Medical dates:

Medical character:

The Bromley, Chislehurst and District Maternity Hospital was founded in 1917 by Mrs Mann, who remained its Chairman until her death in 1940.  The Hospital, in a converted 2-storey house which had been the site of a Homeopathic Dispensary, had 19 beds.

During WW2 the staff were advised by the ARP Warden to use only the ground floor for in-patients, thus reducing the number of beds to 15.

In 1940 the Hospital was involved in the heavy expense of replacing the sandbags protecting the building with blast walls.  This, together with the cancelled beds, caused financial difficulties.  The situation became worse as staff left to enlist in the services so that, by 1941, there were insufficient nurses and domestic staff.

In 1942 a Memorial tablet was unveiled in commemoration of the Hospital's founder, Mrs Mann, who had died in 1940.

By 1943 the Hospital had 22  beds and plans were made for further extensions once the war was over, but the committee decided to wait for the Ministry of Health's White Paper on the proposed National Health Service.

In July 1944 the Hospital was closed because of damage due to a flying bomb.  Fortunately, no-one was injured.  The staff were evacuated to Whitby to open an Emergency Maternity Unit on behalf of the Ministry of Health.

The Hospital reopened in 1945 after persistent efforts by the staff and demand from Bromley patients, but was forced to close soon after because of the lack of rooms and financial difficulties.

Present status (July 2008)

The site was taken over in 1945 by Bromley Hospital and became its antenatal department - the Widmore Unit.  It had 22 beds (four single rooms, one 2-bedded ward and the others in 3-, 4- and 5-bedded wards).  A large pre-fabricated hut was built in the grounds, which contained 3 consulting rooms (each with 2 changing cubicles), a urine testing room, offices and sanitary equipment.  There was also a Lecture Room and a dental surgery.   The Unit opened in 1948 and closed in 1971.

The Hospital building has been demolished and a nursing home complex for people with learning disabilities now occupies the site.  It is owned by Bromley Primary Care Trust (now known as NHS Bromley).  It was scheduled to close in mid 2009.