1828-1978

..
A SHORT HISTORY
OF
THE STAMFORD
AND RUTLAND HOSPITAL
The Friends of the Stamford Hospitals
(Affiliated to the National Association of Leagues of Hospital Friends)
Patrons:
The Most Hon. The Marquess of Exeter, K.C.M.G.
The Right Hon. The Earl of Ancaster, K.C.V.0.
This book has been published to celebrate the
150th Anniversary of our Hospital. It has been
compiled by Dr Alan Rogers and John Quinlan
of the Stamford Survey Group.
The original suggestion came from Dr Leslie Holt,
who has assisted them. Valuable help with the
early history of the hospital has been given by
David Curnyn.
To all concerned we offer our grateful thanks.
THE STAMFORD AND RUTLAND HOSPITAL
We live in an age where the State plays the role of a benevolent parent
caring for our sick, with free hospitalisation, cheap medicine, expert
nursing and surgical skills available to all its members. The grisly
spectre of the poor, begging for alms in order to keep body and soul
together, with nothing but rags and tattered clothing to protect them
from the inclement weather, has almost disappeared from our streets,
and we are no longer obliged to make provision for the rainy day
when it might be necessary for us to pay to receive even elementary
medical attention. Our children are born under ideal conditions in our
modern well equipped hospitals, to mothers who have received every
care and expert treatment in our pre-natal clinics. The older members
of our community, can enter the twilight of their lives, secure in the
knowledge that there will al ys be a social service to administer
to their needs when they are no longer able to cope with the everyday
chores of old age. It has not always been so; these changes did not
take place overnight, but came about gradually, the result of long years
of unstinted devotion, foresight and effort in the past on the part of
certain dedicated members of our community towards their fell ow men.
1
A SHORT HISTORY
A past not so long past, surprisingly, only one hundred and fifty years
ago. What a shining reward would be theirs if those visionaries could
but see the fruits of their tireless perseverance. Such a visionary was
Henry Fryer, a Stamfordian who died in 1823, leaving amongst others
a bequest for the building of an infirmary in Stamford.
Like so many other provincial towns of its size in the Middle Ages,
Stamford boasted a number of small hospitals, the largest of these,
Brownes Hospital was founded in 1475 by Letters Patent of Richard III.
They were established by the more prosperous members of the
community during their life times, and endowed by others after their
death, as permanent reminders of their importance in the community,
and possibly as a sop to their consciences to do something useful for
their fellow men, after they had passed on.
These hospitals were established primarily for the old and infirm, and
for the use of travellers and pilgrims who might be passing through the
town, in order that they would have somewhere to rest their weary
limbs and spend the night. It is very probable that these and the various
monastic establishments in the town would have been involved to
some extent in the welfare of the townspeople by providing succour to
the needy and comfort to the sick.
With the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539, Stamford was left
without any form of communal medicine and would have been at the
mercy of the various apothecaries and surgeons who practised their
doubtful forms of healing in many parts of the town. The occasional
arrival of fairs visiting Stamford brought in their wake the usual quota
of faith healers, and numerous dentists and quack doctors. Dentists
as we know them t ay were of course unknown and the task of
drawing teeth was often left to the skill of the local blacksmith.
On his death, Henry Fryer's estate amounted to nearly 21,000, and
as he had never married, this money was distributed by his will between
his many close friends, and twenty worthy Institutions, including the
Clergy of Lincoln and Peterborough, the Bluecoat and Stamford
2
THE STAMFORD AND RUTLAND HOSP IT AL
Schools, Churches, Sunday Schools, the Christian Knowledge Society
and a large sum was given for the founding of Fryer's Hospital on the
Kettering Road. Like his father he had been a surgeon and had
practised his skill in the town, living in a small house rented from
Lord Exeter at 8/5d a week. His needs were simple and were catered
for by his housekeeper Anne Smith and his manservant George
Rawlinson, both of whom were remembered in his Will.
The residue of Fryer's estate amounted to 7 ,477 after taking account
of his specific bequests and was to be used to build a General Infirmary
in Stamford, provided it was built within five years of his death. If it
was not built within the specific time, the money was to go to several
alternative charities, including the Lincoln County Hospital,
Northampton General Hospital, Leicester Infirmary, Middlesex
Hospital and St. George's Hospital in London.
Two years after Fryer's death, a public meeting was held at the
town hall on 2nd July 1825 to consider the bequest and how it should be
implemented. The outcome of the meeting was a decision to build a
hospital sufficiently large enough to accommodate twenty in-patients.
At the same meeting a committee consisting of eighteen local worthies
was formed to make the necessary arrangements. A few weeks later
this number was increased to thirty-two with the Marquess of Exeter
as Chairman. The involvement of the Exeter family in the founding of
the infirmary and its subsequent development was substantial and it
seems possible, that were it not for the interest the family took the
infirmary's development might not have been so rapid. Successive
Marquesses were Chairmen of the hospital committee until 1948.
This new committee had ma!Q' tasks to face, one of the most
important of which was to r ~ s additional funds by means of
subscriptions and donations. Although the money left by Fryer was
sufficient to build an infirmary, money was still needed to meet its
running costs, and it is important to note that in its early days the
infirmary was a charitable institution as were the town's alms houses
and schools. All of these relied on the beneficence of the more
3
A SHORT HISTORY
well-to-do Stamfordians, many of whom would never derive any direct
benefit from their charitable impulses. That the town managed to
support so many charities at all speaks volumes for the outward piety
of upper class Victorians.
By July 1825 the committee was sufficiently organised to approach
five London architects with a request that they draw up plans for:
'A building to contain not less than 20 patients and be capable
of conveniently accommodating 32 if necessary.'
The building was to be constructed with local stone quarried at
Wittering or Barnack, all quoins, heads, sills and jambs to be of
Ketton stone. The foundations were to be of Stamford stone laid in
Stamford lime. It was rumoured at the time that the architects were
also given instructions to design the building in such a way that if the
charity failed it could easily be turned into a private house.
At this stage in the development of the new infirmary the committee
began to experience problems. There was dissatisfaction in certain
quarters and arguments raged over the size of the infirmary, the
number of beds and even whether it should accommodate both sexes.
In addition to this there were problems with the architects. Of the
five architects approached to provide designs for the building, four
had responded in the usual professional manner. The fifth, Mr. George
Basevi, had been a friend of Henry Fryer and refused to compete
for the project, claiming that Fryer had promised him complete charge
of all buildings financed by him under the terms of his Will. This
view was upheld by the executors of the Will who informed the
committee that it would be wrong not to accept this claim. The
committee however ismissed his claim, and Basevi took no further
part in the project but went on to design Fryer's Hospital in 1832,
and designs by him were also used for the re-building of Truesdale's
Hospital in the same year.
The four remaining architects submitted plans of varying design and
cost.
4
THE STAMFORD AND RUTLAND HOSPITAL
J.P. Gandy
H. E. Kendal
L. Valliamy
J. Ireland
A Gothic design costing 4,000
A Norman design costing 4,800
A Gothic design costing 4,500
A Grecian design costing 4,580
Of these, the designs submitted by Gandy and Ireland were short
listed, and after much debate by the Committee Gandy's design was
finally adopted by twenty votes to nine.
In September 1825 it had been decided by the Committee that the
most suitable site for the infirmary was the triangle of land between
the Ryhall and Uffington roads. About two and half acres of this
land was subsequently purchased from the Marquess of Exeter at a
price estimated to be well below its market value.
