CHIPPING NORTON & DISTRICT WAR MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
1920 - 1970

By David Eddershaw

 

HILL LODGE

The building which forms the central core of the present hospital was originally a private house called "Hill Lodge". It was built during the third quarter of the nineteenth century by Mr. John Ward, who was the proprietor of a well known firm of carriers in the town. Ward's Wagons served not only the local routes between Chipping Norton and the surrounding district – places like Oxford, Banbury Stow, and Charlbury - but also made regular journeys as far afield as Birmingham and London. The area, where the hospital stands, was known for a long time as "Wards Corner", and the present Ward's Road is named after him

At one time Spring Street (called "Tite End" until 1874 ) used to run immediately past the front door of the house and join Over Norton Road almost opposite at the bottom of Banbury Road. Opposite the front door of Hill Lodge stood four ancient cottages which were almshouses called "Cock's Row".

Mr. Ward, being a gentleman of importance, and clearly of some influence in the town, thought this a rather undignified situation for his residence, and secured permission to divert Spring Street so that it ran farther from his front door (on its present line) which allowed him to extend his garden. This also involved pulling down the four cottages and rebuilding them on a piece of land which he owned on the East side of Horsefair. They can be seen there today, with a plaque set into the wall which reads : "J.W. 1870".

After the death of John Ward, the house passed into other hands.. It was first used as a hospital during the 1914-18 War when it was run by a Voluntary Detachment.

 

RAISING THE MONEY - THE WAR MEMORIAL PLAN – 1920 OPENING

It appears that some time before the outbreak of the 1914-18 war, Mr. A. P. Walford of Over Norton had offered to give Chipping Norton a public park, but according to one contemporary "his offer was not received with the same spirit in which it was tendered, and so the idea fell through."

Whatever the reasons for this they do not seem to have deterred Mr. Walford from his generous feelings towards the town, and he next devised a plan to give Hill Lodge to the town as a cottage hospital.

His generosity seems to have been shared by Mr. Albert Brassey of Heythrop Hall (grandson of the great railway builder of the 19th century) and together they agreed that Mr. Walford would give Hill Lodge and £1,000 to equip and run it as a hospital, while Mr. Brassey would donate a further £2,000 for the same purpose. Their intention was that the running of the hospital should not become a financial burden on the town.

They had been prevented from carrying out their plan by the outbreak of the war in 1914, and before it was over Mr. Brassey had died. When the idea was revived after the war, however, his widow and other members of the family promised to abide by his intentions.

At this point the inhabitants of Chipping Norton began to take a hand in the plan. They were looking for a suitable way to commemorate their fellow townsmen who had been killed in the war, and a proposal was now made that the new hospital should be endowed as such a memorial.

A Public Meeting was called at the Town Hall, on Wednesday 12th February 1919, and the Mayor, Mr. W. Toy, took the chair. According to the account later published in the "Oxfordshire Weekly News" there were also on the platform: Major Daly, Capt. Brassey (son of Mr. Albert Brassey ), Dr. O'Kelly, Dr.Birts, Mr. T.H.Burbidge (a local bank manager), Mr. A.E.Mace (Town Clerk), and the Rev. A. J. Ashforth.  Mr. Walford himself was unable to be present, perhaps because of the bad weather.

The Mayor outlined the generous offer made by Mr. Walford and the late Mr Brassey, and went on to say that it was estimated that a total of £9,000 would need to be invested in order to provide an income sufficient to run the hospital. He then put to the meeting the proposal that the remainder of this sum should be raised by public subscription over the next six months as a memorial to those who had died in the war. The tone of the meeting, as reported in the newspaper, showed that there was considerable enthusiasm for the idea among the majority of those present. Indeed several offers of assistance had been received before the meeting from those unable to attend. These included one of £1,000 from Mr. C. Baring Young.

Capt. Brassey spoke of the need to endow the hospital with adequate funds from the start. He promised to donate equipment from another war-time hospital with which he had been connected and which was closing, if the target of £9,000 was reached. One of his relatives had also promised to give £500 on the same condition.

