Home care in Henley, since 1968.
We’ve been arranging care for Henley families for as long as we’ve existed — hourly visits across the town and the surrounding villages, and live‑in care across the wider region.
Speak to us about Henley0118 334 7474Familiar territory, for the better part of sixty years.
Henley has been part of our patch since Dorothy Gardiner founded the agency in 1968. Reading and Henley are linked by river and road, and even in the early days families on this side of the Thames called us and we came. It hasn’t stopped being the case in the decades since.
The carers who cover Henley tend to live close by — in Henley itself, Shiplake, Sonning Common, or just over the river in Wargrave. Our team has been with us for an average of eight years.
What you get is a small, regular team rather than a different agency face each visit. The same recognisable carers, week after week, working from a care plan we’ve built with you and your family.
The town, the villages around it, and across three counties.
Henley sits near the meeting point of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire — and the RG9 postcode covers villages in all three. We cover most of it. If you’re unsure whether your road is in our area, give us a call.
- RG9 1Henley-on-Thames town centre, Market Place, Bell Street
- RG9 2Henley town — the residential streets around Reading Road and York Road
- RG9 3Shiplake, Lower Shiplake, Remenham, and the river valley south of the town
- RG9 4Binfield Heath, Harpsden, Rotherfield Greys
- RG9 5Peppard Common, Nettlebed, Stoke Row, Nuffield, Kingwood
Streets and villages we know well
Henley itself is two distinct parts for our purposes — the town centre around Market Place and Bell Street, where flats and townhouses sit above the shops, and the residential streets stretching south toward Reading Road and west up the hill toward Greys Road. Different layouts, different access, different practicalities. Our care managers know both well.
South of the town, we cover Shiplake and Lower Shiplake along the river. Across Henley Bridge, Remenham sits in Berkshire but practically belongs to Henley; we cover it the same way. To the west, the villages climbing into the Chilterns — Binfield Heath, Harpsden, Rotherfield Greys, Peppard, Sonning Common — are familiar territory.
Further out, toward Nettlebed and Stoke Row, we’re typically in live‑in care territory rather than hourly: the geography starts working against multiple short visits a day.
Hospital catchment
Outpatient services run from Townlands Memorial Hospital in Henley itself; acute admissions go to the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading. We can usually arrange same‑day or next‑day starts for hospital discharges.
Funding routes
We work primarily with privately‑funded clients. We’re not a contracted provider to South Oxfordshire or its neighbouring councils, but if you’ve been assessed for council-funded care you can use a direct payment towards our fees. Our rates sit above the standard council allowance, so a top‑up from private funds is usually needed.
Same-team continuity
Every Henley client has a small, regular team — usually two or three carers — rather than a different agency face each visit. Cover comes from within that team where possible.
Two main ways to bring care home.
We’re a CQC‑regulated provider for both hourly and live‑in care. For Henley families, particularly those in the Chiltern villages, live‑in care is often a better fit than running carers in and out several times a day.
From a few visits a week to several a day. Minimum visit one hour — long enough to do the job properly. Specialist support for dementia, Parkinson’s, post‑operative recovery and end‑of‑life care.
About hourly careA trained carer living with you, around the clock. Often the right answer for the larger Henley homes and the more rural villages, where multiple short visits are impractical — and an alternative to a care home that lets a loved one stay where they belong.
About live‑in careClear pricing, no surprises.
Our rates are the same across our whole catchment — Henley included. No hidden travel charges, no postcode loading, no setup fees.
Hourly visits
Live‑in care
What people ask us about local care.
Where are your Henley carers based?
Most live close to the homes they visit — in Henley itself, Shiplake, Sonning Common, Wargrave, or just over the river in Berkshire. Local carers mean shorter travel, more reliable visits, and the kind of familiarity that matters in a long‑term care relationship.
Every carer is directly employed by Gardiner’s — not on a zero‑hours contract. Our team has been with us for an average of eight years.
Do you cover Shiplake, Sonning Common, Wargrave and the surrounding villages?
Yes — all of them, on the same terms as Henley itself. We also cover Lower Shiplake, Binfield Heath, Harpsden, Rotherfield Greys, Peppard Common, and across the river to Remenham and Wargrave. For villages further into the Chilterns — Nettlebed, Stoke Row, Nuffield — we usually still reach you, though live‑in care can be a more practical fit out there.
How quickly can care start in Henley?
From your first call to a carer at the door, we typically need a minimum of 48 hours. We’ll come to your home for a free assessment, agree a care plan, and introduce you to the small team who’ll be visiting.
We usually operate with a waiting list, we will let you know how long the wait may be when we do the assessment. If the situation is urgent — a sudden hospital discharge from Townlands or the Royal Berkshire, for example — we’ll do everything we can to start sooner.
Can I use a South Oxfordshire direct payment towards your fees?
Yes. We’re not on South Oxfordshire’s contracted provider list, but if you’ve been assessed as eligible for council-funded care and choose to take it as a direct payment, you can put that payment towards our fees. The same applies to neighbouring councils for the parts of RG9 that fall in Berkshire or Buckinghamshire.
One thing to be aware of: our rates sit above the standard hourly allowance most councils pay, so direct payments usually need to be supplemented with a private top‑up to cover the difference. We can talk you through the numbers honestly — including, where it makes sense, pointing you toward providers whose rates match the council allowance more closely.
Is live-in care a good option for Henley families?
Often, yes — particularly for the larger family homes around Henley and the more rural villages out toward Nettlebed and Stoke Row. Where running carers in and out several times a day becomes inefficient (and expensive once you account for everyone’s travel), a single live‑in carer who stays often works out better — both for the person being cared for and for the household budget.
Our live‑in catchment extends across Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Hampshire. More about live‑in care.
How long have you been working in Henley?
Since 1968 — the year Dorothy Gardiner founded the agency. Henley families have been calling us from the start, and we’ve been answering the phone the same way ever since.
A free assessment, at home.
The first conversation is on the phone — five or ten minutes, no script, just to understand what you’re navigating. If it sounds like a fit, we’ll come out to the home in Henley for a free assessment, usually within a few days.
The assessment is much more useful in the home where the care will actually happen. We’ll meet your loved one, look at the practicalities — medication, mobility, the layout of the house — and answer your questions. You’re under no obligation, and there’s no high‑pressure pitch.
A quick chat about care in Henley.
Five or ten minutes on the phone. No script, no pressure — just an honest conversation about what you're navigating and whether we can help.
Mon–Fri 7:30am–5pm · Out of hours, leave a message and we’ll call back.
