The
house on your right is ‘Rose Cottage’; which was the
first cottage hospital serving the Spa Baths.
Originally this
was a farmhouse (Evelyn’s Farm) built in the late 18th century
after the enclosure of the Woodhall and Langton parishes from 1767
to 69. Once former open grazing land had been enclosed by hedges,
it became customary to establish farms in the new fields since they
were often a considerable distance from the original village centres.
Evelyn's Farm (Rose Cottage) in about 1860.
Fragment of an aerial sketch by Johnny Wield. Courtesy of the
Cottage Museum
In
1873 Dr. Robert Cuffe, who was the medical superintendent and
tenant of the Victoria Hotel and Spa Baths, established a small
hospital here for patients who could not afford to stay at the
Victoria Hotel. Many patients attended from all over the
country and it is said that many nailed their crutches to the
back door once they were cured.
The hospital
was later replaced by the Alexandra Hospital, built on the instigation
of Rev. J. Otter Stephens of Blankney (one of the ‘Syndicate’)
on a larger scale in 1890. This hospital was a large building just
past, and opposite the Golf Hotel, in the Queen Anne Revival Style.
The
Alexandra Hospital in about 1910 after it was extended to
its present size. Photo courtesy: Woodhall Spa Cottage
Museum.
The Alexandra
Hospital continued to be used by the National Health Service for
patients attending the Spa Baths until the collapse of the well in
1983. The patients were transferred to Lincoln, where a ward still
retains the name ‘Alexandra’. The building has now been
converted into flats.
When Dr.
Robert Cuffe, was superintendent, he appeared to have conflicting
views with Thomas Hotchkin, the owner of the Spa Baths. Cuffe was
very keen to develop the medical science associated with the water
and keen to promote the healing properties to all classes. Thomas
Hotchkin had invested considerable sums of money in the Spa Baths
and naturally wanted to see some return on his investment. A rift
in treatment policy seems to have developed between the two men particularly
after the founding of the cottage hospital.
Frontispiece
of Robert Cuffe’s paper read to the British Medical
Congress in 1895
In
November 1883 a hand bill was circulated by Thomas Hotchkin stating
that his ex tenant, Robert Cuffe was no longer associated
with the Spa Baths and had taken considerable quantities of spa
water and other materials from the spa. This may suggest that Robert
Cuffe either continued treatment from Rose Cottage or from his
residence in Iddesleigh Road, Northcote House.
Cuffe’s
continuing interest in spa water therapy resulted in him publishing
a paper on his investigation in 1895. In it, he alludes to controversial
treatments, without going into details, and mentions the specific
use of the high concentrations of iodine and bromine present in the
spa water to treat inflammation and nervous disorders. He based his
results on 571 cases he investigated whilst at the Spa Baths and
was clearly at the forefront of his field. It is clear that once
his work was published and recognised his ideas formed the basis
for the various treatments carried out at the Spa Baths in the early
20th century.
In the 1930s,
John Lewis lived at Rose Cottage. He bought the Spa Baths Estate
(Spa and grounds) from the Weigalls in late 1929 with the aim to
run it more profitably. Up to this point it had been losing money,
largely because of the post First World War decline. The Town Council
was involved as under the previous agreement they had subsidised
the Spa Baths. John Lewis seems to have entered into some kind
of negotiation to run the baths with the Weigalls and the Town Council
which then fell through, possibly due to the deepening of the depression
after 1929. The result was that Lewis closed the Spa Baths and the
grounds for a short time and forbade access to the grounds, which
by then had become a popular walking area. Lewis’s ideas for
the Spa never materialised and he sold it back to the Weigalls in
June 1935, after having removed some of the equipment. This was stored
for many years in the greenhouses at the back of Rose Cottage.
The Heritage Trail
Click
on the numbers to visit the next point on the Woodhall Spa Heritage
Trail (Under construction - only 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11, 16, 17 & 19
are currently active)
The trail
can be started at any location, but we suggest you also visit the
Cottage Museum to see the photographs taken by John Wield during
the heyday of the Spa and items associated with this
unique Victorian Spa town.
Arts
& Crafts
Heritage
Trail Location 2 - Rose Cottage 
Top of page