A Committee was appointed at this meeting to organise an appeal. It consisted of the following people:

Mr. W. Toy (Hon. Sec.)	Mr N. Rowell.
Mr. P. Walford.	Mr F. Burbidge.
Maj. Daly.	Mr R. Oakes.
Capt. Brassey.	Mr Sparkes.
Mrs . Daly.	Mr A. C. Franklin.
Miss . Edwards .	Mr D. R. Simms.
Rev. H.H. Arkell (Vicar of C.N).	Mr H. Burden.
Mr. T. H. Burbidge.	Mr Austin Webb.
Mr. J. George.	Mr J. Carrington.
Mr A. E. Mace.

The heads of other religious denominations and representatives of the Friendly Societies were also to be invited to serve.

Although the meeting was mainly concerned with the financial aspect of the plan, Dr. O'Kelly also pointed out the need on medical grounds for a hospital in Chipping Norton. He particularly stressed the dangers of sending patients by motor car to Oxford, saying that this was often " a great risk of life". With the cars of those days, he and the doctors of the Radcliffe Infirmary were perhaps justified in their doubts about the ability of patients to survive the journey. The surgeons at the Radcliffe had assured Dr O'Kelly of their willingness to come to Chipping Norton to perform important operations.

As a result of the enthusiastic work of those who launched the War Memorial Plan, and the generous support of many others, The Chipping Norton and District War Memorial Hospital was opened in 1920. It had 16 beds and 1 private ward. Minor operations were performed, but there was no proper operating theatre for the first three years

 

RUNNING THE HOSPITAL – MEDICAL COSTS

The first Matron was Miss S. Brooke-McColl. In the earliest extant monthly report, dated May 1921, she gives the daily total of patients for the month as 186 (a number which increased steadily over the years). There were 5 operations and 3 private patients had been treated. She concluded her report with the words : "The general conditions are quite satisfactory".

Such a statement occurs regularly in succeeding Matron's Reports, but there were problems right from the start, and the first to be encountered was shortage of staff. It was a problem which was to reappear on several later occasions.

In June 1921 the Matron reported : "I am still without permanent staff. The ex V.A.D. (Voluntary Aid Detachment) nurse has left. I have 2 Probationer Nurses in view, and I have engaged an ex V.A.D. nurse for night duty for five weeks." Many later reports contain references to nursing and domestic staff coming and going, and it must have been a continual worry for the Matron, whose job it was to see that the hospital's work was efficiently done with whatever resources were available.

The salaries paid to nurses in those days were not high, even for those in specially responsible positions. In 1921 the Matron reminded the Executive Committee that "the Staff Nurse having been here for six months is entitled to an advance of £2.10.0. a year, This raises her salary to £47.10.0 a year." In 1927 a Sister was earning £80 a year, plus an £8 uniform allowance.

It had been the intention of the original benefactors in 1919 that the Hospital should not become a financial burden on the town, and they had estimated that an investment of £9,000 would be sufficient to ensure this. Although the local people probably never considered it a burden, the cost of running the hospital, and particularly of enlarging it and improving its facilities, was a matter which was to involve many of them in strenuous and varied activities over the years.

Those most directly concerned were the members of the Executive Committee. There was of course no National Health Service at that time (the provisions of the 1911 National Insurance Act did not cover hospital treatment), and this Committee began by drawing up a list of charges for different categories of patient. Those in the General Wards were to be charged 5/- per week, while Maternity cases paid £1.1.0. per week or "such a sum as the Committee may decide " which allowed them to reduce the charge in needy cases, although National Insurance did provide a 30/- Maternity Grant. It is interesting to note that in 1970 it cost approximately £35 per week to maintain one patient at this hospital.

Even 5/- per week, however, was a considerable sum to some people, and a popular way of spreading the expense was to join the Radcliffe & Associated Hospitals Contributory Scheme and insure against hospital charges by paying a 2d. per week subscription. This insurance, however, did not cover maternity treatment at Chipping Norton. Charges made to private patients varied, but the standard charge for a private ward in 1926 was £5.5.0 per week.

In addition charges were made to ex-patients for the use of hospital equipment such as wheel chairs at 3/- a week, bed rests and cradles 1/6d for the whole period, foot and arm baths 1/- a week, and crutches 1/- per pair which would be refunded if they were returned in good condition.

