Our history

Catherine Gurney, our founder

We owe a lot to our remarkable founder, Catherine Gurney OBE, and her life-long devotion to the Police Service and their families.

Catherine was born in 1848 to an intellectual family with a strong sense of duty and philanthropy. Her grandfather William was a member of the British anti-slavery movement, while her father Joseph, a shorthand writer to the Houses of Parliament and the Old Bailey, encouraged his family in high intellectual pursuits and Christian principles. Thanks to this, although the Women’s Movement was only in its infancy, Catherine came into contact with distinguished men and women from all over the world who challenged the social conventions of the Victorian age.

As a young woman, Catherine’s interest in the Police Force was inspired by her Bible Class for Men, which she held in Wandsworth. On dark, lonely walks back home after the meetings, she became very grateful for the protection of policemen on the beat. It’s also said that, on one of these walks, an officer asked her, ‘Do you think a policeman has a soul?’ – and that this was another catalyst for her mission. Whatever the truth of this, it’s certain that she longed to do something for police officers who had to endure so much.

After her father’s death in 1879, Catherine and her mother moved to Notting Hill and started Bible classes for police officers in their home. Then, in 1883, Catherine officially founded the (International) Christian Police Association. The Association had a monthly magazine, bible reading, garden parties, parade services and concerts – all with her keen involvement.

In 1887, Catherine decided to mark Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee with an ambitious project: an orphanage for the children of provincial police officers. Plans advanced after her mother’s death in 1889. Eventually, on 17 March 1890, the Southern Police Orphanage and Seaside Home opened at 51 Clarendon Villas, Hove – the direct ancestor of Flint House as we know it today.

In 1891, the Orphanage split off from the convalescent home, moving to West Brighton. Plans for a new, bigger convalescent home also commenced and this was officially opened in 1893.

Catherine’s tireless efforts also extended to temperance advocacy within the police force, as well as the Northern Police Orphanage, the Northern Convalescent Home and worldwide branches of the Association, among many other extraordinary achievements.

In recognition of her inspirational contributions to the Police Force, and also her unstinting efforts to support wounded soldiers in World War I, she was awarded the OBE in the 1919 New Year’s Honours. She died in 1930 and is buried in Harlow Hill Cemetery, Harrogate.  Near our sister organisation the Police Treatment Centre, which she also founded.

If you’d like to find out more about Catherine’s extraordinary life and works, do take a look at our History Wall at Flint House.

You can also read an excerpt here from Flint House Chaplain Don Axcell’s book about Catherine Gurney, or read his own works: “Where Duty Calls” on the history of faith in policing (ISBN 978-0-9935964-0-7 on Amazon). A police officer for 30 years, Don is in attendance at Flint House every Wednesday, to offer pastoral support to those of all faiths or no faith.

The Charity’s history

Police welfare was always at the heart of philanthropist Catherine Gurney’s work. So, when Queen Victoria celebrated her Golden Jubilee in 1887, Catherine saw her opportunity to mark the occasion.

Having already a keen interest in the Metropolitan and City Police orphanage, Catherine was concerned there was nothing similar for the provincial police forces. She therefore commissioned a report on a possible new venture.

After her mother, Harriet’s, death in 1889. Catherine threw herself into her efforts to start a Southern Police Orphanage and Convalescent Home entirely for police officers. This was opened at 51 Clarendon Villas in West Brighton (now Hove) on 17 March 1890. Officers who came to stay were charged eight shillings a week.

However, in July 1891, due to demands on bed space, this became a purely convalescent home. The orphanage split off and moved to 11 Goldstone Villas. Just over a year later, a purpose-built new home, the new Police Seaside Home on Portland Road, was officially founded on 29 October 1892 by the laying of a memorial stone by Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, one of Queen Victoria’s daughters.

The new convalescent home was finally opened on 21 July 1893 by its patroness the Countess of Chichester, already housing 32 occupants (with space for 52). Nearly £9,500 had been raised towards this by public subscription and some 600 police officers and their wives attended the opening.

During the First World War, the Police Seaside Home was used to care for returning service personnel. It was also enlarged four times in the over seven decades after its inception, before eventually moving to the seafront at Kingsway, Hove. This new property was officially opened as the Convalescent Police Seaside Home by HRH Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in November 1966.

By the 1980s, as patient numbers continued to grow, it became clear that a new home with improved facilities (including rehabilitation) and greater capacity was essential. And this is when we moved to our current home in Goring-on-Thames: Flint House. Flint House and its land were purchased in 1985. Work began to transform it, with the new Police Rehabilitation Centre opening on 2 June 1988.

Since then, Flint House has continued its evolution. Thanks to your donations, we can support retired and serving officers to lead healthy lives, build resilient careers and enjoy their retirement, our vision is to continue to strive “to deliver world-class preventative and rehabilitative care with state of the art facilities, in peaceful grounds, with an expert team”.