The occupation of this site has traditionally been attributed to the
house of the Carmelites or White Friars of Stamford, but from the
available evidence it seems almost certain that it was in fact occupied by
the Grey Friars (Franciscans) until the dissolution of the monasteries.
All that remains today is the 14th Century Gateway which was the
original entrance to the Friary. It must have presented a much more
ornate appearance when three niches with their pinnacled canopies
were occupied by the figures of its benefactors. There are three shields,
of Norman shape, very weather-beaten, two of which bear the figures
of the lions or leopards of England and the Fleur de Lys of France,
but the third is wholly defaced.
According to Francis Peck, the most important historian of Stamford
who was writing in the 18th Century, the Church of the monastery
was especially beautiful, having a spire similar to that of All Saints
Church in Stamford.
In addition to the usual beggars and homeless seeking alms and
shelter, many interesting and important personages entered these gates.
It is thought that Cardinal Wolsey sheltered in the monastery for
one night on his journey to York whence he had been banished by
Henry VIII.
5
A SHORT HISTORY
After the dissolution, the property passed through the hands of
Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, when the main buildings were
demolished, and then to Thomas Cleghorn, who sold it to
Sir William Cecil of Burghley in 1561. It is interesting to note that on
5th August 1565 William Cecil recorded in his diary that Queen
Elizabeth ''was entertained at my house, the Grey Friary, because my
daughter Ann was suddenly seized with the smallpox at Burghley".
The actual construction of the new Infirmary was undertaken by a
Mr. Crowe of Peterborough, and by the middle of 1826 his firm had
begun work on the foundations. During the excavations of the cellars,
a reminder of the site's former occupants was found in the form of
thirty human skulls. These were found at between three and four
feet below the surface and some two feet apart with the crowns
pointing to the west. The ground on which the foundations were dug
was the site on which the former monastic church had stood.
Funds continued to come in for the building of the hospital, as work
progressed; these were being raised mainly by the efforts of townspeople
in organising various charities and balls, fetes and markets in aid of
the institution. The most ambitious venture was that put forward by
Mr. Richard Sharpe of St. George's Square, who suggested to the
committee that a ball and concert patronised by the Marquess of Exeter
and the Earl of Winchelsea and Nottingham, from neighbouring
Burley on the Hill, would be sure to draw crowds and swell the funds.
It was decided to hold such a function at the Assembly Rooms in
Stamford, and preparations went ahead. No expense appeared to
have been spared in obtaining the best available talent for the occasion.
A thirty-six piece hilharmonic Orchestra was hired, supported by
famous Italian Op a stars such as Tignosina Fortunata, Malanimi
and Angasapio, which attracted a large fashionable crowd from far
and near to hear their rendering of songs and arias from Rossini,
Bishop and Crouch, and the music of Mozart, Weber and Beethoven.
Unfortunately the cost of engaging all this talent ate into the profits,
with the net result that only 17 was raised at the end of the day. The
6
THE STAMFORD AND RUTLAND HOSPITAL
event was fully reported in the Stamford Mercury, but Stamfordians
were not impressed by this lavish expenditure which netted so small
a return.
The whole process of raising money was to be a continuous one, and
formed a permanent part of the committee's activities. In the ensuing
years many similar bazaars and functions were held for this purpose.
The main-stay of the hospital was however, private individuals who
undertook to make annual subscriptions to the charity. In the first
year of the Infirmary's existence, there were some 262 subscribers in
the Stamford area.
The subscribers to the Infirmary met on 26th April 1828 for the first
time in a General Meeting, with the Marquess of Exeter taking the
chair, to adopt rules for the future working of the Infirmary. This
meeting was adjourned until July of that year, and on that occasion
the first consulting medical staff were appointed, two physicians and a
consulting surgeon.
The two physicians appointed were Dr. Graham Arnold and Dr.
William Hopkinson, both from the Edinburgh Medical School and the
Surgeon Mr. Benjamin Cooper. The Matron was a middle-aged lady
by the name of Suzannah Clarke, her only qualifications being that
she had been a housekeeper to many well-known families around the
Stamford area. She does not appear to have had any nursing
qualifications. The first porter was a man by the name of John
Worsdale, who despite indifferent references from the Marquess of
Exeter, his former employer, was elected to the post by 15 votes to 4.
The clergymen living in and around Stamford offered their names as
being willing to help in giving 'firitual guidance and in reading prayers
to the in-patients, and a rota for such duties was drawn up. It was
recorded in the minutes of this meeting that the sum expended on
the erection of the building had been 5,793 12s. ld. Further amounts,
however, were needed for providing certain internal fittings and for
the furnishing of the wards.
7
A SHORT HISTORY
In March 1828 a bazaar was held in Stamford in aid of the funds of the
Infirmary, and a substantial amount of 1,768 was raised. The building
was opened for the reception of the first patients on 5th August 1828,
and 12 in-patients appear to have been admitted. The records show
that the Hospital building could accommodate up to 20 patients - 10
men and 10 women - and also show in some detail the actual ground
and first floor plans which include the surgery, consulting room,
Matron's room, Surgeon's room, and also a wash house, a mortuary,
a laundry and strangely enough a brew-house. The provision of a
brew-house is most interesting and appears to be one of the more
important rooms in the Hospital, especially when it is realised that
expenditure on drugs for the year 1829 was somewhere in the region
of 45, whereas expenditure on hops, beer, spirits and wines was in
excess of 40; the reason for its existence was to cater for the daily
allowance of one and a half pints of beer to each patient.
Like all other Institutions, certain rules and orders had to be laid down
governing the running of the Stamford and Rutland Infirmary, and
some of the more interesting ones follow. Administration was to be
through a committee consisting of the President, Vice-President and
Governors; the first President was the Most Noble, the Marquess of
Exeter, K.G., Lord Lieutenant of the Country of Rutland. The
Vice-Presidents were usually made up of the High Sheriff of the County
and representatives of Parliament for the County, and also the Borough
of Stamford Councillors. The Governors were made up of those
persons who were willing to donate twenty guineas at any one time to
the Hospital. Such a donation made that person a Governor for life.
There was a genera meeting of all Governors twice a year, and also a
weekly Board Me ing consisting of three Governors held every
Tuesday at 11 a.m. to regulate all matters relating to the administration
and discharge of patients. One of these Governors, who resided in or
near Stamford, was appointed at every weekly Board to visit the
Infirmary for the week ensuing, as often as may be convenient to him,
in order to enquire into the conduct of the patients and servants, and
8
THE STAMFORD AND RUTLAND HOSPITAL
to enforce the observance of morality and attention to the rules and
orders of the Infirmary. Rules governing employees were quite often
harsh. For instance, no one was allowed to be an employee of the
Hospital if they had children and the care of a family, and when first
elected or hired they were not allowed to be above the age of 50;
when proposed as candidates they had to produce certificates of age.
Any nurse or person found guilty of taking any sort of fee or gratuity
from a patient or tradesman was instantly dismissed. Although
treatment was free, the method of gaining admission as a patient to
the Hospital was not easy. One either had to know a subscriber or be a
subscriber oneself. The rules stated that donors of 10 guineas would be
entitled to recommend one out-patient annually, whereas donors of
20 guineas or subscribers of one guinea yearly would be entitled to
recommend two out-patients annually. The more money that one
donated, the more out-patients and in-patients one was entitled to
recommend.
