The name Friars Mead was adopted in March 1998 it being named after the Priory built by the Black Friars on Langley Hill in the 13th Century.

It is of interest to note that the tomb of Edmund de Langley, the brother of the Black Prince is situated in the Parish Church which is quite close to Friars Mead.

The origins of Friars Mead

The Society was the brain child of Leslie Rice, County Secretary for Hertfordshire, supported by Geoffrey Trevellyan, Chairman of the North Thames Region of The Abbeyfield Society.

Leslie, in his many visits to Abbeyfield houses throughout the County, had become aware of the need for somewhere for Abbeyfield residents to move to when they became too frail for conventional Abbeyfield houses.

Choosing Kings Langley

By December 1984 the site in Kings Langley had been identified.

An agreement in principle was reached with the newly formed Abbeyfield Kings Langley Society that they would have a sheltered house adjacent to our proposed Residential Care Home.

Friars Mead opens

In February 1989 building work commenced, and the Foundation Stone was laid by the Honourable David Bowes Lyon, Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire on the 6th September 1989.

The House was formally opened on the 8th April 1992 by Sir Colin Cowdrey, the well known cricketer.