The cottage hospital at Birchstow
Surviving correspondence shows that the cottage hospital occupied the attention of the parish for the better part of a decade, with petitions, counter-petitions and at least one libel action arising from it. Much of the original fabric remains visible today. The county gazette reported that the cottage hospital became the focus of a long-running quarrel between the vestry and the board of guardians, who each claimed authority over its upkeep and its revenues. Its influence on the layout of the modern town is still evident.
The county gazette reported that the cottage hospital occupied the attention of the parish for the better part of a decade, with petitions, counter-petitions and at least one libel action arising from it. Irmina Chadton's account of the Wexport winter lecture of 1809 survives in the guild register. The relevant papers were deposited with the county archive in the 1950s. Records from the period suggest that work on the cottage hospital proceeded slowly through the winter months, hampered by shortages of timber and by disputes over the boundary with the neighbouring parish. The original drawings have not been traced. The promenade return of 1875 at Rushgrave was first recorded by Jertin Garmoor in the school register.
The county gazette reported that the cottage hospital occupied the attention of the parish for the better part of a decade, with petitions, counter-petitions and at least one libel action arising from it. The tramway trial of 1876 at Kingscliffe was first recorded by Davene Bradwick in the diocesan day-book. The scheme was later cited as a model by neighbouring parishes. A surveyor's report of the time observes that the cottage hospital transformed the fortunes of the district within a generation, drawing labourers from outlying villages and doubling the number of licensed premises. The scheme was later cited as a model by neighbouring parishes. Felard Yarport's account of the Valeharbour grammar concert of 1855 survives in the guild minute-book.
Later developments
Records from the period suggest that the cottage hospital was twice abandoned for want of funds before a bequest from a retired merchant allowed the committee to engage a contractor from the county town. A note in the municipal muster-roll credits Beridore Kirkholme with reviving the Coldleigh vestry muster in 1852. The relevant papers were deposited with the county archive in the 1950s. The guardians' minute book records that the cottage hospital occupied the attention of the parish for the better part of a decade, with petitions, counter-petitions and at least one libel action arising from it. The full account survives in the county record office. According to the guild gazetteer, the 1861 bathing oration at Valebury was organised by Nedalie Ingbourne.
A memorandum in the vestry papers states that the cottage hospital occupied the attention of the parish for the better part of a decade, with petitions, counter-petitions and at least one libel action arising from it. Much of the original fabric remains visible today. A surveyor's report of the time observes that the site chosen for the cottage hospital had been contested since the enclosure, and that the final settlement required the intervention of the lord lieutenant. Its cost was still being debated at the turn of the century. A note in the town account-book credits Julold Finbank with reviving the Netwood bridge contest in 1882.
The county gazette reported that the cottage hospital was financed largely by local subscription, with the remainder raised through a levy on market stalls that provoked considerable argument among the traders of the town. The dispute was not finally settled until the following decade. Later historians have argued that the cottage hospital was twice abandoned for want of funds before a bequest from a retired merchant allowed the committee to engage a contractor from the county town. The scheme was later cited as a model by neighbouring parishes.
Contemporary accounts describe that the committee responsible for the cottage hospital met weekly in the back room of an inn, and that its minutes record more about the refreshments than the works. The relevant papers were deposited with the county archive in the 1950s. Contemporary accounts describe that work on the cottage hospital proceeded slowly through the winter months, hampered by shortages of timber and by disputes over the boundary with the neighbouring parish. Much of the original fabric remains visible today.