Patients were usually admitted and discharged every Tuesday at the
weekly Board Meeting of Governors between the hours of 11 a.m. and
1 p.m. No horse or cart bringing a patient to the Infirmary was
allowed to leave until it was known whether the patient could be
admitted or not. No children under the age of 8, except in cases where
an operation was to be performed, and no pregnant women were
to be admitted as in-patients, neither were any persons disordered in
their senses, subject to fits, or those having small-pox, itch or venereal
disease, consumption or an incurable state of dropsy.
In 1832 there appeared to have been an epidemic of cholera in
Stamford, and no one suff ng from this complaint was allowed
anywhere near the Hospital. o patient would be admitted to the
Infirmary unless he presented himself in decent clothing - and also
with a proper change of linen.
Another rule was that any in-patient or out-patient who did not derive
any benefit from treatment within two months should be discharged;
9
A SHORT HISTORY
those patients who were discharged cured were expected to join the
Chairman of the weekly Board of Governors in prayer to give thanks
to Almighty God for their deliverance.
The staff of the Hospital was a fairly small one and consisted of a
consultant physician and two surgeons. Later on because of economies
one surgeon was dispensed with.
The physician and surgeon usually made their rounds every Tuesday
morning at 10 a.m. and this was the only time they visited the wards.
In between times they attended to their practices in Stamford and also
performed operations at the hospital. The next member of the Hospital
staff, Edward Brown, was fulltime, and he was known as the House
Apothecary-cum-Secretary, as these two offices were combined. The
salary of the House Apothecary was 60 per annum with board and
lodging, and he was allowed 20 yearly for his services as the
Secretary. His duty as House Apothecary was to draw up a weekly
account of the in-patients and affix a ticket on each patient's bed
showing his name and the name of the physician or the surgeon
attending. He made a bed count at the end of each week and visited
the wards twice a day at 9.30 in the morning and 6 in the evening,
and was prepared each time to report the state of the patients to the
respective physician or surgeon. His duties as Secretary were to attend
every meeting and minute and register all proceedings, and always be
ready to produce the books and the accounts of the Infirmary, neatly
written. He had to keep a register and enter all the names of the
in-patients and the out-patients, the Parish to which they belonged,
their age, date of admission and discharge, and the state of their health.
His duties involv him in the purchase of medical instruments and
drugs. In d d i ~ i o n e also acted as storeman, receptionist, and public
relations officer. He had to notify the clergyman every fortnight as to
whose turn it was to read the prayers, and send regular accounts to the
Stamford newspapers with the weekly bed state. An inventory of all
household goods, including furniture belonging to the Infirmary,
had to be maintained, with a copy to the Matron. He had to keep an
10
THE STAMFORD AND RUTLAND HOSPITAL
alphabetical list of benefactors and subscribers showing the amount of
their subscriptions, and when they had been paid; he also acted as
Treasurer and had to keep a fair cash book in which all the sums
received or paid by him were entered and the books balanced at every
General Meeting.
He is commemorated by a Memorial Stone inset into the west wall of
All Saints Church Stamford, which reads:
Sacred to the Memory of
EDWARD BROWN
The first House Surgeon and Apothecary to the
Stamford and Rutland Infirmary the laborious duties of which
appointment he discharged for a period of nine years with
indefatigable zeal and assiduity. His talents and professional
attainments were of a superior order and he devoted them
unsparingly to the welfare of those committed to his charge.
He died January 3 A.D. 1838 aged 37 years. In the blessed
hope of everlasting life through the merits of his Saviour
Jesus Christ.
The Matron of the Hospital received 25 p.a. in addition to board and
lodging, when the hospital first opened. This sum was later increased
to 30 p.a. during the early 1840's. Her main jobs, in order of priority,
were that she had to take care of all the household goods and
furniture, and be prepared to give an account whenever required to the
Weekly Board of Governors; she also had to keep a daily account
of all the provisions and other necessaries brought into the Infirmary,
ready to lay before the Weekly Board, and was obliged to attend the
weighing and measuring of the goods. She was also responsible, of
course, for the well being of t patients and the nursing staff. She had
to maintain diet books and make sure that each patient received the
appropriate diet. Her responsibilities also extended to keeping all the
keys of the doors of the Hospital and seeing that each door was
locked and the keys brought to her by the porter at 9 o'clock in the
summer and 7 o'clock in the winter.
11
A SHORT HISTORY
The nurses employed, usually by the Matron, were really not nurses
at all because their main duties were to clean the wards by 7 o'clock
in the morning from 1st March to 1st October and by 8 o'clock in the
morning during the winter - October to March. The main rule in the
order book, 'No. 1 ', was that the 'nurses and servants shall obey the
Matron as the mistress and behave with kindness to the patients and
give attention to strangers'.
The porter also had a variety of jobs, he visited the wards usually
twice a day, strictly to regulate the conduct and duty of the patients
and servants. As well as obeying the orders of the physicians and
surgeons, the apothecary and the matron, he had to do the labouring
work of the house, and after he had finished that, if there was any time,
he had to keep the yard clean and attend to the garden. In those days,
of course, there was no such thing as an annual holiday. The staff of
the Hospital were allowed one day off per week and they were never
allowed to take more than one day in succession - this rule included
the surgeon and apothecary.
This account is but a bare outline of the beginnings of Stamford
Infirmary, and the surviving records go into much more interesting
detail. The medical and surgical cases which were received by the
Infirmary were fairly mixed and probably compare with the type of
patient one would see in a General Hospital today. For the year ending
1830, there were 5 cases of enteric fever, one of dysentery, one case of
scarlet fever, one case of cancer of the stomach, 10 cases of anaemia,
and one case of diabetes. It is difficult to say whether or not these
were extreme cases and had to be admitted to hospital because they
were terminal. There were also 11 cases of diseases of the nervous
system, 4 cases o heart disease, 8 cases of lung disease, 2 cases of
stomach ulcers, 1 case of liver disease, 1 case of parasitic disease and
2 cases of unknown causes, together with 12 cases of general debility.
1830 must have been a very violent year because there were 35
admissions for wounds to the person. These may of course have been
wounds obtained during work, but the records show that there were
12
THE STAMFORD AND RUTLAND HOSPITAL
4 suicidal injuries of the neck, 2 suicidal injuries of the chest,
1 fractured spine, 1 fractured pelvis and 5 injuries of "upper
extremity", wounds and contusions. 52 minor operations were
performed, the most difficult one appearing to be "removal of an
upper limb", which occurred once. The usual type of operation was for
removal of a tumour, cancer of the lip, tongue or face, nasal polyp,
cataract operations and amputations of the hand; as an anaesthetic,
nitrous oxide gas was given twice during this year, chloroform was
given 5 times and ether 40 times.
The main donations to the Hospital between 1829 and 1830 were 1,700
from the proceeds of a bazaar at Stamford, 1,400 from the Rutland
Yeomanry Fund, 300 from the Ness Yeomanry Troop, and many
other donations from churches, theatrical performances at Stamford,
and one of 7 from the Market Deeping Association for the Prosecution
of Felons.
Additions to the infirmary buildings have continued piecemeal almost
to the present day. In February 1842 the Governors decided to add to
the buildings and enlarge the kitchen at an estimated cost of 300.
