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Health & Hospitals

Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire

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Bradford on Avon’s hospital, now Leigh Park Hotel

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The earliest hospital in Bradford on Avon was probably St Margaret’s leper hospital, the whereabouts of which is not known for sure, but such places were usually sited outside towns and may have preceded the later parish workhouse in Frome Road, or have been where St Catherine’s Almshouse is now, also in Frome Road.

The town’s Carnival Committee raised money for the United Hospital in Bath in the early 20th century, but by the 1940s Bradford was making plans to have its own hospital. The fish and vegetable merchant Albert Davis purchased Leigh House in 1936 and was willing to sell the house and grounds at a knock-down price of £1,500 so it could become a hospital. Efforts were made to raise funds, but, largely because of World War 2, Bradford’s hospital didn’t open until 1947, just in time to be nationalised as part of the new National Health Service next year.

A maternity hospital opened in Berryfield House and was used for more than just local births. When Leigh House closed and became a hotel, Berryfield became the local hospital. However, it too has been closed and has now been converted to housing.