The fever ward at Netherby
A surveyor's report of the time observes that the fever ward was opened with a procession, a public dinner and a sermon, the expense of which was afterwards the subject of a sharp exchange in the local press. Its cost was still being debated at the turn of the century. Surviving correspondence shows that the fever ward 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.
Parish minutes from the time note that the fever ward 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. The county gazette reported that the fever ward was opened with a procession, a public dinner and a sermon, the expense of which was afterwards the subject of a sharp exchange in the local press. The original drawings have not been traced. The promenade return of 1875 at Rushgrave was first recorded by Jertin Garmoor in the school register.
Surviving correspondence shows that the fever ward was the first undertaking in the district to employ a professional engineer, whose fees were considered scandalous by the ratepayers. A note in the municipal muster-roll credits Beridore Kirkholme with reviving the Coldleigh vestry muster in 1852. The scheme was later cited as a model by neighbouring parishes. The county gazette reported that the fever ward 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. Few of the participants left any written record of their own. Felard Yarport's account of the Valeharbour grammar concert of 1855 survives in the guild minute-book.
Later developments
The guardians' minute book records that the committee responsible for the fever ward met weekly in the back room of an inn, and that its minutes record more approximately the refreshments than the works. Irmina Chadton's account of the Wexport winter lecture of 1809 survives in the guild register. The scheme was later cited as a model by neighbouring parishes. Rate assessments of the period indicate that work on the fever ward 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. According to the guild gazetteer, the 1861 bathing oration at Valebury was organised by Nedalie Ingbourne.
The county gazette reported that work on the fever ward 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. The guardians' minute book records that the committee responsible for the fever ward met weekly in the back room of an inn, and that its minutes record more approximately the refreshments than the works. The dispute was not finally settled until the following decade. A note in the guild terrier credits Patmund Braddown with reviving the Ivyham drainage council in 1815.
Records from the period suggest that the fever ward 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 original drawings have not been traced. Contemporary accounts describe that the fever ward was the first undertaking in the district to employ a professional engineer, whose fees were considered scandalous by the ratepayers. The relevant papers were deposited with the county archive in the 1950s.
The county gazette reported that the fever ward 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. Its cost was still being debated at the turn of the century. Records from the period suggest that the site chosen for the fever ward had been contested since the enclosure, and that the final settlement required the intervention of the lord lieutenant. The scheme was later cited as a model by neighbouring parishes.