Tuesday 17 September 2019

Edith Cavell Nursing Home





On the outskirts of Paparoa, a town about 20 minutes West of here is this wee gem, actually I shouldn't say wee as it is quite an extensive property. The old Nurse Edith Cavell Memorial Hospital is a shadow of what it once was. It's now privately owned, but about 12 years ago when my ex husband and I were looking at buying a house we were shown through this by the owner. I would've loved to have bought it but sadly he wanted more money than what it was realistically worth.


The day we visited 2 weeks ago there were workmen renovating the outside around the side and I didn't like to go in without permission from the owner. A bit of history says that it opened in 1917 and was named after Nurse Edith Cavell, a British nurse who had been executed by the Germans in Belgium in 1915. The hospital was closed in 1974 and is still privately owned but for over 5 decades so I'm sure that many local babies were born there. Apparently it has 4 bathrooms, high stud ceilings and a massive coal range - all of which could be beautifully restored. I wish I could buy it - oh the history!




And here is the lady herself.

Linking up with Our World Tuesday and  My corner of the world

12 comments:

William Kendall said...

If only!

There's a mountain in the Canadian west named after her.

Photo Cache said...

I really appreciate the efforts to renovate historical buildings.

<a href="https://calrat.blogspot.com>Worth a Thousand Words</a>

Susan Heather said...

It sounds as though someone could be renovating it now if workmen were there.

eileeninmd said...

Hello, I like seeing these beautiful places renovated. Enjoy your day, have a great new week!

Sharon said...

An interesting bit of history and a beautiful building too.

Fun60 said...

Good to hear it is being reused at long last. Another chapter in the building's history.

Bill said...

What a grand old building, glad they are fixing it up.

betty-NZ said...

Great bit of history, Amy. That would definitely be too much to clean for me and Hubby!

I appreciate your link on 'My Corner of the World' this week!

My Corner of the World

PerthDailyPhoto said...

It does indeed look like a gem Amy, restored it would make a fabulous family home 💚

Graham Edwards said...

A beautiful building with a considerable history but I can imagine it would be a money pit for its owner.

Carol @Comfort Spring Station said...

I love seeing restored historical buildings

Pauline said...

Good to see it is being restored, Amy. I live in an old house of similar vintage and would love to have the money to fully restore this place. I think I'll join you at "My corner of the world" - I miss blogging.

Eyes

In a nearby suburb in Greymouth I've been watching the reconstruction of this house and last week I saw that someone had painted a very ...