Birch Hill Hospital

Birch Hill is one of two National Health hospitals in Rochdale. The other one being Rochdale Infirmary. I have chosen to concentrate on Birch Hill because it has had a more 'colourful' history than the Infirmary.

Birch Hill's story starts in 1834 when the government of the day passed the Poor Law Amendment Act. This law stated that there would be no more handouts of money to the poor they would not be housed for free in temporary accommodation  known as Almshouses. Instead the poor would be incarcerated in giant Union workhouses, as in Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist". This was designed to instill fear into the poor because families were to be separated into age and gender and life within the workhouses would be so miserable that it would deter all but the very desperate. 

This probably suited the south because of the work there was fairly steady but in the north the cotton industry regularly went through highs and lows. The workers, who put in honest days hard work, had to be temporarily laid off during the low or slack periods and would have to take advantage of either state handouts, temporary accommodation or both. Therefore the Poor Law Amendment Act was received in the north with horror. At first glance this may have seemed to be quite 'two faced' of the people of Rochdale because there were a number of small workhouses in Rochdale at that time. These workhouses were in stark contrast to the giant Union ones already built in the south. The people in them were treated with sympathy and respect. Their food (unlike in the south) was not weighed out to them, they were given as much as they could eat. So it is little wonder that the Act was not welcome in the north.

This did nothing to stop the government and the Act became law in 1837. In Rochdale Mass demonstrations were organized and thousands of people crowded into the Butts to hear various speakers including the local radical Thomas Livesy right, plead for the government to show humanity towards the poor. These demonstrations prompted the government to send some commissioners to visit Rochdale and demand the construction of a single giant Union workhouse. By this time Livesy had become the chairman of the Overseers and refused to meet them. Rochdale became the national centre of resistance to the Poor Law Amendment Act and the towns folk even ousted their member of parliament, MP John Fenton, for toeing his party line and supporting the act. 

Unfortunately, as was inevitable, the commissioners in London obtained an injunction forcing Rochdale to create the framework for implementing the Act. In 1877, Rochdale finally built it's single Union workhouse at Dearnly. A full 43 years after the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act, a record in British politics!

Idealistic artist's impression of The New Union Workhouse, Dearnly

Left: The approach to the Workhouse, late 1800's.  Right: The same view 1999 (but now Birch Hill hospital)

The hospital "did it's bit" during WWI. It became one of the reception centres for wounded soldiers from the front. Below are some pictures from that time.

Because of the shortage of space, tents had to be erected in the hospital grounds.

Even though the wounded received very good treatment at Birch Hill it was inevitable that some would die. Above is a  military funeral in the hospital grounds.

Up as far as 1928 the hospital was called Birch Hill Poor Law Institution and Hospital. Then in 1930 there was a change, it happened on April 1st (of all days). The site was split into two halves, Upper & Lower. The upper site was a hospital for Public Health and the lower site was for 'Public Assistance'. The hospital was all joined together as one sometime after the WWII and really hasn't changed.

Back to Main Index

Last updated 15/03/00