In 1871 the Aged Pilgrims' Friend Society opened its second Asylum in Hornsey Rise. The first Asylum in Camberwell accommodated those capable of independent living, but the second one was intended for the elderly poor who were frailer and needed more care.

The Asylum, on the corner of Hazellville Road and St John's Road, occupied a large piece of land adjacent to the recently built St Mary's Islington workhouse. It had cost £9,345 to build and Mr John Box, an Honorary Secretary of the Society, had bequeathed £12,000 towards the cost of the project.

The buildings consisted of a central block and two wings, all two storeys high, surrounding three sides of a quadrangle. They housed 80 inmates, each of whom had one room and a scullery. There were rooms each for the Warden and the Matron, as well as committee rooms and a laundry. In the centre of the north block was a beautiful chapel.

The central enclosure, because of the steepness of the land, consisted of two or three grassy slopes and terraces, connected to each other by flights of steps.

The almspeople were poor elderly Christians over the age of 60 years, of either sex and of every Protestant denomination. Each received a sufficient supply of coal and other comforts, and medical attendance when ill.

In 1876 the two wings were extended to provide an additional 40 places. A large hall was built on the previously empty south side, in which lectures and festive gatherings took place. The hall was connected to the wings by covered pathways.

By 1881 the cost of maintaining the buildings and gardens was £300 a year.

The Asylum closed in 1973.

Current status