Mr. Rowles of Stilton died in 1847 leaving a sum of 11,285 to the
Infirmary, and seven years later, in 1849, a Mrs. Hodson of Stamford
died and bequeathed 200 towards the cost of erecting a porter's
lodge. The lodge, which was to be built on to the original mediaeval
gateway, was designed by Mr. Clutton and built by Thompson and
Ruddle of Peterborough; it was erected in the same year at a cost of
367. The wash house and adjoining buildings were further enlarged
in 1852. In 1860 the Medical Officers of the Infirmary sent a report to
the Governors urging that hot and cold baths be provided for the
patients. The next year plans ~ r submitted by Mr. Browning for the
erection of bathrooms on either side of the main building, the
provision of a new surgery and matron's room and for increasing the
size of the middle wards. The cost of this work was estimated at 730.
Towards the middle of 1875 notice was given to the Committee that a
considerable amount of money had been bequeathed to the Infirmary
13
A SHORT HISTORY
by the late Mr. Arthur Clay, a surgeon and a member of a very old
Stamford family. He had died recently in Japan. There was some
confusion at the time because the actual will of Mr. Clay stated that
he was a trader in a place called Kobihiobo in Japan and that he had
made all his money out of tea; there is no mention of him being
medically qualified at all. The Hospital received 3,500 from
Mr. Clay's Will, but it was not easy to accept because the Chaplain
of the Day objected at one of the Committee meetings that there was a
rumour that Clay, although making his money out of tea, had used
an army of slave labour and, of course, the Church was not at all
happy about this. In the end Lord Exeter decided to ignore the
Chaplain and accepted the money on behalf of the Infirmary.
The year 1876 was an important one in the development of the
Infirmary. In April of that year it was decided that there should be an
extension to accommodate persons suffering from infectious diseases
other than small-pox. This major decision had been taken as a result
of the 1875 Public Health Act. Another far reaching decision was to
allow the Managing Committee to admit patients ''above the class of
those at present admitted", on condition that they paid for maintenance
and medical attendance according to their means.
In January 1877 the special committee which had been formed to
consider the new regulations concerning infectious diseases
recommended that the new accommodation should be erected to the
east of the existing buildings and in three separate blocks each capable
of accommodating ten patients. The land on which the new wards
were to be built belonged to the Marquess of Exeter and was valued at
540. The a r q u ~ s s gave the amount of the purchase money as a
donation to the rkw building. The three blocks were designed by
Mr. Browning at a cost of 7,025. The buildings were opened in 1879.
Following the original suggestion the three blocks were built to the
east of the Infirmary with a space of between forty and fifty yards
between each block. The blocks were each of two storeys with
accommodation for five patients on each floor.
14
THE STAMFORD AND RUTLAND HOSPITAL
The planning of any additions to the original Infirmary had been given
very little thought. The whole structure being more on the lines of a
private house than a hospital. It would perhaps be fairer to say that the
necessities of a hospital were not realised at that time. The comparison
of Stamford Infirmary with others of similar date would certainly
seem to suggest that architects of the day were content to use as their
model the plan of an ordinary residence, making the easy working of
the administration and the personal comfort of the permanent residents
matters of paramount importance. Accommodation for an increasing
number of patients (Stamford's population increased by 1,520 in the
first twenty years of the Infirmary's existence) came as an after-thought.
Composite buildings such as the Infirmary, were open to contamination,
not only from the patients but also from the kitchen odours and
ill-placed sanitary arrangements. With new buildings being added to the
original structure, the flow of air was gradually restricted until a
situation was reached where the wards became unhealthy and caused
additional medical problems. Such was the case at Stamford, and the
situation was only relieved when air ducts were placed in the wards.
It was further complicated by severe problems with sewerage. The
original sewerage system was badly designed and a more complete
system was installed. Unfortunately this system had no provision for
preventing the return of sewer odours into the building, the result of
which was to increase the amount of infection in the wards.
It is inevitable when tracing the history of an establishment such as the
Infirmary that one comes across people who had devoted many years
of their lives to the service of the institution. In this respect the service
accorded to the Infirmary by the Hisset family is of particular interest.
John Hisset, who came to ~ m f o r d from Kirby Underwood, was
appointed to the position of porter on January 10th, 1837. His wife
Abigail undertook the duties of laundress. During their time at the
Infirmary, their two children were born, John in 1839 and Sarah in
1843. Of John we know very little other than the fact that he became a
solicitor's clerk. Sarah on the other hand took up nursing and in 1869
15
A SHORT HISTORY
at the age of 26 was appointed matron of the Infirmary where she
had been born and where her father was still porter. She held this
position until her retirement in 1904.
At the Annual Meeting of the Governors in January 1885, it was stated
that the sum of 1,476 had been appropriated for extensive alterations
due to the poor ventilation in the wards. Dr. Newman, surgeon to the
Hospital, was not satisfied with the work, and the payment of the final
instalment to the builders was withheld until "every part of the work
was certified as satisfactory". The wisdom of this action by Dr.
Newman became abundantly apparent when, five years later, the
Recorder of Stamford said at the Quarter Sessions that "a serious
epidemic had reached this country from Europe but was now largely
on the wane, due to the excellent sanitary arrangements which had
been obtained during the last five years and placed the population in
such an advantageous position with regard to the epidemic".
During the later years of the century part of the Hospital's income
was raised by the Saturday House to House Collection Fund (376 in
1894), also by collections from the churches and chapels in the town
and surrounding villages (355 in 1895) as well as many gifts in kine!
such as flowers, fruit, vegetables, eggs and butter, especially at Harvest
Festival time. This led to the establishment of a custom that the second
or third Sunday in October should be called Hospital Sunday, on
which every church donated its collections to the Infirmary.
In 1899 the total income from all sources was 2,234 (2,290 in 1898)
and expenditure 2,654 (2,254) the latter being accounted for by the
increased cost of provisions from 677 to 821, servants' wages
including nurses f om 441 to 588, and dressings and drugs from
190 to 234. But greater number of infectious cases were treated,
57 against 40 in 1898, with an average stay in isolation of 54.3 days as
compared with 34.2 the previous year. The longer time required for
treatment was due to the increased number of cases of scarlet fever.
The cost of maintenance of the Isolation Blocks had been met almost
entirely from subsidies of 300 per annum from local Sanitary
16
1884
1935
THE STAMFORD AND RUTLAND HOSP IT AL
Authorities. In a report published earlier in the year, Mr. Paget, the
Medical Officer of Health for Northamptonshire County Council,
when discussing ''the measures which should be taken to prevent the
spread of infectious diseases" stated that, "of the fever wards at
Stamford Infirmary it is hardly possible to speak too highly. By a wise
and generous policy the authorities have been led to open these wards
to surrounding districts, which, thus fortunately placed, are excellently
provided for''.
On 3rd December 1903 Dr. William Newman died in the Stamford and
Rutland Infirmary. He was born in Sheffield on 29th August 1833,
the son of Robert Newman who was land agent to Earl Fitzwilliam at
Wentworth Woodhouse in Yorkshire. After qualifying in medicine at
St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London, he became an assistant to his
uncle, Dr. Freeman Eaton at An caster, and later for a short time
was in practice at Fulbeck in Lincolnshire, before moving to Stamford
in 1862 where he was appointed surgeon to the Infirmary. By this time
he had taken higher medical qualifications both as a physician and
surgeon with the degrees of M.D. and M.R.C.P. (London) and F.R.C.S.
