Auxiliary Hospitals and Convalescent Homes in Barnsley

During the First World War there were at least two facilities dedicated solely to the care of wounded soldiers located within the immediate Barnsley area. They were the Lancaster convalescent home and Lundwood hospital.

Map showing roughly where the two hospitals were located
Map from Google.

Lundwood hospital was located just under 3 miles east of the town centre, on Lund Lane. It was designated as a class "A" auxiliary hospital, which meant that it cared for bedridden and incapacitated patients. Lundwood had originally opened in 1900 as an isolation ward for smallpox patients. To help with the war effort 66 beds were made available for the treatment of injured service men. After the war Lundwood returned to it's prior use, until it was taken over by the NHS in 1948, at that point it was re-designated to the care of geriatric patients.The hospital closed it's doors for good in 1977.

Lancaster home to is to the right of the Church.
Postcard from my personal colletion

In late 1914 the vicarage of St. Edward the Confessor at Kingstone was given over to the use of convalescing soldiers and renamed 'The Lancaster Convalescent Home'. The vicarage was located on Race Common Road,  just to the south west of Barnsley town centre. The home was named for it's benefactor Edward George Lancaster, who had funded the building of both the church and vicarage in 1902, he also financed the home's running costs for the duration of the war, mostly at his own expense, however, fund raising events were also held to earn money for day trips and treats such as cigarettes for the men. While we don't know how many beds were available, we do know that 562 men were treated there through out the course of the war, this is thanks to  a memorial in the nearby church. Coincidentally the name Lancaster is associated with with the area for a different reason; The Barnsley pals were made up of the 13th and 14th Battalions of The York and Lancaster regiment. Towards the end of March 1919 the Lancaster home discharged it's final patients. The house was then redecorated and made ready for the arrival of the new vicar.

It seems that a stay at the Lancaster was preferable to a bed at Lundwood, as the person writing this postcard makes clear.

Reverse of the previous postcard

Aug 30 1916.

"This is my new residence; - a nice place, much better than Lundwood. Lovely looking, comfortable beds. Infact an ideal place to all appearances. H"

Sadly we don't know the identity of this man or who he was sending the postcard too. But it's a nice little insight into at least one person experience of  both Lundwood and the Lancaster convalescent home.

The Lancaster convalescent home has already been researched in greater depth by KingstoneHistory on the website St Edwards, Barnsley Remembers and also in the book Kingstone Remembers the Great War 1914 - 1918.