A monument preserving the memory and heritage of Haydock Cottage Hospital will be dedicated later this month at it’s Clipsley Lane site.
The Mayor of St Helens Cllr Joe Pearson will dedicate the monument and Haydock Brass Band will be playing alongside local folk singer Martin Williams. Haydock Brass Band played at the laying of the foundation stone of the Cottage Hospital in 1886.
The memorial has been created from the ornate arch stones which were located over the entrance to the building. The stones were donated to the people of Haydock by the present owner of the site, local resident Mr Issam Jabrow, with the express wish that they be preserved in Haydock. At the same time Mr Jabrow donated a Time Capsule, which was featured on Antiques Roadshow. The Time Capsule will be displayed in Haydock Library.
Cllr Martin Bond who has secured the artefacts, commented “Haydock Cottage Hospital was founded in the aftermath of the Haydock Wood Pit disaster in 1878 when over 180 men and boys when killed. The mine owners built the Hospital, but it was the subscriptions of the colliers and pit brow lasses (who earned half the wages of the men) that paid for medical treatment 60 years before Nye Bevan created the NHS. These subscriptions were paid in addition to their union subs.
When the Time Capsule was opened, 2 of the contemporary newspapers in the capsule reported that Haydock Brass Band had played at the Foundation Ceremony. It is therefore only fitting that they will take pride of place as we dedicate the monument, now that building has been demolished. Preserving our heritage to ensure that the sacrifices of those who built our town and society is vitally important. If we can’t always retain the physical reminders, then passing on the stories and memories to following generations becomes even more important.”
The dedication ceremony will take place at 11am on Saturday 18th November 2017.
More about Haydock Cottage Hospital
Haydock Cottage Hospital was built in 1886. The land was donated by Lord Newton along with a piece of land to be used for the recreation of the patients. The colliers of Haydock, raised the princely sum of £290 by a halfpenny a week from their wages. In consideration the committee decided that the miners of Haydock, Parr and Pewfall could be treated free of charge and given free treatment for accidents.
Official records state that heroine nurse, Florence Nightingale, requested copies of the hospital plan, and in a letter dated June 10, 1885, she made observations on every detail and also suggestions for improvements to the hospital, which got her overall approval.
Following several local colliery closures – coupled with new safety measures imposed on colliery owners by the Coal Mines Act which meant less accidents, resulting in less patients – the hospital was eventually opened up to all citizens from Haydock and surrounding areas in 1930, until it’s closure in 1975.
The hospital should not have been pulled down I remember that hospital when it was open they should have done it up it was a lovely hospital they have taken everything out of Haydock they taken the Labery from Clipsley Lane and there is a lot of old people living down this end we had a Labery Van that come round and that got stopped the Councillors are not bothered about people in Haydock only St Helens they are not bothered about St Helens because there is no shops there to go shopping in all the good shops have been closed and it is the Councillors folt they are to greedy because they put the rates up that much.
You need that library!
What’s a labery? Is it a cross between a laboratory and a library ? If you were not happy with the hospital closing then DO something about it. From my knowledge the building was in a dreadful state and had to be demolished. I salute Martin the councillor for all his hard work in getting a memorial so that the history of it will never be forgotten.
John Collier
Is there any need to criticise the spelling
In M Harrison’s message No there is not
As for doing something to save the hospital
This was tried and failed
It was also made into a day centre and worked for a few months again failed
Then if I’m tight I may not be but didn’t haydock band practise in there too and that failed
So how can a community that fought to keep the building going keep it in good condition when all trials failed
But your comments don’t help by criticising some 1 else’s post
Thank you
I’m sorry if your tight C Mayhew I hope your looser now. How on earth did the community fight to keep it open ? Was there a campaign or fund raising ? If there was I certainly didn’t hear about it. As far as I’m aware the building was bought and sold a few times until the present owner decided to demolish it and build different accommodation because of the dreadful state it was in. I can’t remember any community groups forming an action group to protest or a fund to preserve it ? No they’d sooner criticise after.