(England). He had a large family practice in the town and villages
around, as well as conducting a consultant practice which gave him the
reputation of being one of the best known surgeons in the Midlands.
In 1863 he was offered the post of Assistant Physician at his old
hospital but he pref erred his country practice in Stamford, and
there for the next forty years, thirty as surgeon and ten as
consulting surgeon. Stamford Infirmary at that time had only thirty
beds, most of which were filled with his patients.
He was a man of many in erests, being a pioneer of sanitation and
matters concerning public ealth, and he was also one of the first
doctors to use X-rays for diagnostic purposes, at which he became an
acknowledged expert. A man of unswerving integrity and utter loyalty,
he was one of the great general practitioners of his time, a most
excellent physician, a skilful and accomplished surgeon, but above all a
practical man successful in curing his patients.
17
A SHORT HISTORY
He finally retired to a lovely cottage in the village of Luff enham,
but he was in failing health and gradually deteriorated until he could
no longer be nursed at home and died in the hospital he loved so well.
On 21st July 1912 a Grand Pageant was held on the Infirmary lawn to
represent and portray the visit to Stamford of Queen Elizabeth in
1565, when she dined at the Grey Friary as the guest of her Lord High
Treasurer, William Cecil. She stayed the night at the Friary because
serious illness prevalent at Burghley House prevented her from
visiting it.
The principals in the pageant were mounted on horseback and all
gaily costumed in accordance with the custom of the period. The
procession assembled in the George Hotel yard and made its way to the
Infirmary along streets lined by cheering crowds. On arrival, the
pageant was enacted and included dances performed by local children
to the accompaniment of a small orchestra directed by Mr. Malcolm
Sargent A.R.C.O. The occasion resulted in a sum of 304.7.5d being
donated towards the Infirmary funds.
The Part played by the Hospital in the Great War of 1914-18 was
primarily to provide beds for wounded soldiers returning from France
and Belgium, and yet at the same time to continue its services to the
town and villages. It was supplemented by the provision of convalescent
care at Burghley House, where the Marchioness of Exeter received the
first 14 Belgian soldiers in December 1914. At the same time Lady
Battie-Wrightson also opened her house at Wothorpe as a private
auxiliary hospital with ten beds.
The following year an '\l)idemic of diphtheria in the town severely
strained the medical resoftrces as well as draining the Town Council's
coffers. The latter had an arrangement with the Hospital that for an
annual retaining fee of 250 they could have the use of twenty beds in
the Isolation Block, but any beds exceeding that number would be a
the rate of six shillings per head per day. The epidemic cost the
Council 500, the equivalent of a 3d rate.
18
THE STAMFORD AND RUTLAND HOSPITAL
The work of rehabilitating the wounded continued, and it was
recorded at the Annual Meeting of Governors in January 1916 that
there was a deficit of over 92 in the Accounts for the year, chiefly due
to a rise of 300 in the cost of provisions and 150 in surgical
requirements.
Entertainment for the soldiers in the form of concerts, dances and
parties given by local dignitaries and tradesmen, did much to raise their
morale after the atrocious conditions in the trenches. All this,
however, was temporarily stopped by an edict from the Army Council
in March 1917 that "there were to be no further tea parties as food is
expensive and in short supply". Another way of showing their
appreciation was soon found; it took the form of a Recreation Room
erected on the front lawn of the Hospital, and generously donated by
Mr. Stanley Brotherhood of Thornhaugh, a Governor of the Hospital.
It measured 48 feet by 25 feet, and was familiarly known as the
"New Hut"; it came into use in June 1917.
Seventeen months later the War was over, but the hut remained for
some years as a token of those dark days.
In July 1920 the Army Council sent a Certificate to the Hospital
expressing their thanks in the following terms:-
"During the Great War of 1914-19 this building was established
and maintained as a Hospital for British sick and wounded;
the Army Council in the name of the Nation thank those who
have rendered to it this valuable and patriotic assistance in the
hour of its emergency nd they desire also to express their deep
appreciation of the w le-hearted attention which the staff of
this Hospital gave to the patients who were under their care;
the War has once again called upon the devotion and
self-sacrifice of British men and women and the Nation will
remember with pride and gratitude their willing and inestimable
service".
19
A SHORT HISTORY
The Infirmary buildings and equipment had changed little over the
past 96 years and were lamentably out of date. In May 1924 the
Governors called a special meeting which was held in the Assembly
Rooms, to launch an "Efficiency Fund" for a modernisation
programme, in order to bring the Hospital up to "a standard to meet
the requirements of the present day". This was to include the building
of a Children's Ward (towards the cost of which 1,300 had already
been donated from the balance of the Town War Memorial Fund)
and a Maternity Ward, each with its own sun balcony. The treasurer
of the Fund was Lord Exeter, and the target 12,000. A year later
3,700 had been donated by the public, and the building of the new
wards was started at a cost of 8,000, the remaining 3,000 being
provided by the Ministry of Health, thus enabling the building to be
completed free of debt.
On 30th October 1926 H.R.H. the Princess Mary, only daughter of
H.M. King George V, graciously performed the opening ceremony of
the new Wing, of which the Children's Ward was in memory of those
who fell in the Great War 1914-18. She was accompanied by her
husband Viscount Lascelles, with whom in the presence of a
distinguished gathering she inspected both wards, expressing delight
at all she saw, especially the hand-painted friezes around the walls
depicting well-known nursery rhymes. She made a complete tour of the
Hospital and spoke to many of the patients. Lord Exeter's daughter,
Lady Romayne Cecil had personally inaugurated an appeal to school
children of the town a few weeks previously, to contribute to a
Penny Fund to buy extra equipment for the Children's Ward, and she
presented to r i n e ~ Mary a purse containing 150. The event was
recorded by an inscribed plaque above a cot in the ward.
On the staff of the Hospital at this time was Dr. T. P. Greenwood
who in the following year completed 50 years of loyal and devoted
service both as general practitioner and honorary surgeon to the
Hospital, and for whom the public of Stamford showed the'
appreciation by subscribing to a fund which enabled his portrait to be
20
THE STAMFORD AND RUTLAND HOSPITAL
painted; it hangs in the Consultant's Room to this day. His death
occurred suddenly six months later.
1928 was Centenary Year, and in the lOOth Annual Report on the state
of the Stamford Rutland and General Infirmary, the Governors
considered it to have been a highly satisfactory year, for the accounts
showed a balance in hand of almost 200 on a turnover of 6,800.
713 patients were treated in the general wards, and out-patients
numbered 1,345 with over 10,000 attendances: 401 operations were
performed. The isolation wards in the Fever Blocks treated 49 cases of
infectious illness, including 33 cases of scarlet fever, 11 of diphtheria
and 5 of typhoid and paratyphoid fever. The income of the hospital
was derived from many sources varying from annual subscriptions
(500) donations and legacies (236) collections from places of worship
(243) collections from Stamford and surrounding villages, employees
of firms in Stamford, and proceeds of whist drives (1,110) payments
by borough and county councils for infectious cases (1,510) Infirmary
Ball (204) and even the sale of pigs (59).
