Medical dates:

Medical character:

In 1921 the Daughters of Charity Vincent de Paul bought Warley House for use as a tuberculosis sanatorium for young women.  It was to be renamed De Marillac House after the 17th century founder of their order, Louise de Marillac, who had recently been beatified.

The mansion had been built in 1805 by the Board of Ordnance for the commandant of the 3rd Batallion of the Essex Regiment, located nearby.  It stood in 12 acres of woodland on high ground in what was considered one of the healthiest spots in Essex.

The Marillac Sanatorium opened on 8th September 1921.

At the outbreak of WW2 in 1939, it joined the Emergency Medical Service.

The Sanatorium did not joined the NHS in 1948 but continued to be run by the Daughters of Charity.

By the early 1950s anti-tuberculous chemotherapy had almost eradicated the disease and made tuberculous sanatoria obsolete.  In 1956 the Sisters were asked by the North East Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board to care instead for NHS female patients who were chronically ill.  The Sanatorium was renamed Marillac Hospital.

Plans were considered to provide more suitable premises with modern amenities for the patients and, in 1963, after the Essex Regiment had moved its headquarters to Chelmsford, the Sisters took over its Officers' Mess building and gardens in Eagle Way.

The building was adapted for use by physically disabled patients and opened in September 1963.

In 1994 the Hospital was completely refurbished; the accommodation and services were modernised.  It then had 50 beds for physically disabled men and women needing 24-hour care.

Present status (February 2009)

The Hospital is now known as Marillac Care, a nursing home with 52 beds for patients with neurological and complex physical disabilities.  It is still owned and  run by the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul.

The original site of the Hospital, Warley House, was demolished.  The grounds of the House are now occupied by Hartswood Hospital, a modern private facility run by Spire.