History Talk 2025
The History talk in 2025 used research, newspaper cuttings, census reports and photographs to tell the story of Hill End and Cell Barnes Hospital from the late 1920’s to the early 1970’s
The was the follow up to the talk given the previous October which covered the Early Years
As before, a great deal of the information for the talk was found in the unpublished work “Nearly a Century: The History of Hill End Mental Hospital 1899-1995” by Brian Anderson.
Significant sections of the the talk covered Cell Barnes Hospital which was opened on 5th October 1933 and closed in October 1998 as a result of the move towards Care in the Community. The hospital became part of the National Health Service on 1st July 1948 – the year the NHS was founded.
At the end of the 1930’s the next significant event on the hospital’s timeline was St BARTHOMEW’s HOSPITAL AT HILL END IN THE YEARS 1939 – 1961
The Bart’s units located at Hill End eventually if perhaps not during the first few weeks, included general medical, surgical, orthopaedic, ear, nose and throat, ophthalmic surgery, neurosurgery and thoracic surgery.
The talk finished the history in the 1970’s with many recollections of staff and patients who were at the hospitals.
All being well our History Talk in 2026 will cover the “Final Years” of the Hill End and Cell Barnes hospitals up to their closure and the creation of the Highfield Park.