I am looking at a request to renew an annual subscription.
It is dated 1894 and was for £1. 1/- and was addressed to the “Trustees of the late Earl of Stamford”.
Now there is nothing unusual about such a request, although it was dated October and came with an additional comment in red that “As our financial years closes on the 31st inst., the favour of a remittance during the early part of the month will greatly facilitate the making of our books for the audit”, which would suggest that the Trustees were more than a little late in paying up.
And this would be a particular concern to the secretary a Mr. James Ferguson who was charged with administration of the Hospital for Incurables, whose head office was at 7 St Peter’s Square, and who ran a “Home For In Patients, Mauldeth Heaton Mersey”, a “Branch For Females Only, Walmersley House, near Bury” and a “Dispensary for Out patients, Ardwick Green”.
All of which is a reminder that before the NHS, hospitals relied heavily on donations and almost all medical care came with a charge.
In the case of the Hospital for Incurables, which had been established in 1872 at Ardwick Green, it “'aimed to give permanent relief 'to such persons as are hopelessly disqualified for the duties of life by disease, accident or deformity'.
The hospital would not take patients who would be taken elsewhere, for example lunatics, blind people or paupers. As its name suggests, the hospital was a regional charity, aimed at all the Northern Counties. However, as the only other hospital of its type was in London, the Northern Counties Hospital took patients from all over England”*.
And here I have to declare that the full history of the hospital is drawn from Archives Hub, which aims to assist “All UK researchers interested in using primary source material” and "brings together descriptions of thousands of the UK’s archive collections. Representing over 330 institutions across the country, the Archives Hub is an effective way to discover unique and often little-known sources to support your research. New descriptions are added every week, often representing collections being made available for the first time”.**
I could just lift the whole of their description of the charity and the hospital but instead suggest you visit the site by following the link.
Instead I will explore this particular document which was acquired this week by old friend David Harrop, who lives in Heaton Mersey and was drawn to the subscription request because of the charity’s hospital in Heaton Mersey.
This was Mauldeth House, a building which has a long history and which has been researched in some detail by Allan Russell.***
And for those who want to follow up on the Hospital, the archive recotrds are held at the University of Manchester Library, Reference, GB 133 MMC/9/14, formerly GB 133 J b 10 and consist of 9 items covering the years 1872-1934.
Location; Greater Manchester
Pictures; subscription request for Hospital for Incurables, 1894, and Mauldeth House, date unknown, from the collection of David Harrop
* Hospital for Incurables, https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/b489e047-e6b1-3992-aaa3-5e40e2147729?component=f9012991-d61a-38aa-b4eb-889fee33e835
** Archives Hub, https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/introduction/
*** Mauldeth Home for Incurables, https://thehistoryofstockportin100halls.wordpress.com/tag/mauldeth-home-for-incurables/?fbclid=IwAR2yBUgR1Tm57OCXAgwW72jKsXJtMGkyG19yR3ypELSZWqxLRcLP1Hpoqa8
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