General

In 1924, the MOH report notes that the smallpox hospital has been in almost constant occupation since November 1923, during which time, 45 cases were treated.  The Rural District Council are promoting the combining of neighbouring districts so they can all use a common Fever Hospital; and they suggest the combination in this way of the following district councils: Alnwick Rural, Morpeth Urban and Rural, Ashington, Urban Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Urban and Castle Ward Rural.

By 1931, the MOH report states that the Chevington (Smallpox) Hospital is the only hospital in the district, which is ready for use and in excellent condition. Other diseases aside of smallpox are treated in neighbouring hospitals at fixed charges.  This way of working is said to be much more economical than building new hospitals due to the improved transport – patients belonging to the Morpeth Rural district were able to seek treatment at Walkergate Isolation Hospital, Wooley Sanatorium, Stannington Sanatorium, and Preston Hospital at North Shields, due to the improved transport links.

In 1934, the MOH points out that no case of smallpox has been notified in Britain since the first few months of the year, and that the country seems completely free of the disease.  The smallpox hospital at Chevington remained unopen during 1934, but was ready to use should the occasion arise.  Patients were still being transported to other hospitals, and the cost of doing this 1933-1934 was £275 – about £15,000 in today’s money.

The next significant notes come from the 1936 MOH report, where the hospital has remained unused since 1927, with most infectious cases being transferred to the Newcastle Infectious Diseases Hospital at Walkergate.  By 1937, the hospital is reported as being run down – the water supply is unsatisfactory and needs to be tested; 12 beds would have to be renewed as the mattresses are either too rusty to clean or too broken to repair.  The building itself is in fairly good condition, and could be made into a serviceable state within a day or two.

We need to go back to the Morpeth Herald for more news of the hospital, jumping to 1940, when the MOH requests the Chairman of the Morpeth Rural District Council to sanction the removal of nursing equipment, screens and bed rests from West Chevington Hospital to the hospitals at Ashington and Bedlington, to help them with the influx of paratyphoid fever patients.  When the hospital is inspected a few months later, it is found to be in splendid condition, and the Council no longer want to ‘dispose’ of it, and decide to retain it in case of emergency, and in case it needs to be used as accommodation – especially as there are some years to run on the lease.  It is noted that the farmer near the property has been using the ambulance shed as a lambing shed due to a misunderstanding involving taking part of the garden back!

Jumping in time again, to 1943, Morpeth Rural District Council approve a plan submitted by the County War Agricultural Executive Committee to use the hospital as an agricultural hostel, whilst improving the drainage system.  In September that year, the District Council received a letter of acceptance from Mr. T.W. Bell of West Chevington Farm of their terms for the relinquishment of their lease of the land and premises at Chevington Isolation Hospital.  In April 1947, the Herald reports that the Northumberland War Agricultural Executive Committee are prepared to make a cash settlement of £52 3s 6d – against Morpeth Rural District Council’s claim of £70 13s 6d – in respect of dilapidations at the Isolation hospital, during the period it had been requisitioned, and that the District Council were going to accept the offer.

The last information I could find relating to the Chevington Isolation Hospital, was in an article about the opening of Elliot Community Centre (the Stobhill Town Hall) in December 1947.  The building that was chosen for the Community Centre had been part of the hospital at Chevington.

The records that we have within the Archives are limited to what people and organisations decide to deposit with us.  It would be wonderful to add to what we know about Chevington Isolation Hospital – does anyone have any photographs of the site, relatives that worked there, paperwork relating to the site and buildings, reminiscences of the area?  If you do, please contact us at archives@northumberland.gov.uk

As a little girl, a lot of my time was spent at my gran’s house at Widdrington Station.  She had grown up at Widdrington Colliery and would often regale me with stories of her childhood.  Many of the tales revolved around ‘Paradise’, near West Chevington.  I became fascinated with the tales of the isolation hospital there, and visited many times as a child – before the area was opencasted – wandering through the buildings.  

There was always quite a spooky feel to the site, which we entered through quite a large wooden gate (it may have been a normal size gate, I was quite small at the time!).  On one late afternoon trip, I remember hearing strange noises in one of the buildings, which left me paralysed with fear until a lone sheep decided to wander out through the door!  I think it was on that occasion that I looked in the building and noticed that there was still a bed in place, with blankets upon it.  It felt as if everyone had walked out one day, never to return, leaving everything in its place.

Fast forward a few (!) years, and I find myself working at Northumberland Archives, wondering if there is any information on one of my childhood haunts.  Actual records from isolation hospitals are one of the gaps in our collections, but there is other information lurking if you know where to look.  Looking at the OS maps, I found the isolation hospital on a copy of the 3rd edition (1925) map [ref. sheet LI.SE].  My next move was to look through local newspapers, to establish a timeline for the hospital, and learn more about its history.  The Morpeth Herald was where I found mention of the hospital, because it was operated by the Morpeth Rural District Council.

In July 1902, Morpeth Rural District Council had decided that the best site for an isolation hospital was on Chevington Moor, near Chevington Station, as it was near a water supply.  It took until May 1903 for the draft contract for the site to be drawn up by Lord Grey’s solicitor.  By August 1903, reports noted that the ground at the site had been levelled and, as smallpox was currently rife, building was urged to begin as soon as possible.  The site comprised 12 acres, and the lease was to be for 48 years, at £12 per annum, to commence 12 May 1904.  

