Lost_Hospitals_of

During WW1 the Kent/66 Voluntary Aid Detachment in Chislehurst organised a number of auxiliary hospitals in local houses. When one of these, Holbrook House, had to be returned to its owners in 1916, Mrs Arthur White offered The Gorse as a replacement.

The Gorse Auxiliary Hospital opened in July 1916, affiliated with the Queen's Hospital in Sidcup, which specialised in facial and jaw injuries.

The Hospital closed on 25th September 1918.

Present status (November 2011)

The Gorse was used as a convalescent home again during WW2 and possibly as a hostel for Polish refugees.

After the war Bromley Council opened it as a home for children in care, whose mothers were in hospital, and this lasted until the early 1980s.

The house was derelict for some years but, in 1990, was refurbished and converted into four apartments. It is now a locally listed building.

LOST HOSPITALS OF LONDON
	The Gorse Auxiliary Hospital Manor Park, Chislehurst, Kent BR7 5QD

	Medical dates: Medical character:	1916 - 1918 Convalescent (military)
	During WW1 the Kent/66 Voluntary Aid Detachment in Chislehurst organised a number of auxiliary hospitals in local houses. When one of these, Holbrook House, had to be returned to its owners in 1916, Mrs Arthur White offered The Gorse as a replacement. The Gorse Auxiliary Hospital opened in July 1916, affiliated with the Queen's Hospital in Sidcup, which specialised in facial and jaw injuries. The Hospital closed on 25th September 1918. Present status (November 2011) The Gorse was used as a convalescent home again during WW2 and possibly as a hostel for Polish refugees. After the war Bromley Council opened it as a home for children in care, whose mothers were in hospital, and this lasted until the early 1980s. The house was derelict for some years but, in 1990, was refurbished and converted into four apartments. It is now a locally listed building.
	The entrance lane off Manor Park (left) and the southern aspect of the house (right). It was built around 1900 in the secluded Manor Park area to the east of Chislehurst, by the Common. The northeast side of The Gorse, as seen from the nearest section of the Common which is known as 'The Gorse' and from which the house may have taken its name. The southeast aspect of the house, seen from 'The Gorse'.
	References (Author unstated) 1920 Kent Voluntary Aid Detachments. Report of Hospitals and Detachments 1914-1919. Bromley, self-published. (Author unstated) 1921 The Hospital World. British Journal of Nursing, 19th November, 320. www.chislehurst-society.org.uk (1) www.chislehurst-society.org.uk (2) www.chislehurst-society.org.uk (3)
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