It is interesting to note that the Hospital was paying 1/- per lb for beef,
1/3d per lb for mutton, 7Y2d for a 4lb loaf of bread and 26/3d for a
ton of best coal. The salary of the Matron was 120 per annum when
Miss Elliott was appointed in 1930.
In June 1928 the Governors decreed that a committee should be
appointed to prepare plans for proposed extensions and given authority
to accept tenders not exceeding 14,000. At the same time the Trustees
were instructed to sell some of their investments (which had a market
value of over 19,000) to pay for the building as it proceeded.
It had long been the cust for sick people in the town who required
treatment at the Hospital to be sponsored by a donor who could
recommend as many patients as his donation warranted, either by direct
admission or as an out-patient. In March 1931 a Contributory Scheme
was launched covering the town and surrounding villages, with
collectors in each, responsible for gathering in the weekly subscriptions,
21
A SHORT HISTORY
which would be ld a week for wage earners between 14 and 18, an
2d a week for persons over 18 with an income not exceeding 5 a week.
This entitled them to free treatment and maintenance if admitted to
hospital for whatever reason.
The Scheme got off to a good start, but in June 1932 it became
necessary to add an important rider to the conditions, namely ''that all
persons who have not joined or are in arrears with their subscription
shall after 1st July pay full charges as fixed by the rules fo
in-patients, and to be fixed by the Weekly Board for out-patients.
But such resolution is not to affect accidents, serious and urgen
operations, or persons unable to pay through unemployment".
In December 1928 two private rooms were available in the Maternit.
Ward at a fee of 3. 3s. Od per week, and in February 1930 the
six private wards, built the previous year between the new male an
female wards, were opened at a fee of 5. 5s. Od per week.
In 1935 two well respected members of the medical staff retire
Lt-Col E. A. R. Newman, ophthalmic surgeon, and Mr. A. S. Jone
dental surgeon. Lt-Col Newman, son of a famous father Dr. Willi
Newman, had embarked on a career in the Indian Medical Servi
where he served with distinction from 1893 until his retirement
1926. He qualified at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London in 1890
and had always been interested in ophthalmic surgery, so it was fitf
that he should be the first holder of the appointment at Stamfor
Mr. A. S. Jones had been honorary dental surgeon to the Hospi
for the last 48 years and retired through ill health; his son, Gilbe
was immediately appm ted to take his place. Both men were reward
by being elected Life Vice-presidents of the Hospital.
Evidence of the uneasy state of Europe and of the war clouds loom
ahead was shown by requests from Rutland County Council as early
October 1935, and Northamptonshire County Council in June 193
for the provision of emergency beds in case of air raids.
22
THE STAMFORD AND RUTLAND HOSPITAL
Managing Committee gave their consent ''provided that accommodation
is available when the event happens".
The general wards of the Hospital had been rebuilt and extended in
1929, but it was not until 1937 that the male and female wards were
named Exeter and Ancaster respectively; at the same time the
Children's Ward was named Princess Mary, with its side ward
Newman; and the Maternity Ward was named Greenwood.
1938 was to go down in history as the year of Chamberlain and the
Munich crisis, but for Stamford and Rutland General Infirmary it was
a vitally important year as it presaged the beginning of a new era in
the history of the Hospital. A small sub-committee of eight members
of the Managing Committee had been appointed ''to consider questions
affecting the welfare and future well-being of the Infirmary". They had
drawn up a suggested scheme for the reorganisation of Stamford
Infirmary which included:
1. Finance. The previous year's accounts had shown a loss of 2,500.
This was to be made good by increasing the Contributory Scheme
charges by ld in each category, which would supplement its
income by 1,500. The remaining 1,000 to be raised by widening
the Contributory Scheme to include persons whose incomes were
greater than 250 p.a. by the payment of 6d per week, and to
encourage payment by annual subscription.
2. Administration.
(a) To appoint a full-time secretary at a salary of 450 p.a.
(b) To replace the Weekly Board by a House Committee which
would be responsible for the internal management of the
Infirmary.
(c) To increase the nursing staff, to enable them to work on the
basis of a 96 hour fortnight.
It was unanimously agreed that these recommendations should be
implemented on 1st January 1939. Mr. H. F. Donald was selected
from an application list of 84 candidates to become the first secretary.
23
A SHORT HISTORY
With shorter working hours for nurses and no accommodatio
available for the extra number required (one sister and eight nurses)
it was obvious that a new Nurses' Home was now a vital necessity.
Plans were drawn up in July 1939 and in February 1940 the tender of
Messrs Brick and Son for 7 ,210 was accepted: a year later it was
opened without any fuss or ceremony. The war was now taking toll o
many of the nursing and domestic staff who were being "called up'
for other duties or transferred to other areas of the country; and th.is
resultant shortage led to a low bed occupancy in the Hospital, despite
the fact that many nurses were working up to 54 hours a week.
In January 1939 the last person was discharged from the Fever Bloc
and they were closed until taken over in August as Casualty stations
The local A.R.P. Wardens started work at the outbreak of war an
many times the Hospital was warned about lights showing in the
black-out, and on more than one occasion was fined 5 for the offence
Steel helmets, gas masks and stirrup-pumps were the order of the da.
and fire watching duties were organised on a voluntary basis.
Wothorpe House, situated on the southern edge of the town and own
by Lord Exeter, was taken over as an annexe to the Hospital for t
care of forty convalescent and long-stay patients, having its O\li
resident staff and sister-in-charge.
It was closed in August 1945. Meanwhile the Orangery at Burghl .
House had been converted in August 1944 to admit 25 convalesce
patients. Between them these two annexes considerably relieved t
pressure on the beds in the Hospital for more acute cases.
A very happy event the annals of the Hospital took place
12th June 1942 when ady Exeter handed over to Lord Exeter, t
Chairman of the Governors, a set of surgical and gynaecologi
instruments, valued at 170, from the Maple Leaf Fund of Pennsylv
U.S.A., together with a cheque for 250 from the Zonta Club
Canada in Toronto, for the purchase of a mobile X-Ray Unit; t
was indeed a wonderful tribute from our Allies in America and Cana
24
THE STAMFORD AND RUTLAND HOSPITAL
at the time of this country's greatest need. This project had been
arranged by Miss Daisy Bancroft, an American citizen, who, through
friends in the district had been corresponding with Lady Exeter after
she had seen an advertisement in a newspaper "for silk hose to be
adapted for R.A.F. needs". From this came the idea of helping the
Hospital by enlisting the aid of ten of her friends, who subscribed
850 dollars between them.
At the end of the ceremony the Chairman of the House Committee,
Mr. C. H. Jones, gave Lady Exeter a penny as a token that no ill might
come to either her Ladyship or the donors; this was later mounted and
framed, the mount bearing an inscription commemorating the occasion.
It now hangs in Matron's office. But this was not all, for in August
there followed a gift of two 80 gallon drums of medicinal paraffin,
enough to last the Hospital for the next two and half years.
The war dragged on and still the staffing difficulties continued, laundry
workers and Irish maids leaving without warning, Sisters resigning for
better jobs and eager probationers turned away because they were not
capable of reaching the standards required for their initial training.
In February 1944 Mr. C. H. Jones died: he had served on most
committees since 1930 and in view of his deep interest in the work of
the Hospital and the great services he rendered, a bed was named in
his memory in Exeter Ward. His successor as Chairman was
Mr. F. W. C. Allen who continued in office until the inauguration of
the National Health Service in 1948, when he was appointed Chairman
of the Hospital Management Committee and a member of the Regional
Board until the Reorganisation Scheme in 1974.
