Passmore Edwards District Cottage Hospital Explained

Passmore Edwards District Cottage Hospital, Tilbury, Essex, also known as Tilbury and Grays District Cottage Hospital was a hospital in Tilbury, Essex.

History

The hospital was one of several cottage hospitals funded by John Passmore Edwards, a wealthy philanthropist, journalist, newspaper owner and Member of Parliament. In 1894 Tilbury had a population of 14,000, a busy dock, but no hospital.^[1] Passmore Edwards agreed to contribute £2000 towards the construction of a cottage hospital. He was asked to lay the foundation stone in October 1895,^[2] the hospital opened in 1896, and was enlarged in 1900-1901.^[3] The hospital Chairman was Sidney Holland^[4] who had just joined the management committee of The London Hospital, in Whitechapel, and was also Chairman of Poplar Hospital.^{[5] [6] [7]} The hospital closed in 1969 and hospital provision was taken over by Orsett Hospital, now Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.^[8]

Notable staff

The first two matrons both trained at The London Hospital under Matron Eva Luckes.^[9]

• Caroline Myra Watson (1856-1948), Matron 1896-1915.^{[10] [11] [12]} Watson trained between 1889-1891 and stayed on to work as a staff nurse afterwards.^{[13] [14]} In 1895 she moved to Poplar Hospital as a Sister. As hospital Chairman, Holland oversaw the selection of a matron for the new hospital and appointed Watson without advertising the position.
• Anna Cornelia Jeppsen (1880-1951), Matron 1915- until at least 1918.^[15] Jeppsen trained between 1910-1912.^[16] After her training she stayed on as a staff nurse and undertook Midwifery training before becoming matron in Tilbury.^{[17] [18] [19]}

References

1. 5 April 1894 . Passmore Edwards' Munificence . . 5 . www.rcn.org.
2. 8 October 1895 . Cottage Hospital: Tilbury . . 7 . www.rcn.org.
3. Book: Burdett, Henry . Burdett’s Hospital and Charities Annual 1907 . . 1907 . 271.
4. Matron’s Annual Letter, No.3; Matron’s Annual Letter to Nurses, 1894–1916; RLHLH/N/7/2, No.3, June 1896, 8; Barts Health NHS Trust Archives and Museums, London
5. Book: Holland, Sydney . In Black and White . . 1926.
6. Book: Gore, John . Sydney Holland: Lord Knutsford, A Memoir . . 1936.
7. Gore, John, revised by Patrick Wallis, ‘Holland, Sydney George, second Viscount Knutsford, (1855–1931)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford, 2004) Available at https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/33943, accessed on 1 June 2020
8. Web site: Lost_Hospitals_of_London . 2024-08-08 . www.ezitis.myzen.co.uk.
9. Rogers, Sarah (2022). 'A Maker of Matrons'? A study of Eva Lückes's influence on a generation of nurse leaders: 1880–1919' (unpublished PhD thesis, University of Huddersfield, April 2022).
10. 0 Matron’s Annual Letter to Nurses, No.3, Matron's Annual Letter to Nurses, 1894–1916; RLHLH/N/7/2, No.3, June 1896, 8; Barts Health NHS Trust Archives and Museums, London.
11. 13 June 1896 . Appointments . . 20 . 507 . xciv . www.rcn.org.
12. Matron’s Annual Letter to Nurses, No.22, Matron's Annual Letter to Nurses, 1894–1916; RLHLH/N/7/2, No.22, June 1915, 46; Barts Health NHS Trust Archives and Museums, London
13. Caroline Myra Watson, Register of Probationers; RLHLH/N/1/3, 96; Barts Health NHS Trust Archives and Museums, London 4139
14. Caroline Myra Watson, Register of Sisters and Nurses; RLHLH/N/4/1, 121; Barts Health NHS Trust Archives and Museums, London
15. 28 December 1917 . Festivities at The Hospitals: Tilbury . . 3 . www.rcn.org.
16. Anna Cornelia Jeppsen, Register of Probationers; RLHLH/N/1/17, 112; Barts Health NHS Trust Archives and Museums, London
17. Anna Cornelia Jeppsen, Register of Sisters and Nurses; RLHLH/N/4/3, 296; Barts Health NHS Trust Archives and Museums, London
18. 11 December 1915 . Appointments . . 55 . 488 . www.rcn.org.
19. Jeppsen, Anna Cornelia, The Midwives Roll, 1915, 783. Accessed on 14 October 2018 available via ancestry.co.uk