GANNICOX HOUSE is one of the historic buildings in Stroud. It started off as a modest weaver's cottage, built around 1650. With the arrival of mechanised textile manufacturing Gannicox was built into the present substantial mansion around 1750, incorporating the old cottage. It was built as the home of the entrepreneur who owned the textile mill to the South of Gannicox's grounds; today this mill - now Millikan Textiles - produces the world's top class tennis balls and pool table cloth.
Gannicox changed hands and purpose many times over the centuries. Between 1950 and 1980 it was a nursing home, incorporated one of the first anthroposophical medical NHS practices in the country. Following the closure of the home, the practice - now named St. Luke's Medical Centre - added a range of complementary anthroposophical therapies.
Some 10 years ago the Medical Centre moved next door into its new purpose-build premises and Gannicox developed into the current Camphill life-sharing community. The house with its outbuildings also incorporates the Sunlands Waldorf Kindergarten.
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Gannicox House is currently undergoing a major renovation and refurbishment project, enabled through a generous legacy.
The Gannicox estate included a set of stable blocks which were removed in the mid-1980s. In their place Whittington House was built by a housing association providing accommodation and services for some 10 elderly people. St. Luke's Trust has recently bought Whittington House and is in the process of converting the house into self-contained flats. It will then become the home for a number of retired elderly people who appreciate the rich community context that has developed here over the years.