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© J.Middleton Although no longer in use as a hospital, the building is still with us although devoid of its impressive chimney-stacks and finials |
The Dispensary
To go back in time, the forerunner of Hove Hospital was the Brighton Dispensary, which was established in 1809 in North Road, and later moved to Queen’s Road. It was specifically for the use of poor people, and was financed by subscriptions, donations and legacies. In 1809 of course Hove was still nothing more than a small village, but it was not long before there were new developments and in the 1850s the inhabitants of Hove and Cliftonville asked for a Dispensary to be established closer to them. This request was met by the opening of the Brighton & Hove Dispensary, Western District, at 4 Farm Road, Hove, in 1859.
A New Site
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© J.Middleton The terracotta panel and inscription on the south wall |
The cost of the building was put at £5,416. However, the Brighton Herald (24 October 1896) gave a figure of £11,000 but perhaps this included the cost of the site and the fitting-up. There were some generous donations to endow beds, such as £1,000 from H. W. Howlett, Chairman of the Hove Commissioners. The ladies were well represented too with Mrs Carr Burton providing £5,000 (in memory of her late husband), and Mrs Macdonald donated £2,500 while Mrs Hammond gave £1,250. The Hammonds lived in Aldrington House in New Church Road, and their residence subsequently became the Lady Chichester Hospital, but has since reverted to its old name of Aldrington House. The couple were William Hammond (1831-1894) and Mary Hammond (1834-1912).
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© J.Middleton Aldrington House |
In 1893 the Duke and Duchess of Fife endowed the Princess May Cot, and in the same year J. W. Howlett donated £750 to endow a cot in memory of his daughter who died in tragic circumstances in December 1892 at the age of 29.
Dr A. Scott Turner was the first house doctor of the establishment known as the Brighton, Hove and Preston Dispensary. It was not until 1918 that it became Hove Hospital.
Grand Opening
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© J.Middleton This old view was posted in 1907 |
On 3 December 1888 Viscount Hampden, Lord Lieutenant of Sussex, formally opened the Dispensary. The Bishop of Chichester offered up some prayers, and a vote of thanks was proposed by Sir Julian Goldsmid MP, and seconded by J. W. Howlett. After singing a second hymn, the company adjourned to the Banqueting Room at Hove Town Hall.
There is an amusing anecdote about an incident that happened on this same day outside the Dispensary. The story concerns E. W. Holden’s uncle, who, when a young man, was riding his penny-farthing bicycle down Sackville Road, and noticed the dignitaries and staff gathered around the entrance. His attention was particularly caught by the sight of young nurses, and so he failed to see some large stones in the road. The result was that he toppled off his machine, and suffered from cuts and bruises. Consequently, he was taken inside the Dispensary to be treated before the place was officially opened.
The Dispensary Porter
In 1891 two plots of land were purchased in Montgomery Street, as well as numbers 1 and 2 Byron Street. The porter lived at number 1, and the management saw fit to remove 8/- a week from his wages to pay for the accommodation. The porter could not fail to be fully acquainted with his duties because the management helpfully provided him with a printed list. He had to sweep the rooms daily, and scrub the floors once a week, plus the passages and halls, and wash the flagstones outside the main entrance. Besides these tasks, it was stipulated that ‘he shall be in general attendance and make himself useful and obliging’.
The hard-working porter was
provided ‘not more than once a year with a Livery, consisting of a
Coat, Waistcoat, Trousers, and Hat, which he must wear in attendance
in the Hall’. When it was time to replace the ensemble, the porter
had to produce the old uniform before he was issued with the new one.
Royal Visit 1896
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| An account of a Royal Visit to Hove Hospital on 9 April 1896 from James Gildea's King Edward VII the Peacemaker (1914) The Duke & Duchess of York later became King George V & Queen Mary. Mr Reuben Sassoon was a friend of King Edward VII and lived at King's Gardens, Hove. |
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© J.Middleton This drawing shows how the Dispensary looked in 1910 with its tall chimneys and gas-lamp in front |
Money Troubles
It should be stressed that Hove Council had nothing to do with the management of the Dispensary, although the council did manage another hospital, namely Foredown Hospital at Portslade, which was specifically an isolation hospital for infectious cases. Money for the running of the Dispensary had to be found locally. Unhappily, after the initial burst of generosity, it seems that Hove residents were somewhat lacking in their support for such a worthwhile cause. For many years the management had to cope with a deficit of some £600 per annum. Indeed, just fourteen years after the grand opening, the Mayor of Hove was obliged to call a special meeting to discuss the financial situation, and to find ways to alleviate the problem.