The use of the ambulance also incurred a charge which in the 1930's was 1/- a mile, with a reduction for "2d. Subscribers" which allowed them to go to the Radcliffe Infirmary or Eye Hospital for 30/-, or to the Wingfield Hospital for 34/-, The ambulance would thus be a major expense for some of those who had to make use of it.

 

RUNNING THE HOSPITAL – MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR

Maintenance and repair of the hospital building was an item which required constant attention and expenditure, and the Matron's Reports, particularly in the early years, contain many references to damp walls, leaking roofs and other items in need of repair.

For example, the Report for March 1922 (when the hospital had only been open for two years) says: "Repairs are badly needed to the back stairs, larder and Committee room, and the Ward Kitchen window. Also the Ward Kitchen is badly in need of fresh paint and whitewash, and the Matron's sitting room and the big kitchen require whitewashing. I would like the Committee to decide if they are going to have this work done as we wish to get on with the spring cleaning." In December Matron was still complaining that "the larder is in need of repairs very badly, also the skylight on the back stairs. The men have been to do repairs but the rain still pours in."

Dampness became such a problem that on one occasion it was reported that the electrical apparatus in the Massage Room was being eaten away by rust; and the troubles in the larder were not over, because in January 1926 the Report says: "The ceiling in the Larder is beginning to fall with the constant soaking."

Perhaps the worst time was in June 1926, and the Matron's Report for that month is worth quoting at length because it gives a vivid picture of the difficulties that could be met with in running a small hospital such as this, quite apart from those connected with the patients and their illnesses.

"Sister had a severe attack of neuritis early in the month which kept her off duty for a week, and has left her with a slight facial paralysis which we hope will quite clear in time.

Then the Staff Nurse slipped and fell in the theatre during an operation and cut her right hand badly. This of course prevented her carrying out her normal duties for ten days. The steam sterilizer failed to act when needed for urgent use, and Mr. Rowell was forced to remove the electrical fittings and refit it for use with a gas ring - and this is as it is being used at present.

We have been obliged to use the small electric radiator in the X-Ray room as the instrument was getting so damp I was afraid of it suffering.

The newly painted wall in the massage room is showing a great deal of discolouration.

The anthracite is not at all satisfactory in the Ideal boiler. I have persevered with it but cannot get anything like an adequate supply of hot water. The supply of household coal is almost run out.

The overflow from the big cistern went wrong last night and had to be immediately attended to."

Meanwhile the hospital somehow managed to continue its normal work. There were 13 admissions during the month, together with 5 Out Patients, 67 Massage treatments, 5 major and 5 minor operations. The Matron's only comment on the month's mishaps was "The Nursing Staff have been unfortunate lately".

Another cause for concern on several occasions was the electricity supply. The hospital generated its own electricity on the premises for some years. As early as 1921 Matron requested an improvement because the lights are continually going out, and in the midst of an operation this may prove somewhat serious." An elderly priest from Heythrop recalls being taken to the hospital for a minor operation, and on arriving there found that the lights were not working. He was able to put them right and the doctor commented "Now you've fixed that, we'll fix you."

Of less importance, but still a matter for concern to a Matron who clearly took a pride in the good order of every aspect of her hospital, was the following : "Something should be done to protect the flower beds in front of the ward windows. Visitors have a habit of standing here to talk to their friends in the wards. They have been corrected about doing so, but without effect."

The Matron was assisted in running the domestic affairs of the hospital by the House Committee, for a long time under the chairmanship of Mrs. Daly. From the existing minute books it appears that she was a member of the House Committee from the foundation of the hospital at least until 1945, and that she was Chairman for all but a few of those years. She and her husband, Major Daly, were also members of the General Committee.

The Committee dew up a rota of its members to visit the hospital each month, and on their recommendations together with those of the Matron, the House Committee advised the Finance Committee on the purchase of a wide variety of domestic and nursing material. At the present time it is the price of some of these materials which catches the eye -

1923 :
14 pairs of sheets @ 13/6 a pair.

40 yards of curtaining @ 2/- per yd.

20 blankets @ £1.1.0 per pair.

