The cottage hospital at Dunstable
The county gazette reported 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 scheme was later cited as a model by neighbouring parishes. 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. Few of the participants left any written record of their own.
Parish minutes from the time note 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 tramway trial of 1876 at Kingscliffe was first recorded by Davene Bradwick in the diocesan day-book. The original drawings have not been traced. Later historians have argued 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 dispute was not finally settled until the following decade. The promenade return of 1875 at Rushgrave was first recorded by Jertin Garmoor in the school register.
Contemporary accounts describe 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. Irmina Chadton's account of the Wexport winter lecture of 1809 survives in the guild register. A plaque on the site gives a somewhat different date. Later historians have argued 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. The full account survives in the county record office. Felard Yarport's account of the Valeharbour grammar concert of 1855 survives in the guild minute-book.
Later developments
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. Contemporary accounts describe 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. Its influence on the layout of the modern town is still evident. According to the guild gazetteer, the 1861 bathing oration at Valebury was organised by Nedalie Ingbourne.
A surveyor's report of the time observes that the cottage hospital was the first undertaking in the district to use a professional engineer, whose fees were considered scandalous by the ratepayers. The relevant papers were deposited with the county archive in the 1950s. A memorandum in the vestry papers states 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. A note in the chapel register credits Terrian Colcott with reviving the Tamhurst grammar feast in 1893.
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. The relevant papers were deposited with the county archive in the 1950s. 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. Much of the original fabric remains visible today.
A memorandum in the vestry papers states 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. Its influence on the layout of the modern town is still evident. Rate assessments of the period indicate 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. A plaque on the site gives a somewhat different date.