One solution was the money-raising Cinderella Dances with music provided by the Royal Marines, and these took place at Hove Town Hall on 3 November and 8 December 1906. The event ended promptly at mid-night – thus keeping to Cinderella’s hours – and patrons were advised ‘carriages at 12’.
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© J.Middleton A coloured postcard with the Dispensary fronting a peaceful Sackville Road |
First World War
The Dispensary made a valuable contribution towards the war effort, and it is a startling fact that between 11 November 1914 and 1 December 1918, some 888 military patients were treated. The Medical Officers in charge were as follows:
Captain Geoffrey Bate
Lieutenant Colonel Rivenz Hunt
Dr Clapham
Mr W. J. Stephens
Mr A. J. Owen
A number of wounded Belgian soldiers were treated under the auspices of the British Red Cross Society. Afterwards, 24 beds were placed at the disposal of the War Office, then it was 32, and finally 43.
Sometimes it must have seemed that there was not much space for local civilians. For example, a note in the Visitor’s Book recorded the numbers and was dated 3 July 1916 – ‘Visited today, no complaints, 23 soldiers, 9 civilians’.
The presence of soldiers acted like a magnet to the local girls, which distressed the matron. In a report dated 7 May 1918 a complaint was made about the girls who gathered by the railings in Byron Street, and ‘induce the soldiers to hang out of their windows in their night-shirts to talk to them’. Of course, such conversations might have done a world of good for the morale of the said soldiers. But it was suggested that a quiet word could be had with the police, and perhaps a plain-clothes officer might be sent along to Byron Street occasionally.
This report was written by Revd Francis Smythe, vicar of neighbouring St Barnabas Church. He was a frequent visitor, and indeed his remarks are among the most illuminating in the whole Visitor’s Book. In November 1912, he reported that a patient, Mrs Hall, had told him how much she missed a Sunday service, and it seemed the other six patients in the ward would like one too. But matron was being in her battle-axe mode, saying she could not allow such a thing because the committee had not sanctioned it.
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© J.Middleton St Barnabas Church with Hove Hospital on the far left |
But Revd Smythe was also on the side of the staff, commenting on 4 October 1921, ‘I think it absolutely wrong that the nurses should have margarine instead of butter, and I understand the house surgeon has margarine also at breakfast. We ought to feed the staff with decent food, and not with a makeshift’.
More Comments from the Visitor’s Book
In 1925 M. J. reported ‘I wish (the) Waiting Room could be made more comfortable, it is very depressing’.
In 1926 in the opinion of Moss Isaacs ‘Practically the whole place wants repainting, lighter colours than now’.
It seems that when improvements were made, they were not altogether satisfactory. Edward Rooney commented ‘the new flooring appears to have a more or less severe case of dermatitis, efflorescence, or something of that sort’.
Perhaps the last word should go to Revd Smythe who wrote on 1 March 1924 ‘Can’t worm any complaint out of anybody, though I have tried to do so for fifteen years, the only thing I can find wrong is the want of a new bib in the pen-holder attached to the Visitor’s Book’.
A New Wing
In 1926 a new wing was added to the hospital. This might seem unlikely in view of the perpetual worries about income. But the new wing came about through the generosity of Mrs Bernhard Baron and was in memory of her late husband. The couple lived at 64 The Drive, and during the First World War Bernhard Baron threw a memorable party at St Ann’s Well Gardens for the convalescent soldiers in town. He had accrued his fortune through his association with the Black Cat cigarette company, and he was also chairman of Carreras.
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© J.Middleton Bernhard Baron is the small man in a bowler hat in the middle of his guests at St Ann’s Well Gardens |
A First in Sussex
In 1929 Hove Hospital scored a notable first by becoming the first hospital in Sussex to have its own supply of radium for the treatment of cancer patients. The Brighton & Hove Herald (4 January 1929) commented ‘Cancer in England today takes the largest toll of human life.’
