Eccles and Patricroft Hospital and Dispensary, Byrom Street/Cromwell Road, Eccles

In 1877 a voluntary Dispensary opened in two cottages in Byrom Street, Patricroft. The institution owed its existence to the surplus of the Eccles and Patricroft Cotton Relief Fund, and of the Eccles Sewing Class, both dating back to the Cotton Famine of 1861-65. The number of cases rose rapidly from 211 in 1877-8 to 483 in 1882-83. As a result the cottages were no longer considered adequate for the work of the charity.  A nearby site of approximately one acre at the junction of Byrom Street and Cromwell Road was provided by Mrs Emil Reiss and an appeal raised £3,000 to provide for a new building in which provision could be made for surgical and accident cases in addition to the work of a dispensary. The new building was formally opened on 21 December 1883. By 1911 the hospital contained eight beds and two cots.

ECCLES AND PATRICROFT HOSPITAL AND DISPENSARY – The new Hospital and Dispensary for the Eccles and Barton Local Board districts, which has been erected in Byrom Street, Patricroft, was opened yesterday (21 December 1883) by the Hon A F Egerton MP. ….. The buildings which are in the Queen Anne style are from designs prepared by Mr Henry Lord, architect, Manchester, and the work has been carried out by Mr Alderman Brown of Salford. There are for the present only five hospital beds provided, but there is accommodation for twelve. The wards and various other necessary apartments, which include consulting and operating rooms and a spacious room for the dispensing of medicine, etc., are all fitted with the most modern appliances, and every attention has been paid to ventilation and sanitation.

Subsequent History - Proposed extension which would contain a ward with eight beds for women and children, a ward with twelve beds for men and boys, and two small wards with two beds each for the accommodation of patients who could afford to pay for the treatment they received at an estimated cost of £15,000. New King Edward VII memorial wing opened on 12 July 1913 by King George V - architect John Knight (qv).  A children's ward and nurses' home were opened in 1924 and a medical wing in 1928. An appeal was launched in 1929 to expand the accommodation to 60 beds and to fund a general expansion. This would include extra surgical beds, a medical ward, up-to-date X-ray apparatus, an accident ward and a nurses home.  When it joined the NHS, the name changed to Eccles and Patricroft Hospital. It remained an acute hospital until 1966 when, with much controversy, it converted to a maternity hospital.  Eccles and Patricroft became a geriatric hospital in 1974 before closing in 1985. Manchester Guardian 25 July 1959 reports the MRHB's decision to close casualty facility at the Hospital.

Reference    Manchester Guardian 19 January 1883 page 5
Reference    Manchester Guardian 22 December 1883 page 9 – opening
Reference    Manchester Courier 22 December 1883 page3 – opening