Our history

A brief history of Bristol After Stroke

We were founded in 1975 by Professor Richard Langton-Hewer, a Consultant Neurologist at Frenchay Hospital and the first support group was set up there. Then, as now, it was recognised that a stroke can have very serious long-term effects both physically and emotionally. The people behind the new group believed that timely and mutual support, together with expert counselling and advice, could play a big part in the recovery process – enabling those who had experienced a stroke to adjust to their circumstances and improve their quality of life. We become a registered charity in 1983, and in 2018 we celebrated 35 years as a Registered Charity, we also changed our name from Bristol Area Stroke Foundation to Bristol After Stroke.

The success of that first group quickly led to more being set up, extending our reach to other parts of our area. We have developed and added new services to tackle some of the specific problems which people face.

We now support around 850 people each year with our peer support groups, stroke cafes, short courses, and counselling.