Catalogue description ROWLEY BRISTOW HOSPITAL, PYRFORD: RECORDS

For architectural plans of the St Nicholas Home for Crippled Children, Pyrford, 1907, see CC64.

Other material relating to the hospital is held in the archives of the Church of England Children's Society.

Church of England Incorporated Society for Providing Waifs and Strays, 1881-?

Church of England Children's Society

St Nicholas' and St Martins' Home, 1923-?

St Nicholas' and St Martins' Orthopaedic Hospital

Rowley Bristow Orthopaedic Hospital, 1947-1950

Rowley Bristow Hospital, 1962-1990

Records less than 30 years old are closed to public inspection. Records relating to individual patients are closed for 100 years.

Deposited under the Public Records Act 1958, in 1992 and 1994.

• Health services

The Church of England Incorporated Society for Providing Homes for Waifs and Strays, later known as the Church of England Children's Society, was founded in 1881. Through the work of its Children's Union it supported crippled and other children in the Society's homes.

The original main buildings at Pyrford were erected by the Society partly in 1907, with a later building in 1915, for housing crippled children. The first part was known as St Nicholas' and the second part as St Martin's (which had previously been the Home for Crippled Boys at Surbiton). The two homes on the Pyrford site were administered separately until merged to form the St Nicholas' and St Martin's Home in October 1923. The organisation later became known as St Nicholas' and St Martin's Orthopaedic Hospital. After the 1914-1918 war Mr W Rowley Bristow, an orthopaedic surgeon at St Thomas's Hospital in London, became connected with the work of the hospital. Under his leadership and surgical skill, the character of the institution changed rapidly from homes to a hospital, and many children were successfully treated.

Facilities provided included open air wards, open on one side, for the treatment of surgical tuberculosis. Between 1920 and 1937 there were further additions of open air wards, an operating theatre, heated swimming baths, and the establishment of Special School status for the education of long stay children. In 1937 adult patients were first admitted. On the outbreak of war the majority of the hospital's beds were taken over by the Emergency Medical Service for service and civilian war casualties.

Following the death of Rowley Bristow in November 1947, the hospital was renamed the Rowley Bristow Orthopaedic Hospital in his honour. The Church of England Children's Society arranged for the hospital to be transferred to the National Health Service with effect from 1 April 1950, when it came under the control of the South West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board (minutes Jan - Mar 1950 p37). The Rowley Bristow Group Hospital Management Committee was formed to administer the hospital. On 1 October 1962 the Rowley Bristow Group HMC was dissolved and the hospital became part of the Woking and Chertsey Group. Four members of the Rowley Bristow Group HMC were invited to serve on the Management Committee of the Woking and Chertsey Group. A new House Committee comprising the members of the old HMC was formed to administer Rowley Bristow Hospital (minutes Apr - Sep 1962 p40).

The hospital closed in 1990 and its functions were transferred to St Peter's Hospital, Chertsey.

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