Friars Mead – Kings Langley
- Permanent Residential Care
- Respite Care
- Couples Care (double rooms)
Friars Mead is a 26-bed residential care home in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, run as part of the Abbeyfield England charity by the Abbeyfield Hertfordshire Residential Care Society. The home is rated Good by the Care Quality Commission, holds a 5-star Food Standards Agency rating, and an Excellent rating from the independent HCPA survey of Hertfordshire care providers.
Set across two floors with en-suite bedrooms throughout, Friars Mead also offers double rooms for couples — a less common option that allows partners to stay together. The home runs on a fully inclusive weekly fee, with meals, utilities, council tax, TV licence, internet, laundry, on-site staff and activities all bundled into a single price. The atmosphere is deliberately homely rather than institutional, with regular community links, an open-doors visiting policy, and even a resident home dog.
26 en-suite bedrooms across two floors, double rooms for couples, choice of communal lounges and quieter spaces, dining areas with garden views, safe and accessible gardens with seating, balcony space, reading area, reception, on-site hairdressing, trolley/mobile shop service, smart care system for family updates, nurse call system, alarm system, freshly prepared on-site meals, regular activities schedule, resident home dog.
Friars Mead sits on Rockcliffe Avenue in Kings Langley, a village in Hertfordshire just off the M25 between Watford and Hemel Hempstead. The home is spread across two floors and offers 26 en-suite bedrooms — including double rooms for couples — with most rooms and communal spaces looking out onto the gardens and green space. Residents are encouraged to bring their own furniture and personalise their rooms with familiar belongings. Inside, the home offers a choice of larger communal lounges for social gatherings and quieter spaces for residents who’d prefer somewhere calmer to sit or read. A balcony, reading area, on-site hairdressing, and a regular trolley shop form part of the day-to-day environment, alongside access to the safe, enclosed garden. Kings Langley railway station and the village itself are within walking distance.
Friars Mead is part of Abbeyfield England, a national care charity, and is managed locally by the Abbeyfield Hertfordshire Residential Care Society. Being charity-run shapes the home’s approach in two practical ways. First, pricing is structured around what the home actually costs to run rather than to generate a profit margin, with a fully inclusive weekly fee that covers meals, utilities, council tax, TV licence, internet, laundry, on-site staff, cleaning, garden maintenance, car parking and the activities programme. Second, the home prioritises a small, settled community of residents over scale. Care is person-centred and shaped around individual routines and preferences, with the team taking time to understand what matters most to each resident. Independent regulators have rated the home Good (CQC), 5 stars for food hygiene (Food Standards Agency), and Excellent in HCPA’s impartial Hertfordshire-wide care provider survey.
Daily life at Friars Mead is built around the things that make a place feel like home rather than a facility. Meals are freshly prepared on site, with choices offered at each sitting, dietary needs supported, and snacks and refreshments available between meals. The home runs a regular programme of social, creative and wellbeing activities shaped around what residents are actually interested in. A trolley shop visits residents in the home, on-site hairdressing keeps routine appointments simple, and the safe garden gives residents space to be outside. Family connection is taken seriously: doors are open for visits, and Friars Mead operates a smart care system that lets families stay informed about daily care and activities — useful for relatives who don’t live locally. The home even has a resident dog.
Friars Mead currently has rooms available and welcomes enquiries from families exploring residential or respite care in Kings Langley and the wider Hertfordshire area. Call 01923 270 304, email or visit the Abbeyfield website to find out more.
Friars Mead operates a fully inclusive weekly fee. The price covers meals, utilities (gas, water, electric), council tax, TV licence, internet, laundry services, cleaning, garden maintenance, car parking, on-site staff, the nurse call system, and the home’s activities programme. Care fees vary by assessed dependency level, with a separate weekly rate for respite stays.
Yes — respite stays are available at £1,645.50 per week, with full access to 24-hour support, home-cooked meals, and the communal areas and garden. Respite can be a useful option for recovery after illness, a planned break for family carers, or a short stay to help someone decide whether longer-term life at Friars Mead is right for them.
Yes — Friars Mead has double rooms specifically designed for couples who want to stay together. This is a less common feature in residential care and one of the home’s standout offers for families where both partners need support.