The History of Pershore Cottage Hospital

The story of the cottage hospital in Pershore began in 1885 when a resident of Bridge Street, Charles Ganderton, offered the sum of £250 for a hospital so long as the town matched his offer.  It failed to do so.  Indeed there was little interest in the project.  

In 1893 Ganderton died leaving what was a considerable sum in those days of £16,000 to the infirmary in Worcester and £500 to Pershore for a hospital, on condition that the town raised an equal sum to match it in the next twelve months.

This time the money was raised.  And on 14 November 1895, the Countess of Coventry opened Pershore cottage hospital.  It had two beds, a cot, an honorary surgeon and an x-ray machine.  The local chemist, Mr Smith, whose shop was where Ogles' is today, developed the x-ray films.

And so the cottage hospital continued, reliant on local subscriptions, legacies and fund raising, until the great nationalisation of 1948 when all hospital premises became part of the National Health Service.  The Friends of the Hospital are the last surviving vestige of the charitable structure which kept the hospital going in the earlier years, and to an extent have undoubtedly saved it latterly.

In 1973 the Friends built and equipped the physiotherapy department at a cost of £32,752.  In 2000 they bought sixteen new beds and then spent a similar sum on various furniture and equipment.  The Friends’ generosity continues as they have already pledged to spend a considerable sum of money on internal furnishings and equipment for the new facility