RECORDS OF THE SOUTHERN DISPENSARY (FORMERLY DISPENSARY FOR LYNCOMBE AND WIDCOMBE)
Reference Number
0028BL
Alternative Reference Number
0028BL
Level of Description
Collection
Title
RECORDS OF THE SOUTHERN DISPENSARY (FORMERLY DISPENSARY FOR LYNCOMBE AND WIDCOMBE)
Creator(s) & Administrative History
Southern Dispensary: The origins of the Southern Dispensary (initially the Lyncombe and Widcombe Dispensary) date from a meeting at the Widcombe school room in October 1849 to discuss establishing a dispensary for the parish of Lyncombe and Widcombe. The parish had the highest mortality rates in the Bath from 1838-1844 with 30.5 deaths per 1000. Following a public meeting a committee was established and began to meet from November 1849 and were responsible for raising funds for the new dispensary. The dispensary was initially in the basement of 26 Claverton Street and opened in January 1850. It changed its name to the Southern Dispensary in 1854. Patients were required to receive a letter of recommendation from a subscriber.
A new building was erected from 1855 and opened in Claverton Buildings in 1856. Patient numbers began to fall following the National Insurance Act of 1911 and the dispensary closed in 1948 following the National Health Service Act.
Date
1849-1948
Extent
Extent: 3 boxes
Description
Annual reports, minutes, correspondence, records of subscribers and other financial records, rules and ephemera.