 

LOCAL FUNDRAISING SUPPORT

Apart from those who were members of the official committees of the hospital, many other local people contributed in different ways to the running of the hospital and took a personal interest in its affairs. One of the more unusual ways of seeking help with the expenses was the holding of an annual "Egg Day", when people contributed eggs which were then stored and supplemented the patients' diet for months afterwards.

On Egg Day in 1925 3648 eggs were donated, plus £2.6.0 in cash which was enough to purchase a further 580 eggs, making a total of 4228. Egg Day was usually held in May, and it can be imagined that such a store of eggs would last a considerable time, although in 1930 the Executive Committee was complaining that the supply received on the last Egg Day "had only lasted until Christmas". They need not have worried, however, as a further 1000 eggs were donated as soon as the news of their dismay was known by the public.

Eggs were apparently easy to store for long periods, but this was not true of all the gifts which the hospital received. In 1927 the Matron reported "We have had far more marrows sent from the Harvest Festival this year than we can possibly use. Can the Committee suggest how I am to dispose of them? We cannot make unlimited marrow jam,"

As well as Egg Day, a Potato Day and a Pound Day were also held, although Pound Day seems to have been less successful and in 1925 it was decided to extend it to two days so that "there would be less chance of it being overlooked".

Many individuals and organisations in the district held concerts, bazaars and other functions to raise funds. In 1925 it is recorded, for instance, that the Junior Red Cross at the Burford Road School presented £5, the proceeds of a bazaar.

Meanwhile the Finance and House Committees managed their affairs as carefully as possible. The House Committee in 1923 enquired into the cost of including bacon in the patients' diets twice a week, and asked whether the funds would allow the provision of butter to patients.

 

BUILDING AN X-RAY ROOM AND THE MATERNITY WARD 1923-30

 

All these fundraising efforts were mainly to meet the ordinary day-to-day running costs of the hospital, but the real strain on its resources, and the main opportunity for voluntary support by the public, came when various enlargements and major improvements were undertaken.

The first of these was the provision of an Operating Theatre in 1923; the cost of which was initially estimated at £1046. The new X-Ray Room was provided in 1926 at a cost of £1295.

Four years later an even bigger scheme was launched for the building of a Maternity Block with six beds and a private ward.

The need for this had been becoming increasingly obvious to the Matron. From its foundation the hospital was concerned with a number of maternity eases, and in 1922 it was found necessary to buy a baby's cot (£1.19. 6) for a private paternity patient who was expected. In 1925 the Matron reported that she had "a considerable number of applications for maternity. There are now six cases booked for the next few months". This put pressure on the space available for such cases, the normal practice being to carry out deliveries in the private ward when that was vacant. If that was not available, however, there could be considerable difficulty.

In 1928 a formal proposal for the building of a Maternity Ward was put to the Buildings Committee, and as evidence for the need for such a ward it was stated that on three occasions births had taken place in the Staff Bathroom because nowhere else was available. The proposal was adopted.

After some further discussion and approval of the plan, a tender was accepted from a local firm of builders and work commenced. The final cost, including all necessary equipment and fittings, was a little over £2,000, which was met by a loan from the Midland Bank repayable over 7 years.

It was an ambitious scheme in view of the financial position of the hospital, which had been giving cause for concern in the years just before 1930. Expenditure had exceeded income in 1927 by £150, and economies had been necessary, which included terminating the employment of the salaried masseuse. However, a slightly improved position in 1929 and the undoubted need for more maternity accommodation persuaded the General Committee to go ahead with the plan.

Local organisations and individuals again gave generous support, and the "Hospital Saturday" Committee arranged an annual carnival which became quite a feature in the life of the town. Hospital Saturday had been held even before 1920, to support the Radcliffe Infirmary, but it was a more important event when its proceeds were devoted to Chipping Norton's own hospital.

An annual Ox Roast was also held for several years, and the proceeds donated to the hospital. One member of the General Committee - Mr. Burbridge - himself proposed an elaborate scheme for raising funds by selling "stamps" bearing a picture of the new ward. The seven year period of the loan was divided into days, hours and minutes, and each stamp at 8d. represented one hour/ A large board showing the progress of the scheme was to be fixed to the wall of 'the Town Hall.