When the war in Europe ended on 8th May 1945, there was no holiday
on this long awaited day for t e hard worked hospital staff, simply
because shortages in all the departments would not allow any absence
from duty. But they had been working hard for the Hospital in
other ways, for it is recorded on a plaque in the general office that
"from August 1942 to May 1947 Stamford Infirmary Entertainments
Committee raised 5,500 through Carnivals and other special efforts".
25
A SHORT HISTORY
This was used to re-equip the X-Ray Department and provide 2,700
towards an extension to the Nurses' Home.
The end of the war brought with it further problems, for nationalisation
of the Health Service was now becoming a distinct possibility, an
Stamford's geographical position on the border of four counties mean
that a choice had to be made between becoming part of the Sheffiel
Regional Board centred on that city 80 miles away to the nort
(by virtue of being in Lincolnshire), or alternatively of allying wi
Peterborough and thus becoming part of the East Anglian Region
Board with its headquarters at Cambridge 45 miles away to the south.
The latter course was taken.
An outbreak of poliomyelitis in 1947 gave rise to much concern, an
it was fortunate that the central Fever Block was available and rea
for such cases; happily it also possessed an iron-lung machine whi
had been presented to all hospitals by Lord Nuffield at the beginni
of the war, and this proved invaluable. Miss Mary Coyne w
appointed Matron in May 1947; she had previously served as Sister
all departments of the Hospital during the early years of the war
left in 1941 to become Home Sister at Bury Infirmary. Her return
Matron was welcomed by all.
The year 1948 was probably the most important in the history
Stamford and Rutland General Hospital, for on 4th July it ceased to
a voluntary hospital under the control of its Governors and w
incorporated in the state-controlled National Health Service under t
Act of 1946.
Sadness was share by all at the departure of the Marquess of Exet
who had presided over the destinies of the Hospital since 1897, a reco
of service unsurpassed in the voluntary hospital movement.
Marchioness of Exeter had also been deeply involved during most
those 51 years as a member of Committee. At the final general meet'
of the Contributory Scheme members, the Marquess thanked all th
collectors and contributors who had helped to raise 100,000 for
26
THE STAMFORD AND RUTLAND HOSPITAL
Hospital during the seventeen years since the Scheme was launched
in 1931.
His last duty was to preside at the 119th and final meeting of the
Board of Governors on 13th July 1948; in so doing he brought to a close
one hundred and twenty years of continuous service as President of the
Board by members of the Exeter family, starting with his great-
grandfather the 2nd Marquess, and continued by his grand-father
and father.
But the year brought some compensation to the nursing staff for all
their trials and tribulations of the war years, by having a hard tennis
court constructed for their use; and on the social side came the
formation of a Branch of the Royal College of Nursing.
The House Committee ceased to exist on 4th July and was replaced by
the Stamford and District Committee of the newly formed Hospital
Management Committee, based on Peterborough at Group level and
Cambridge at Regional Board level.
Changes in the Consultant staff followed thick and fast, but perhaps
the biggest change was in the name of the Hospital, which in February
1949 became known as the Stamford and Rutland Hospital, having
already dropped Infirmary from its title, and now no longer to be a
General Hospital: it was at one time even suggested that it should be
called by the impressive name of Stamford and Rutland Royal Hospital!
Once again accommodation for nurses was proving difficult to find as
the new Home was full to capacity and the only long-term solution was
to build a second storey above the existing building. Meanwhile,
negotiations were taking place for the night nurses to be accommodated
at Pilsgate House, a propertf owned by Lord Exeter about two miles
from the Hospital, and it tras ultimately agreed that it should be
occupied in January 1949. The third Fever Block, still empty, was
converted for domestic staff accommodation later in the year.
In 1957 the pattern of development was again changing, for in the
twelve years since the war ended medical advances in treatment and
27
A SHORT HISTORY
technology revealed the urgent need for more sophisticated equipment
and more space in which to house it. Extensions were necessary to
the X-Ray, Physiotherapy and Out-patient/Casualty Departments;
plans for a new centralised laundry were approved, but building did not
start until the following year. The addition of a second storey to the
Nurses' Home got underway in June 1956 and was completed early in
1957, thus allowing the use of Pilsgate House to be discontinued when
the lease ran out in December 1956. Male and female Medical Wards
were formed by the joining up of the ground floors of all three
Fever Blocks, and constructing a covered way to link them with the
main hospital. The pathology laboratory, created in 1951 in the third
Fever Block, where it shared the ground floor with the occupational
therapists, was in urgent need of more space and finally took over
the floor above the medical wards.
Improved standards in Nursing Training meant that probationer
nurses had to gain wider experience than could be offered at Stamford,
and so a three month course in Psychiatry and Cardio-thoracic surgery
at Rauceby and Papworth Hospitals respectively, was incorporated in
the curriculum. As a result an annual recruitment of 18 to 20 girls could
now complete their training with the approval of the General Nursing
Council.
The Stamford Detachment of the British Red Cross set up a canteen
in the Out-patients Department in November 1948 to supply snacks and
hot drinks to patients awaiting appointments; ten years later their gifts
to the hospital had amounted to 670, and their cheerful voluntary
service played an integral part in relieving the anxiety of the visit to the
doctor.
With an increasing nu er of consultants providing specialist care
both in the wards and Out-patients, it now became necessary to find
separate residential accommodation for more house doctors, and plans
were drawn up for building new Quarters for them. These were
eventually approved and work started in December 1963, but it was
another year before the present Residency was ready for occupation.
28
THE STAMFORD AND RUTLAND HOSPITAL
Meanwhile, a new Staff dining room came into use in 1962, working on
a cafeteria basis to feed all members of staff whatever their status
in the Hospital.
Miss Coyne retired as Matron in November 1963 to return to her native
Eire, having served the Hospital faithfully for 16 years, during which
time she had steered it successfully through the difficult post-war
period and the inception of the National Health Service. It is worthy of
note that in 1967 the Hospital Social Club contributed 1,000 towards
the construction of a Swimming Pool and 350 for a changing room.
Four years later a Recreation Room was built next to the Staff
Dining Room, and again the Social Club contributed one third of the
total cost of over 2,500 in fulfilling a long-felt need for a place where
nurses could relax or let off steam during off-duty periods.
The minutes of the Hospital Management Committee in January 1971
record the nuisance caused by pigeons at the front of the Hospital,
and as permission to shoot them was not approved the matter was
referred to the Local Authority, who suggested using traps, but as
these were not successful their recommendation was to "trap those
pigeons causing a nuisance''.
The fuel crisis of 1972 caused the closure of Princess Mary and
Greenwood Wards for three weeks during February and March; this
high-lighted the growing concern over the low bed-occupancy of the
former, which varied between 25% and 35% during the previous
12 months, for it was already being rumoured that the ward would be
closing in the near future and all sick or injured children would be
admitted to Peterborough i ~ i c t Hospital which had opened in 1968.
A public meeting at the T o ~ Hall in December 1974 unanimously
opposed the closure but it was all to no avail, and Princess Mary Ward
closed its doors as a Children's Ward on 19th November 1976.
The last meeting of the Stamford and District Committee of the
Hospital Management Committee took place on 12th March 1974, and
29
A SHORT HISTORY
the implementation of the scheme for the Reorganisation of the
National Health Service came into effect on 1st July 1974.