The Morpeth Herald on 19 September 1903 reports that the isolation hospital would be ready to accept patients in 10 days, and that the “appearance of the hospital is very attractive, the surrounding air health-inspiring…”  It was also noted that 300 yards west of the hospital and on a direct line with it, was an old roofless engine-house, that would make an excellent smallpox hospital.  On 26 May 1904, the Hospital was inspected by the District Council’s Hospital Committee – it is interesting to note that in this newspaper article, the site of the Hospital is referred to as Paradise, the only time I have found written evidence of it being called this.  Two trees were planted on the occasion of the visit, one by the Chairman, Mr. T. Hudson, and one by the Medical Officer, Dr. William Clarkson.  24 cases of smallpox had been recently treated there (four of them of a very severe nature), and all patients had survived.

We then jump to 1911 for the next mention of the hospital.  A Mr. William Wilson was appointed caretaker out of 14 applicants in May of that year, and in November there is a report from the Doctor regarding the possible conversion of the old engine-house, which is worth reading:
“At present we have a smallpox hospital, which accommodates 20 patients, and there is the old engine-room, which is not fitted out, and I consider it would not be wise to equip it, as it would only accommodate four beds, or six for some diseases.  It would require new windows, the walls plastered, and the roof sealed.  Then it must be divided into two and nurses’ accommodation added…”

The Doctor concluded that it was best to keep the current hospital as a smallpox hospital as it was very isolated, and to select another position as a fever hospital. In 1912 and 1913, there was much discussion at the local council meetings regarding the use of the hospital as a central isolation hospital.  It was argued that it couldn’t be used to isolate cases of fever because it was set apart purely for smallpox cases, the counter argument was that it could be used for one infectious disease at a time, but that a nurse would need to be appointed.  We then jump to 1919, when a separate typhoid hospital in Longhirst was being proposed, as Chevington couldn’t accept typhoid cases.

Substantial entries for the hospital peter out at this point, and I turned to the Medical Officer of Health [MOH] Reports for Morpeth Rural District Council, for information [ref. CC/CH/MOH/1/19].  In the 1920 MOH report, one of the sites recommended for the Infectious Hospital (presumably the one proposed for Longhirst originally, for typhoid cases) was on a neighbouring site to the ‘Smallpox Hospital’ (Chevington), and the other on Morpeth Moor.  By 1921, the Reports are talking about a Fever Hospital, for which there is no government money available, and the answer might be to create a Union Hospital by joining with several neighbouring Councils.

Part two to follow…..

Earlier in the year I was asked to write an article about Dr Ethel Williams, Newcastle’s first female GP and suffragist, who retired to Stocksfield in 1924.  I was keen to continue learning more about the life of this remarkable lady and some of her friends and associates, in particular once the office re-opened exploring the resources available at Northumberland Archives.  Whilst there are many areas of Ethel’s life I am keen to explore, I decided to find out about her final resting place first. 

Newspaper articles and obituaries at the time of her death in January 1948 indicated that Ethel had died at home.  The Newcastle Journal reported that the funeral was to be held at Hindley Churchyard, Stocksfield.  The will of Mabel Annie Burnip, Ethel’s private secretary and main beneficiary, set aside a sum of money for the upkeep of Ethel’s grave at the burial ground at Hindley, Stocksfield.  So, on a sunny Sunday afternoon in September that is what I set off to find.   

Now I must admit, I’m not very familiar with that part of Northumberland, and without a postcode to put into the satnav I was just hoping that I would find it based on loose sense of direction with a little bit of luck thrown in.  Hindley itself is a couple of miles outside of Stocksfield, the churchyard about quarter-mile from Hindley in the Bywell St. Peter parish.  Exploring the country roads, I could see why Ethel had returned to Newcastle during World War Two; the temptation to explore the beautiful open countryside must have been strong, but perhaps not wise when petrol was rationed…I decided I better put some fuel in just in case! 

What do we know about the church and cemetery?  The balance sheet of the ‘Building Fund of St. Margaret’s Mission Room, Hindley, in Bywell St. Peters’ dated February 1891 indicates that building was underway at this time [EP 45/80].  The second edition Ordnance Survey map for the area (1895) shows St. Margaret’s Mission Chapel not far from Broomley.  Minutes taken at the parish meeting of the Broomley and Stocksfield Parish Council in October 1930 ask that additional land is purchased at Hindley Church for a burial ground [PC 7/2].  By May 1931 this piece of land which was 3,383 and one-ninth yards squared had been fenced, drained and considered to be in a ‘fit and proper state’ for burials; a petition was raised for the land to be consecrated.  The land was consecrated the following month [DN/E/4/1/27/1].  By 1979 the Chapel was in decline; “St. Margaret’s Church has not for some years been used for regular services, but only for occasional funeral services, and constitutes a potential liability for maintenance and repair”, the decision to sell the building was made.  A stained-glass memorial window was removed and relocated to Bywell St. Peter and the building subsequently sold [DN/E/8/2/2/3848]. 

The building itself is now a private residence, the burial ground is accessible by a gate from the roadside.  It looked small, neat and ordered.  It didn’t take long to find Ethel’s grave, although it is hard to read as the stone is worn, some of the words illegible, but it is undoubtedly her final resting place.  Continuing to look around, I also found the grave of Mabel Burnip, her will was instrumental in taking me to this peaceful corner of Northumberland.  Mabel died in 1984, if anyone recalls her and would like to share their memories, we would love to hear from you.