitable purpose reaches beyond these walls.

Community at the heart

Volunteers are woven into the fabric of life at Chaseley — helping with activities, sharing conversation, or simply sitting together watching the sea. As a charity, we rely on the generosity of people who believe that care should feel like community.

Nearly 80 years on, our ethos is unchanged: care rooted in respect, individuality, and humanity. If you’d like to learn more about our work — or get involved — we’d be very pleased to hear from you.

For fundraising ideas, donations or volunteering, please email fundraising@chaseleytrust.org

“Some of the chaps at Chaseley were reputed to have been fighter pilots. The invalid carriages of that era were powered by petrol engines and they somehow tuned them up to go faster than was allowed. I remember seeing them hurtling three-abreast on the seafront heading down towards the Wish Tower from the bottom of Bolsover Road with blue smoke coming from the exhausts.”

Michel Ockenden, long-term Meads resident

Two of our original “Chaseley Boys” celebrating.