Rushden Research Group: Maternity Homes

Extracts from NCC Annual Reports & newsclips

Maternity Homes


Brookfield - 155 Wellingborough Road in 2009	The Old Rectory in Little Street c1915

Registered Maternity and Nursing Homes - Northamptonshire County Council Annual Reports of the Medical Officer of Health
1931	"Wilmabern" - 8 Carnegie Street - Maternity only - no cases admitted during the year. "Brookfield" - 155, Wellingborough Road - Maternity only.
1932	"Wilmabern" - 8 Carnegie Street - Maternity only - no cases admitted during the year. "Brookfield" - 155, Wellingborough Road - Maternity only.
1933	"Wilmabern" - 8 Carnegie Street - Maternity only - no cases admitted during the year. "Brookfield Maternity Home" - Old Rectory - Maternity only.
1934	"Wilmabern" - 8 Carnegie Street - Maternity only - no cases admitted during the year. "Brookfield Maternity Home" - Old Rectory - Maternity only.
1935	"Wilmabern" - 8 Carnegie Street - Maternity only - no cases admitted during the year. "Brookfield Maternity Home" - Old Rectory - Maternity only.
1936	"Wilmabern" - 8 Carnegie Street - Maternity only - closed June 1936. "Brookfield Maternity Home" - Old Rectory - Maternity only.
1937	"Brookfield Maternity Home" - Old Rectory - Maternity only.
1938	"Brookfield Maternity Home" - Old Rectory - Maternity only.
1939	"Brookfield Maternity Home" - Old Rectory - Maternity only.
1940	"Brookfield Maternity Home" - Old Rectory - closed 29th February 1940

The Medical Officers' report 1937 states that Rushden had three midwives, two of whom were also fully trained nurses.

Brookfield was a maternity home run by Nurse Ann (Nancy) Mather. When she left here, in 1932, she ran a mother and baby at The Old Rectory in Little Street, and renamed that as Brookfield Nursing Home. When she left there and took the position of Nurse at Wicksteed Park, where she remained until retirement. The premises were sold to a director of the Central Electric Company.

Nurse Mabel Goosey was at 8 Carnegie Street, and advertised in Kelly's Directory 1931 & 1936. Another Nurse Mary Ann Goosey was also a midwife.

Brookfield was then Miss Dobell's Nursery school, before becoming a private residence.

When it was sold it was converted into offices.

The Rushden Echo and Argus, 29^th December, 1944

More Maternity Beds Needed
Demand Influenced by Home Conditions

War-time conditions in the homes are creating difficulties in maternity cases at Rushden.

Admitting that the demand for beds in maternity wards and institutions was not being met, Dr. D. A. McCracken, M.O.H. for the area, told our representative: “If the home life was as it would be in peace-time there would be less demand for hospital accommodation. At present there is no domestic help, and the friendly neighbour who might lend a hand has other jobs to do.

“I don’t think the situation in Rushden is more difficult than anywhere else. At the moment we could do with more beds, but it is an abnormal situation, and until the thing is settled we don’t know. The scarcity of midwives everywhere is a snag.”

Dr. McCracken mentioned that the Northamptonshire County Council, which is the maternity authority, has just completed negotiations with Northampton Borough Council for a temporary building, giving increased maternity accommodation, to be added to the Barratt Home.

Out-Of-Town Births

Rushden has no maternity home. Not many of its babies are born in the private home at Finedon, some at the Barratt Home, and a number of other specialising establishments. It is not easy to obtain reliable figures, but of the 281 births on Rushden’s list in 1943, 108 appear in the records as having been supervised by doctors and 73 by the nurses employed by the local Nursing Association. It may be assumed that of the remaining 100 a large proportion were effected in nursing homes and hospitals.

What matters most is that the health records are excellent. The infant mortality rate is low, and last year no Rushden mother died in consequence of child-birth. A County Council ante-natal clinic gives splendid service in the town.

The Rushden Echo and Argus, 4th January, 1946, transcribed by Gill Hollis

Mrs. O. A. H. Muxlow
(Rushden’s Only Woman Councillor)
Maternity Home Needed

Rushden’s first and only woman councillor, Mrs. O. A. H. Muxlow, emphasised that the great need during the coming year would be for houses.

“Babies cannot be born in Grandma’s house,” she said. “It does not work.”

Mrs. Muxlow, who has been on the Council’s Housing Committee for nearly eight years, hoped that more women would take an interest in local affairs and thought that local government was a sphere in which women should be especially active.

“I believe there are some women standing as candidates in the coming election,” she went on, “although I do not think they are in our party.

“I also want to see a nice, up-to-date maternity home, infant welfare centre and ante-natal clinic. We have been in the old one for 15 years now, and it is time we had a new one.”

Mrs. Muxlow said that she was just going to a meeting of the School Managers.

“I do not know if we shall hear any more about the new secondary school that is to be erected in the town,” she said, “but it was certainly needed. Of course, we shall really need a junior school for the Higham-road building estate if the Hayway school is to become a secondary school. The nearest school will be at Higham Ferrers, and there will certainly be a lot of children living on the estate, which will be occupied by young people. Higham School is already crowded.”

Mrs. Muxlow said that another improvement she hoped to see in the New Year was the provision of a water tower under the new water scheme to provide sufficient pressure to lay water on to the houses in the proposed Upper Queen-street estate.