More Money Woes
In 1930 subscriptions only managed to raise £580 towards the hospital’s expenses, whereas the actual running cost was over £8,000.
The Brighton & Hove Herald (15 February 1930) remarked that if it had not been for the indefatigable Mrs Blaber and her band of helpers with a street box collection scheme, the situation would have been bleaker still. Mrs Blaber brought in £1,150.
The New Wing Emerges
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© Hove Library The 1930s badge of the hospital |
In 1932 an ambitious appeal was launched to raise £20,000 for Hove Hospital. According to the Sussex Daily News (31 March 1936) Hove Hospital was making a special effort to raise £16,871 within four months to enable the newly-extended building to be opened free of debt. At the Annual General Meeting it was stated that during the previous year £3,963-19-11d had been received by the re-building and extension fund, making a total of £17,022 towards the £33,893 required.
One of the donations came from Harry Lionel Hopkins, chairman of Hove Hospital, and a ward still bore his name up to the 1950s. It seems the new extension was officially opened way before everything had been completed. In February 1934 Princess Helena Victoria arrived to open the new extension, having previously lunched with Sir Cooper and Lady Rawson at their Hove residence. After the ceremony the princess went to St Barnabas Church Hall to receive purses.
The new wing meant that there were now 51 beds in Hove Hospital in comparison with only 26 beds previously available. The wards were arranged as follows:
Men’s Ward (the King George V Memorial) seventeen beds
Women’s Ward, nineteen beds
Children’s Ward, six beds
Nine private rooms
By the time all the work had been completed, there was an out-patients department, X-ray department, and physiotherapy department, not forgetting quarters for the nurses. In 1939 more accommodation for nurses was provided when 107 Sackville Road was purchased for £700.
Lack of Income
By March 1938 the serious step of selling investments of around £10,000 had to be taken in order to reduce the loan. Money raised locally was as follows:
Annual Ball raised around £200
Military Tournament raised £153
Box collection raised £380
In addition the directors of the Greyhound Stadium had agreed to donate all the takings of their Easter Saturday meeting.
The amount received from legacies had also fallen; while £3,659 had been received in 1936, the amount donated in 1937 was only £3,168.
The Compensation Case of Thomas Denton
In the The Keep there is a large file covering the long-drawn out case of Thomas Denton, a Brighton labourer. In June 1937 Denton twisted his right knee at work, and he was admitted to Hove Hospital in January 1939 at the request of the insurance company because he was a ‘workman’s insurance case’. On 16 January 1939 Mr Ralph Brooke, surgeon, assisted by Mr Paul Crawford Conran, house surgeon, performed an operation on Denton and some torn cartilage was removed. After Denton was discharged, he had appointments at the out-patients department, but unfortunately an infection was not detected until it was too late to save his leg. On 7 April 1939 Denton’s leg was amputated at Brighton Hospital.
Denton’s former employers wanted to cease paying compensation to Denton because his final outcome was not their fault. Denton then decided to sue the two doctors involved in the original operation. The file was opened in 1939 and continued until 1942. Expert opinion flew back and forth, and numerous statements were taken from the almoner, nurses and doctors. Mr Brooke laid the blame on faulty salmon gut, which was brittle, and he had been obliged to use it due to the lack of supplies caused by the Spanish Civil War. In fact, before the amputation took place, a 2-in piece of gut was removed, but it was too late to save the leg. Other people gave their opinion that it was silkworm gut that had been used, and that it was not of inferior quality, and moreover the Spanish Civil War had merely caused shortages.
In the High Court Lord Caldecote summed up the proceedings by stating that he had no doubt that Mr Brooke was a skilled surgeon, but Thomas Denton had not received proper care and attention in the out-patients’ department, and therefore he awarded Denton compensation of £1,534.
More Beds
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© J.Middleton Barford Court is the new name of this unique house, which was once home to the nurses working at Hove Hospital |
In 1946 Hove Council purchased 1 Princes Crescent (now numbered as 157 Kingsway) for use as a nurses’ home. This meant that their former quarters at the hospital could be used as additional wards. Therefore the number of beds rose from 51 to 86. It is interesting to note that the wife of Dom Mintoff, one-time Labour premier of Malta, was once a nurse at Hove Hospital.
