Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral History Birkenhead Fever Hospital, 1847.

A letter to the editor, Liverpool Mercury, 1847, a portion below which was effectively a complaint. Headed, Birkenhead Fever Hospital.


" When the houses in Parkfield, the properties of Mr Pim were taken by the overseers of the poor for a fever hospital, it created the greatest alarm to the residents"


Can't say I've ever heard of this hospital.

The 1841 census has Mr Joseph Pim at Parkfield House, it includes, Parkfield Lodge, Parkfield Stables and Parkfield Back Lodge.

Other roads enumerated close by were Exmouth St, Price St, Cleveland St though in 1841 the properties were well spread out.

Modern map shows a Parkfield Ave and Parkfield Place, so it could have been close to those.

It was between 86 and 94 Claughton Road (Post Office Directory 1857)

Not checked house numbers but I guess its the HOME here ....

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/sid...3.02802&layers=6&right=ESRIWorld

Thanks DD,

The 1861 census confirms your findings, however the Fever Hospital must have been short lived, the 1851 census shows no sign of it, there are 19 entries for Parkfield and 1 for Parkfield Cottage. The cottage is occupied by a Laundress and her family. The remaining 19 properties are occupied by the likes of Ship Owner, Corn Merchants, Superintendent of Pilots, Engineers and a Gentleman who describes himself as a, Clergyman not in the care of souls.

Looking at how well to do the residents were, no wonder there were complaints about the fever hospital.

There's another snippet in 1847 reporting on a meeting involving the Commissioners, Overseers and Health Committee.

The Overseers had rented the Parkfield property for £80 per year.

A Doctor Vaughan went to inspect the Hospital and found it unsuitable, he reported, the construction of the building and where the hospital was within the building, it was dark, damp, had no natural light and little fresh air. The hospital had 28 patients, some were suffering fever but the majority were in convalescence and suffering more with hunger than fever.

The Overseers said there was a property more suitable on Flaybrick Hill if they could clear it of the tenants.

Not yet found a report on the outcome, reading between the lines and the 1851 census (above) it looks like they moved to Flaybrick Hill.

Interesting, I used to live in 82/84 Exmouth st which was the Lord Exmouth hotel which was formed from two houses hence the two numbers. The bar was built out from one house and I could step out over the bar and carved in the sandstone where a street sign would have been I always thought it said Park view terrace but could it have been Parkfield terrace which it could have been before Exmouth st was formed. It must have been a posh area because in the cellars were a kitchen range for each house and a box with signals to call servants who must lived in the cellars.

Don't know what that could be, the only hit I get for Parkfield Terrace is in New Ferry. Looking for Park View Terrace, it just brings up Park View, Sidney Terrace. As it was close to Parkfield it could well have something to do with that area.

Well they did eventually move to Flaybrick into what became St James' Hospital, Tollemache Road which originated as Birkenhead County Borough Infectious Diseases Hospital aka the Fever Hospital but that didn't open until 1895.

Birkenhead General hospital was opened in 1862 and St Catherine's infirmary opened in 1863

There's nothing I can see about a fever hospital on or around Flaybrick Hill until St James.

The plan was to take over 2 cottages on Flaybrick which could take 30 patients, there was opposition due to the fact it was out of town, perhaps they dropped the idea.

The infectious diseases hospital arrived first and the adjacent St James was built afterwards as a General Hospital, I'm fairly sure there was a period where they were run as separate hospitals but then amalgamated, maybe when they knocked down the older buildings.

The detailed history of St James hospital disappeared off the internet some time ago which is a shame considering it was a major hospital and much bigger than Birkenhead General.

I vaguely remember there was a separate history about a building just inside the entrance to St James'

There aren't many candidates for two cottages close together on Flaybrick Hill other than Flaybrick Cottage itself near to the junction of Vyner Road and maybe one of the two pairs of semis between Bidston Vicarage and Upton Road. Both of those locations are on Boundary Road.

In Liverpool there appeared to be random buildings taken over as fever hospitals and/or isolation hospitals and poorly documented, I guess demand varied as various endemics/pandemics happened.

1847

Something further on the 2 Flaybrick Cottages and a stumbling block.

They were high rent which would not have presented a problem if they could be relieved of the rent agreement with Mr Pim, Parkfield.

Below a letter from the Doctor to the Overseers,

Gentlemen, I have inspected the 2 cottages on Flaybrick Hill with reference to them being used as a fever hospital.
The distance would render the situation very inconvenient, not only for the removal of but the attendance upon the patients and the want of water
present an insuperable objection to them being used as a fever hospital.

Barnes Vaughan MD.