From home to hospital: Life at Wrest Park, Bedfordshire during World War I

Dr Andrew HannProperties Historians’ Team Leader

Introducing Wrest Park

A French Chateau in the Bedfordshire Countryside

Three Centuries of Garden History

Auberon Herbert, 9th Baron Lucas (1876-1916)

Pickets Post, 1915

Preparation of the hospital

Nan Herbert

Beauchamp and Barrie

Convalescent home nurses. Nan Herbert is back row, centre

J. M. Barrie

Arrival of first convalescents

Life at ‘Wrest in Beds’

Conversion to a base hospital

Arrival of the first patients

Nan takes over as matron of the hospital

Nan’s diary provides a vivid record of the hospital at work

• 1st Oct 1915: Early morning round and hard at work at nurses’ register and correspondence. Mr Ewart arrived at 1.54 for eleven operations. I attended four, and did swabs for the appendix case

• 1 May 1916: The Hospital is running more smoothly than ever before, so I can get away more easily. Perfecting details of Terrace shelter and nurse shifts.

• 17th July 1916: Hectic day. Long round in C Ward. At 12.15 emergency operation. Kirkwood took off a man’s arm. Have never seen anything like it – up to the elbow the arm was rotten and blue (gas Gangrene) Cleaned up theatre by 2.30

Entertainments

The end of the hospital

The 1917 sale

• Hospital closed following serious fire in Sept 14th

• Auberon Herbert, 9th Baron Lucas killed in action Nov 3rd

• Sister, Nan Herbert puts Wrest up for sale

Evidence for the hospital