The Rowley Bristow Hospital in its heyday – with Floyd’s Lane in the upper left corner
1. Introduction
Although we have not produced a newsletter for a while, the Forum Heritage Team have been busy on a number of fronts. This has included checking some facts about the Rowley Bristow Orthopaedic Hospital that existed in the plot on the south side of Floyd’s Lane where now we have St Martins Mews and St Nicholas Crescent. As a result we found a number of interesting documents detailing it’s history that we will feature in more detail at a later date. The following article was made available by Mark Coxhead and as Christmas was still very much in our minds during recent cold spell here’s a reminder of our festivities and how things were a 100 years ago for some, in what later became the world famous Rowley Bristow Orthopaedic Hospital.
But before we get started a brief chronology to set the scene:
1907- St Nicholas’ Home for Crippled Children moves to Floyd’s Lane – assisted by F G Stoop
1915 – St Martins Home for Crippled Boys from Surbiton moves into new building on the same site.
c1918 – Walter Rowley Bristow FCRS, of St Thomas’ Hospital, started as Honorary Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
1923 – St Nicholas and St Martin’s Homes merge under the control of the CoE Waifs and Strays Society
1928 – Visit by Duchess of York – the future Queen and Queen Mother
1930 – The Homes were merged into St Nicholas’ and St Martin’s Orthopaedic Hospital and Special School.
1937 – Adults were first admitted
WWII – The hospital was taken over by the Emergency Medical Service for injured servicemen.
1946 – Walter Rowley Bristow dies and the site is renamed the Rowley Bristow Orthopaedic Hospital
1950 – Rowley Bristow finally taken over by the NHS umbrella.
1990 – the hospital closed and its functions transferred to St Peter’s Hospital Chertsey.
2. Crippled Children’s Happy Christmas party – 1922
At the St. Nicholas’ Home for crippled children at Pyrford, a very happy Christmas was spent by the littles ones, and everything possible was done by the staff to brighten up their lives. On Christmas day there was Holy Communion in the morning and a carol service at 10.30am. At 12 o’clock the Christmas dinner was served to some of the children in a ward, while children in the open-air hut had an equally good time, and made quite merry and bright with crackers etc. Tea, with cakes was served at 3.30, and afterwards “Father Christmas” paid the children a visit with a sleigh laden with presents drawn by a “Christmas Turkey” and a “Plum Pudding” with a “Christmas Cracker” and a “Chef” in attendance, members of staff impersonating the “good things”. Presents were distributed, each child received two. A pantomime, produced and acted entirely by members of staff, was later given in the open-air schoolroom. On Christmas morning the children in the open-air hut awoke to find that Santa Claus had decorated a large tree growing just outside the hut. On Wednesday evening the staff Christmas dinner was held, while the tiny children had a Christmas treat in the afternoon. On Thursday (yesterday) the dinner for the maids took place while on 1st January (New Year’s Day) the boys in the adjoining Home, St. Martin’s, will be entertained and the following day there will be another entertainment for the children. The wards and other rooms were brightly decorated with holly and other yuletide decorations.
AT ST. MARTIN’S
At Saint Martin’s home, Pyrford, some of the boys attended Holy Communion at St. Nicholas, while all went up for the Carol service later on Christmas morning. An excellent dinner of roast beef, Christmas pudding and mince pies was provided for them, and parcels sent by the children’s union were distributed, including a stocking five feet long containing five presents for each of the 40 boys. The playrooms were festively decorated with holly by the boys, and the Rev. C. Hamilton (vicar of Pyrford) came along during the Christmas afternoon and joined the boys.
On Boxing Day two football matches by the seniors and juniors were played against the village teams, and it is interesting to note that although the boys are crippled, they have played eight games this season winning six and losing two.
Epitaph
After WW2 the homes became part of the NHS and were renamed The Rowley Bristow Hospital, after the pioneering orthopaedic surgeon. The hospital had evolved into an internationally recognised centre of excellence in orthopaedic surgery, pioneering research, and nursing care to repair and construct bones affected by diseases such as rickets, polio, and TB, as well as accident and war injuries. But sadly, the hospital closed in 1990, by which time the number of beds had fallen to 41, and its functions were transferred to St Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey
Courtesy of Mark Coxhead.
Geoff Geaves – for and on behalf of the Forum Heritage Team
27 February 2025