It was founded on a three-tier system of control, in which Stamford
and Bourne formed an overlap area from Lincolnshire, to be
administered by the Peterborough Health District, but only for
hospital serv_ices. Peterborough and Cambridge Health Districts came
under the control of the Cambridgeshire Area Health Authority
(Teaching), and this body was finally responsible to the East Anglian
Regional Health Authority in Cambridge.
This resulted in the winding up of the Hospital Management
Committee, (which had been directly responsible to the old Regional
Board), and being replaced by the District Management Team
composed of six District Officers representing Administration, Com-
munity Health, Nursing, Finance, Consultants and General Practitioners.
For some time the surgical staff had been pressing for the up-grading
of the operating theatre, which had been built in 1929 and was now
rather out of date. The first plans were drawn up in January 1971
and the following year extra changing rooms and a central sterilising
store were built on the west side of the theatre connected by a
communicating corridor; this was only a temporary measure and
proved to be uneconomic. And so in July 1973 plans for a new twin
theatre complex were submitted, incorporating the latest modular
design in which a steel hexagonal-shaped framework is fitted with an
inner cladding. It was a completely self-contained unit with air
conditioning, and supported by full ancillary services with anaesthetic
and recovery rooms, rest rooms and changing rooms for the staff.
Only one theatre was built, due to shortage of money, but all facilities
were available for a seco d if the necessary funds were forthcoming
in the future.
The old theatre was now converted for the use of the Medical Records
Department which had previously been struggling to store an ever
increasing number of records in accommodation much too small for its
needs.
30
THE STAMFORD AND RUTLAND HOSPITAL
In 1977 Princess Mary Ward was taken over by the building contractors
for conversion into a ten-bedded orthopaedic ward for adults; it
reopened in September.
Day rooms were built on to the balconies of Ancaster and Exeter Wards
and came into use in January 1978; they provide a comfortable place
where convalescent patients can have a chat or watch television.
In conclusion, it must be mentioned that four members of the Hospital
staff have each served in their respective offices for a period exceeding
thirty years. Miss May Albon will complete forty years as secretary
in the administrative office in May this year. She was awarded the
Queen's Jubilee Medal in 1977: a well deserved honour for her long
service to Stamford and Rutland Hospital. Sister Mary Coles has been
nursing at the Hospital since she entered it as a probationer on
1st January 1944, becoming a staff nurse three years later, and for the
last 27 years Sister of Exeter Ward.
Mr. George Tibbert has been employed in the kitchen since 1946. He
started as a cook, soon became known as "chef" and in 1964 was
promoted to Catering Manager. He now has charge of a much more
modern kitchen than when he started. Thomas Simpson, to give him his
full name, but more widely known as Tom, will complete thirty years
service as gardener and general handyman in June this year.
31
THE FRIENDS OF THE STAMFORD HOSPITALS
Patrons:
The Most Hon. The Marquess of Exeter, K.C.M.G.
The Right Hon. The Earl of Ancaster, K.C.V.O.
Treasurer:
Cdr. L. Lumley,
Church Cottage,
Mill Street,
Duddington, Stamford.
Tel: Duddington 280
Chairman:
J. R. Thompson, Esq.,
Collyweston House,
Collyweston,
Nr. Stamford.
Tel: Duddington 275
General Committee
Mrs. J.M. Holt, Vice Chairman
Mr. T. G. Clancy
Mr. A. M. Govey
Mr. H. S. Scorer
Mrs. M. Bradshaw
Mrs. A. Lumley
Mrs. M. Atkins
Mrs. J. Cross
Mr. R. Oak
Mr. D. Cross
Lady Jane Willoughby
Miss M. Bauld, Matron
Mr. D. Y. Cl ke, Hospital Secretary
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Secretary:
H. E. Packer, Esq.,
'Holwell',
St. Paul's Street,
Stamford.
Tel: Stamford 3455
FRIENDS OF THE STAMFORD HOSPITALS
At a Public Meeting in the Town Hall on 11th October 1962, at which
the Mayor, Alderman A. S. Ireson presided, it was decided to form
the Friends of the Stamford Hospitals, a charitable organisation
affiliated to the National Society of Friends.
Dr. J. A. Dale was elected the first Chairman.
Not until December 1963, when it became registered as a charity, did it
really embark on its main task "to provide amenities and comforts
for the patients and staff" not covered by the Health Service.
Its first job was to provide furniture for the mortuary and to ensure
that fresh flowers were placed on the altar each week: this custom
has continued.
In the early days the Stamford Round Table figured prominently in
raising money for the Friends, besides organising a car service for
relatives unable to visit the Hospital on account of transport difficulties.
In March 1966 Dr. Dale died soon after returning from a holiday in
New Zealand; a Memorial Garden was created in his memory in the
Hospital grounds. In his place Mr. J. R. Thompson was elected
Chairman and Mrs. J. M. Holt Vice Chairman, and these two hold
office today.
Summer fetes have been held on the Hospital lawns in alternate years
since 1965 and raised over 6,000; the highlight of these was in 1971
when the f ete was opened by Mr. Ernie Wise, and for the first time
over 1,000 was raised by the Friends for their funds. Mr. Ron Oak
has organised a Grand Raffle every Christmas and raised over 2,200
in the last nine years.
Donations by the Friends include such diverse gifts as curtains for all
wards, eight ripple beds, six King Edward Fund beds, an incubator
and obstetric table for the Maternity Ward, Bleep System for the staff,
television sets for the Nurses' Home and the wards, Summer House
for St. George's Hospital, annual fireworks for the children on
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Guy Fawkes night, a special examination lamp for Casualty, and
their biggest project of all, "Operation Facelift" for the Casualty I
Out-patient waiting area, which transformed a 19th Century building
into a modern, bright and colourful department.
In the Autumn of 1977 a magnolia tree was planted to celebrate the
Silver Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen, and in December a
Phototherapy Unit was presented to the Maternity Ward for the
treatment of babies with jaundice.
To mark the 150th Anniversary, a Fayre is being held in the Hospital
grounds on Saturday 10th June 1978.
All proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to
The Friends of the Stamford Hospitals.
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MATRONS AT
STAMFORD AND RUTLAND GENERAL INFIRMARY
1827 -1831 Miss Susanna Clarke
1831 -1859 Miss Eliza Simpson
1859- 1869 Miss Eliza Lovell Died in 1869
1869-1904 Miss Sarah Hissett
1904-1906 Miss Vaughan
1906-1913 Miss Browne
1913 -1915 Miss Jones
1915 - 1917 Miss Leah Morris
1917 -1928 Miss Marie Goodrich
1928-1930 Miss A. W. Willis
1930-1945 Miss I. Elliott
1945-1947 Miss K. Grayson
1947-1963 Miss Mary Coyne
1963-1965 Miss E. M. Smart
1966-1967 Miss Joan Palmer (Acting Matron)
1967- Miss Mary Bauld
SECRETARIES AT STAMFORD AND RUTLAND HOSPITAL
1939-1958 Mr. H.F. Donald
1958-1964 Mr. J. A. Trevor
1964-1966 Mr. H.J. Richards
1966-1968 Mr. E. Smith
1968 -1971 Mr. W. J. Mortlock
1971- Mr. D. V. Clarke
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