Photographs of the of Penylan House, Cardiff, 1959/1987

Description

Two photographs of the exterior of Penylan House, the Jewish Home for the Elderly, in Cardiff. The photographs show different parts of the building, with one also featuring the lawn.

The photograph featuring the lawn looks very similar to the illustration of Penylan House which appears on an invitation to the Annual Garden Party in 1970, dating the photographs after this time. In the history of Penylan House there have been numerous construction projects, such as a new wing being built in 1965 (the 'Betty Silver Wing') and a major two-phase £4.64 million construction scheme to allow increase the Home's capacity to 73 beds.

Pencare (formerly known as 'The Trustees of Penylan House') is a charity, which offers care for elderly people of the Jewish faith and is currently based in Cardiff, although the catchment area for the home covers South Wales and the West of England. Pencare has been working with Linc Cymru to redevelop their care home, Penylan House, to ensure high quality care to Cardiff's elderly Jewish community and extending the care to elderly people not of the Jewish faith.

Mr Henry Silver and other members of the Cardiff Jewish community had originally founded a Home for the Aged in 1946 in Canton. In December 1948, the Home moved to Holme Towers in Penarth to provide more space for its large number of applications. Despite the beautiful surroundings, the Home in Penarth was quite isolated, so the difficult decision was later taken to move the Home to Penylan Road in Cardiff, meaning many residents were now closer to their friends and relatives. Residents moved to Penylan House in February 1959.

Sources:
Cajex, Magazine of the Association of Jewish Ex-service Men and Women (Cardiff), Vol. XV, No. 2, Fifteenth Year - June, 1965, pp. 18-22;
http://opencharities.org/charities/243968 http://www.housingcare.org/downloads/facilities/generated-brochures/134508-penylan-house-nursing-home-cardiff-wales.pdf;
Cajex, Magazine of the Association of Jewish Ex-service Men and Women (Cardiff), Vol. IX, No. 1, Ninth Year - March, 1959, pp. 60- 65.

Depository: Glamorgan Archives.