Cholsey Meadows has been developed around the Fairmile building, which was built by the benevolent Victorians in the 1860s as an mental asylum. There are many very similar buildings of the same kind all over the country, and many have been converted into apartments for modern use.  

The community in those days was self sufficient, with its own kitchen gardens and allotments and the Victorians set down over 150 specimen trees in the grounds, most of which are now protected.  The 100 acre grounds reach down towards the river and the Lime Walk takes walkers down to the river bank, near to where the ferry provided a crossing for both pedestrians and horses and carts. The village of Cholsey was home to many of the people who helped to run the asylum, and to this day the links between this community and the village are strong ones.