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© Hove Library The sitting room of nurses’ home in 1946 |
National Health Service
The National Health Service Act (1946) was a tremendous innovation, and, as might be expected the transfer of administration from a voluntary organisation to a national concern caused a great deal of work. One can only admire the efficiency of the people involved, and the Last Annual Report for Hove Hospital is a model example. Every penny of expenditure is accounted for, together with details of where it all went; notable events are described, a great gallery of statistics is laid out, the numerous volunteers and fund-raisers are thanked, and a copy placed in Hove Library so that any resident could study it. The Report is also tinged with sadness because of course it was the end of an era.
It is fascinating to read about the new Nurses’ Home in Princes Crescent. For example, the spacious grounds were pressed into war service, having been rescued from a state of neglect, and instead provided a valuable source of vegetables for Hove Hospital. In addition, a Garden Fete held there on 16 July 1947 raised the gratifying sum of £233 for hospital funds, whereas the Annual Ball at the Dudley Hotel only produced £195.
There are some interesting side-lights in the Report such as the fact that refrigerators had been provided for every ward and ‘proved a great help to the Ward Sisters in keeping the patients’ food fresh’. Then there was the gallant band of Honorary Librarians – Mrs Theis, Mrs Daking, Mrs Mayson and Mrs Middleton – who ‘regularly carried out the supply of library books to the patents, a valuable service’. We also learn that in 1946 there were 755 operations carried out on in-patients, and 4447 X-ray examinations, while in 1947 the figures had risen to 960 operations and 5606 X-rays.
On a final rather pleasant note, it is satisfying to know that not all the money disappeared into the bottomless, national pit. The trustees of the philanthropic John Henry Howard Davy agreed to allocate £25,000 to Hove Hospital for the benefit of the patients and on condition that two new medical wards should be named after him.
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© Hove Library A section from the last ever Annual Report (1947) of Hove General Hospital as an independent voluntary institution |
Casualty Department Closed
In 1970 the department was closed down. This led to a question in the House of Lords posed by Lord Teviot on 3 February 1970. Baroness Serota, Minister of State, Department of Health and Social Security, then stated that from October 1968 until September 1969 some 4,587 patients had attended the casualty department at Hove Hospital. But she assured the noble lords that patients would now go to a brand new casualty department at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.
Vintage Bottles
In 1985 more than 200 old pharmacy bottles were cleared out and despatched to Sotheby’s to be auctioned in October. The vintage bottles dated back to the 1920s and 1930s, and most of them still had their Latin names attached, such as Belladonna and Liquor Plumbi – the latter apparently being useful for bruises.
Closure
In September 1986 more than 300 people crowded into Hove Town Hall to protest against the possible closure of Hove Hospital. The health authorities were considering closing Hove Hospital and Bevendean Hospital, while at the same time abandoning proposals for a new hospital in Holmes Avenue, and concentrating services on Brighton. But Hove people were assured that some medical services would be available in the town, even if the new hospital were not built. There was a public consultation on the subject.
The year 1988 was of course the centenary of the opening of Hove Hospital. But the recognition of the milestone was tinged with sadness under the shadow of possible closure. That same year it was announced that Hove Hospital would close in 1994, and the Government announced that a new hospital would be built in Hove after all. However, the date of closure kept on changing with February 1999 being chosen, then it was down-graded to the end of 1997, which caused a public outcry. In November 1997 the in-patients were moved to Brighton General Hospital, together with the out-patient respiratory service, and thoracic surgery. The diabetes and general medical clinics stayed on until December and then moved to the new Polyclinic. Hove Hospital shut for good on Christmas Eve 1997.
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© J.Middleton The erstwhile hospital is now known as Tennyson Court |
Sources
Argus
Brighton & Hove Herald (4/1/1930 / 15/2/1930)
Brighton Herald (24/10/1896)
Dispensary Reports 1837-1947
Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade
Gildea, J. - King Edward VII the Peacemaker (1914)
House Committee Visitor’s Report
for the Western Branch 1899-1932
Hove General Hospital Annual Review (1947)
Middleton, J. A History of Hove (1979)
Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
Sussex Daily News (31/3/1936)
Copyright © J.Middleton 2021page layout by D.Sharp