Joyce Green Hospital was a hospital near

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It opened in 1903 as an

isolation hospital A fever hospital or isolation hospital is a hospital for infectious diseases such as scarlet fever and smallpox. Their purpose is to treat affected people while isolating them from the general population. Early examples included the Liverpool ...

. In later years it was a training hospital. The hospital was closed in 2000 and the buildings were demolished. The greenspace where the hospital used to stand is known as Joyce Green.

Background

The hospital was planned in the late 19th century to accommodate sufferers of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

, which had reached epidemic levels in London. It replaced three

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. ...

s based nearby in Long Reach, Gravesend 15 miles downriver from London Bridge on the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

. The ships, ''Atlas'', ''Endymion'' and the ''Castalia'', were made fast in 1883 at their new custom built moorings, they were in-line, connected by bridges 150 yard from the riverbank. The ships had become unsuitable for their role due to increasing maintenance costs, the risk of collision from passing ships and the increasing demand for beds for

patients.

History

Metropolitan Asylums Board The Metropolitan Asylums Board (MAB) was established under Poor Law legislation to deal with London's sick and poor. It was established by the Metropolitan Poor Act 1867 and dissolved in 1930, when its functions were transferred to the London Count ...

architects A & C Harston, the hospital was built on the former Joyce Green estate, whose area totalled . Planning for the building of the hospital began in 1893. The building of the hospital was delayed due to disagreements with the Local Government Board over the proposed size. A -gauge tramway connected the pier with the main hospital. It was built in 1893, ahead of the construction of the main buildings. Dick, Kerr & Co. were responsible for some of the work. Horse-drawn trams were used. Initially, second-hand trams were used, converted to 4 ft gauge. As the trams were unsuitable for the hospital, they were replaced in 1908 by a fleet of at least five purpose-built ambulance trams. At its maximum, the tramway extended to . A severe outbreak of smallpox in late 1901 increased the demand for beds. A temporary set of buildings was erected near the River Thames, where a pier would be erected to enable patients to be brought in by boat. This first set of buildings was known as the Long Reach and opened on 27 February 1902. Another set of temporary buildings were erected to the north-west of the main hospital. Known as The Orchard, they opened later in the spring of 1902, providing 664 beds. The Joyce Green Hospital opened in 1903 with a capacity of 986 beds. From 1907, the Long Reach and Orchard sites housed smallpox patients. The main hospital housing

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

and

scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects childr ...

cases, and later also catering for

measles Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...

and

whooping cough Whooping cough, also known as pertussis or the 100-day cough, is a highly contagious bacterial disease. Initial symptoms are usually similar to those of the common cold with a runny nose, fever, and mild cough, but these are followed by two or ...

patients too. The threat of smallpox had subsided by 1910. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, The Orchard was used as a military hospital, mainly catering for Australian troops. In July 1914, a motor vehicle was trialled for the haulage of the tramcars. Although successful, none could be spared and the idea was dropped. In June 1918, the hospital housed 1,140 Russian refugees who had been in contact with smallpox. A

Talbot Talbot was an automobile marque introduced in 1902 by English-French company Clément-Talbot. The founders, Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury and Adolphe Clément-Bayard, reduced their financial interests in their Clément-Talbot ...

ambulance was used to haul two trams at a time in 1924–25. Electric lighting was installed at the hospital in 1926. The Long Reach was maintained in a condition of instant readiness, with a skeleton staff at all times. The original buildings were replaced in 1928–29 by permanent facilities providing 252 beds. In 1930, the hospital came under the control of

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

. An outbreak of smallpox saw the Long Reach buildings brought into use between 1931 and 1934. The tramway was in use until 1936 and the rails were lifted in 1943. With the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the Emergency Medical Scheme was established. Joyce Green Hospital became a general hospital. Between 1944 and 1946, part of the site became a Dutch military hospital. The buildings that formed the Orchard were mostly destroyed by fire during the war. Those that survived were converted to agricultural use. In 1948, the hospital became a

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

hospital. On 31 January 1953, the Long Reach site was nearly flooded due to a storm surge. In the 1950s, the hospital became used as a training ground for fever nurses, due to the existing facilities for treating infectious diseases. The Long Reach site treated its final patients in 1973, and the buildings were demolished two years later to facilitate the construction of a new flood barrier. After services had been transferred to

Darent Valley Hospital Darent Valley Hospital is a 478-bed, acute district general hospital in Dartford, Kent, England. The hospital has an Emergency Department. The hospital is managed by the Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust. History The hospital, which was built to ...

, the hospital closed and was demolished in 2000. Joyce Green remains as heathland.

References

;Citations ;Notes # The three ships were , and . ;Sources * * * {{authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1903 Hospitals in Kent Borough of Dartford Buildings and structures demolished in 2000 1903 establishments in England 2000 disestablishments in England Hospitals disestablished in 2000 Defunct hospitals in England Tram transport in England Military hospitals in the United Kingdom 4 ft gauge railways in England

Background

History

See also

References