Heatherwood Hospital is an
NHS hospital in
Ascot,
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
. It is managed by
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust.
History
The hospital has its origins in a Victorian country residence known as “Heatherfield” built in 1876, possibly for the Farrar family (whose motto 'Ferre va Ferme' appears over the front door). It was in the ownership of the Ponsonby family between 1881 and 1891, when the Hon.
Ashley Ponsonby, a
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
and cousin of
Sir Henry Ponsonby
Major-General Sir Henry Frederick Ponsonby (10 December 182521 November 1895) was a British soldier and royal court official who served as Queen Victoria's Private Secretary.
Biography
Born in Corfu, he was the son of Major-General Sir Frede ...
, Equerry to
Queen Victoria, and his family had their country seat there.
By 1900 the estate was known as Heatherwood and had been acquired by Sir Thomas Lucas, Bt., the son of Thomas Lucas, one of the founders of
Lucas Brothers, the builders. The estate was offered for sale at auction by Messers Chancellor and Sons in 1906, but initially failed to find a purchaser. The house and estate was eventually acquired by the United Services Fund (possibly in 1919 when the estate was again offered for sale at auction but more likely in 1920 when it was sold by private treaty by Hamptons).
The United Services Fund converted the building into a hospital for the children of ex-servicemen from the
First World War. Patients were admitted from 1922 and the new hospital was officially opened by the
Duke of Connaught in May 1923.
The new facility specialised in the treatment of children suffering from
tuberculosis and orthopaedic diseases.
[ The hospital joined the National Health Service in 1948 and new accident and emergency, out-patient, physiotherapy and hydrotherapy facilities were opened by the Princess Royal in 1961.][ A new maternity department opened in 1972 and a new mental health and elderly health unit was opened by Princess Anne in 1988.][
Following cut-backs, the birth unit closed in September 2011 and the minor injuries unit closed in January 2014.
A new hospital building with six operating theatres, 48 inpatient beds and facilities for 22 day cases, was constructed on a site close to the Ascot Stables and completed in April 2022. The former hospital will be demolished, with a new housing development built on the site.
]
Film location
The former Heatherwood Hospital was used as the exterior of "Finisham Maternity Hospital" in '' Carry On Matron'' (1972).
See also
* List of hospitals in England
Notes
References
External links
Heatherwood Hospital
{{authority control
Hospital buildings completed in 1922
Hospitals in Berkshire
NHS hospitals in England
Sunninghill and Ascot