The Maternity Ward was completed in 1930, and an official opening ceremony on May 29th was performed by Lady Margaret Watney, who cut a ribbon stretched across the entrance. She received a bouquet from the first child to have been born in the hospital since its foundation, and speeches were made by the Mayor and one of the doctors.

 

REBUILDING AND ENLARGEMENT

 

The opening of the Maternity Ward was a major achievement, but six years later an even bigger plan was undertaken, which involved considerable rebuilding and enlargement of the whole hospital. Again the money had to be raised by public subscription, and an appeal for £10,000 was launched at a public meeting by Sir Terence O'Connor in 1936.

Two of the prime movers in this appeal were Miss Dorothy Bates (now Mrs. More), and Mr. H. Goodhart. There were a number of large donations, including one of £500 from Lord Wyfold.

Many local functions were held to raise money over a number of years, including collections of pennies in many of the pubs, and sometimes sweepstakes were held on the number of pennies collected.

Although the finances of the hospital itself were becoming more and more strained, the Appeal Fund for the rebuilding continued to prosper, and even after some of the Fund had been used to pay off an overdraft on the hospital's general account, work on the rebuilding was commenced in 1939. Had it not started then, the war might well have delayed it for much longer.

 

WARTIME

The hospital had to be closed completely for about twelve months while the work was in progress, but it was re-opened in February 1940. Because of the war no official ceremony took place, but the re-opening was greeted with justifiable satisfaction from all concerned.

The next five years were the busiest the hospital had experienced, and its extended resources were taxed to the full. The average number of cases admitted each month in the year prior to rebuilding was 26, whereas in the year following the reopening that number nearly doubled to 50. There was a similar marked increase in the average number of out patients treated (42 to 87).

The War put a strain on the hospital in many ways. Egg Day in 1941 produced only 700 eggs instead of the pre-war figure of 3 or 4 thousand. As an economy measure there were no decorations in the wards at Christmas 1942. The most serious difficulties arose, however, out of shortage of staff. It was so difficult to get replacements for nurses and domestic staff that the hospital had to closedown for a short period in 1943. Even after the end of the war the shortage was so bad that the general wards were again forced to close from September to December 1945.

During the war period, and for some years afterwards, the hospital was fighting its own battles, which were mainly financial. A survey of Social Services in the County in 1940 had stated that the finances of Chipping Norton hospital were in " a really parlous condition", and it had been obvious even before this that it was having difficulty in meeting its expenses.

 

NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE

Voluntary support from the town and district was still willingly and generously given, but it was becoming less and less adequate to meet the rapidly rising cost of running a hospital.

This was a predicament shared by most other small hospitals at the time, and, like them, Chipping Norton Hospital was eventually rescued by the National Health Service Act of 1946, which came into force on July 5th 1948. Under this Act the hospital was taken over by the state and administered as part of the Banbury and District Hospitals Management Committee, which was itself a part of the Oxford Regional Hospital Board.

It was a "rescue" greeted in Chipping Norton with very mixed feelings. Many regretted that the hospital would no longer be controlled and supported by local people, and felt that it would cease to have such a close personal tie with the inhabitants of the town and district. They feared that instead it would become merely an institution, taken for granted by those who before had worked so loyally for its welfare because they felt that it belonged to them, and they were proud of it.

On the other hand, it seems very unlikely that Chipping Norton could have continued to maintain its own hospital on the same basis as before, At the final meeting of Subscribers on June 11th 1948, the 26th Annual Report of the hospital showed a deficit on the year's workings of over £2700, as compared with a deficit the previous year of £660.

No doubt there was some truth on both sides. It is probably true that there are no longer the same opportunities for local people to show their loyalty to their local hospital, although the House Committee has continued to function with a local membership, but the results of the appeal in 1970 for a new Day Room as a memorial to the work of Dr. Russell has shown that people are still ready to repeat the generosity of previous generations.

 

THE AMBULANCE

The first ambulance had been provided in about 1925, and as had been said before, a charge of 1/- per mile was made for its use. At that time it was maintained by the local firm of Rowell & Sons Ltd. (Mr. Rowell was a member of the General Committee from its foundation. The firm provided a driver day-and night at a charge of 1/6 per hour. Because of his position on the Committee, Mr. Rowell's firm was later advised not to be responsible for the ambulance, and in 1935 it was taken over by Messrs Young & Major.

