Located in Park Street, the original Cottage hospital was established in 1866 in a building that has a Georgian front elevation. Congleton was enjoying the prosperous times of the Victorian boom. The town had a long tradition in trade and manufacture and the Victorian period saw population growth and a rise in living standards for many people. The principle of “mens sana in corpore sano” or “a healthy mind in a healthy body” fitted well with Victorian ideals. So also was the idea of charitable giving.
Eleanor Lowe of Moody Terrace, who enjoyed a comfortable income from capital inherited from her father, donated regularly to the Cottage Hospital. A new hospital, The War Memorial Hospital on Canal Street was opened by George VI (Duke of York) in 1924 and the Cottage Hospital building was put to other uses being occupied by the Divisional Medical Office and now being occupied by a commercial enterprise.
The hospital had beds for eight patients and if you stand in the adjacent car park, you can see the glass atrium roof. This was not there for decorative purposes, but rather it gave light to the operating table that was directly below it. In 1907, the matron was Miss Amy Wagnell, possibly seen here in a contemporary postcard. (Image Brampton Publications, “Congleton a portrait in old postcards” 1988).
