This book, now in paperback, revisits Peter Townsend's classic study of residential care for older people in Britain conducted in the late 1950s. It provides not only a fascinating account of residential care for older people over the last 50 years but is also an important contribution to the literature on research methods.

JULIA JOHNSON is a Visiting Senior Research Fellowat the Faculty of Health and Social Care at The Open University, UK. She has published widely on the topics related to ageing and later life andwas review editor of the journal Ageing& Society. Her most recent book isUnderstanding Health and Social Care (edited with Corinne DeSouza).
SHEENA ROLPH is Visiting Senior Research Fellow at The Open University, UK. She has published widely in the social history of learning disability and the history of residential care for older people. Her background is in art history and her research interests include the history of visual images relating to her specialist fields.
RANDALL SMITH is Professor of Social Gerontology in the School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, UK. He has co-authored books on community care and the development of policies for older people. Between 2003 and 2009, he was a member of the Executive Committee of the British Society of Gerontology and is a Trustee of Age Concern Bristol.

In Memoriam Acknowledgements PART I: THE CONTEXT Why Revisit 'The Last Refuge'? Changing Contexts of Care The Study Design and Methods PART II: REVISITING 'THE LAST REFUGE' Survivors and Non-survivors Residents and Staff The Living Environment Daily Lives The Quality of Care PART III: CONCLUSIONS Revisiting and Reuse Continuity and Change in Residential Care for Older People Appendixes Notes References Index