In 1933 a new branch of the St. John's Ambulance Brigade had been formed with Mr. W. Packer as Secretary, and Mr. Barnes as its representative on the hospitals Ambulance Committee. The hospital was presented with a new ambulance, and the St. John's members accompanied patients on ambulance journeys, as did members of the Red Cross.

By 1935 this vehicle had made 219 journeys - an average of one every 4 ½ days. In 1941 it was averaging one call every other day, and it remained in use throughout the war, being finally sold for £160 in 1945, when it was replaced by an American vehicle acquired during the war. At the present time a modern ambulance depot is in use in Spring Street, adjacent to the hospital.

 

THE YEARS SINCE NATIONALISATION 1948-1970

Less can be written about the last twenty years of the hospital's existence because the evidence available from the minute books of the House Committee is briefer and more for-mal than in the previous period.

The Committee was reconstituted after the hospital was taken over by the state, and continued to concern itself with many domestic details, although the main administration of the hospital was carried out by the Banbury Management Committee and the Oxford Regional Board.

Finance, although no longer primarily a local matter, could still be a problem, and the Ministry of Health was continually stressing the need for economies. In 1951 a letter from the Secretary of the Management Committee was considered, inviting House Committees to make suggestions for savings. It elicited the following reply from the Chipping Norton House Committee "This Committee has always tried to run the hospital as economically as possible, and will continue to do so."

In 1951 the House Committee, not without some difficulty, persuaded the Regional Board to purchase a large house called "The Chestnuts" adjacent to the hospital. Considerable difficulty had been experienced in getting sufficient staff for the hospital, and it was hoped that the provision of accommodation for nurses in this house would ease the situation, As it turned out, its advantage in this respect was probably less in providing extra space for such facilities as physiotherapy, occupational therapy and the child guidance and infant welfare clinics.

Other improvements and extensions to the hospital followed in the next ten years. The X Ray equipment was improved when the opportunity arose, a new bathroom was constructed, also an ante-natal clinic, and in 1960 a new out patients department was built in the hospital grounds.

It is arguable that these improvements might not have happened at all without the financial support of the Ministry, but there was considerable delay in getting them completed because of shortage of funds. The new out patients department was first proposed in May 1954, but it was not ready for use until February 1960.

Not all the financial affairs of the hospital were in the hands of the Regional Board. The House Committee still supervised the spending of a number of generous donations and bequests from local people. Eventually, however, even the House Committee was taken over by a larger organisation. It held its last meeting in March 1966 prior to being absorbed into the new Area Committee covering a group of hospitals in the North Cotswolds.

The need to retain the involvement of local people in the hospital was recognised at that meeting when the minutes record that . "It was generally agreed that the formation of a Visitors Committee would be of considerable benefit in fostering local interest."

Local interest has certainly continued, as shown by the response to the Day Room appeal, and it has been particularly evident whenever the question of closing the hospital on grounds of economy has been raised. Fortunately this question seems to have been answered, at least for the present, in Chipping Norton's favour, and the work of the last fifty years is likely to continue for some time.
 

AUTHOR’S NOTE

This survey of the development of Chipping Norton Hospital is based largely on the evidence provided by the minute books of the General Committee, Finance Committee, House Committee, and the monthly reports made by successive Matrons. Such material provides an authentic picture of the running of the hospital from the inside, but it inevitably concentrates on the administrative details, none of which have been included here because they may be of interest, but it is bound to be an incomplete picture of any hospital. There is, in particular, very little material dealing with the hospital from the patients' point of view, The inestimable value of the work done by the doctors and nursing staff of this hospital is a story which cannot be told in a survey such as this, but it is one which is well known to the many patients who have experienced it.
The other inevitable short-coming of such material is that it tends to concentrate on the problems and faults, and not to mention so often the achievements, or the smooth running of the hospital from day to day, which is itself a major achievement. If the problems and difficulties are mentioned here it is not so much to show that they happened, but to show that they were overcome.

© David Eddershaw