A hundred years ago, there were several hospitals and convalescent homes around Limpsfield, including St Michaels, Charing Cross (Trevereux Hill), Caxton House and Furzedown.  Below, David Claridge’s writes a short history of, Furzedown, A Lost Hospital, as published in the Limpsfield Parish News magazine.

About a hundred years ago it’s very likely that soldiers were to be found in the village. After all the Great War was being fought and troops were stationed in the South East before shipping out to the front. Some may even have found themselves in the Bull, The Lord Rodney or the Plumbers Arms. Maybe all three if they were celebrating their discharge. Not from the army, but from hospital!

Furzedown was and still is a large residential house on the outskirts of Limpsfield village. It’s to be found in Grub Street. For four years, from October 1914, it became an Auxiliary Hospital providing 20 beds equipped and staffed by the Surrey/62 Voluntary Aid Detachment (V.A.D.).  It wasn’t a hospital in the conventional sense, but a convalescence facility for allied soldiers.  Initially set up by the Army it was soon running under the auspices of Charing Cross Hospital. Patients were encouraged gradually to do work in the garden and house.

In 1917 the Governors of Charing Cross Hospital decided they could no longer run the auxiliary hospitals at Binefield (that one was in Hurst Green) and Furzedown.  I have no information about the full number of soldiers cared for between 1914 and 1917, but some 168 alone received treatment during the months January to November 1917. Over the full three years it had been open it must have seen several hundred soldiers passing through its doors. At the end of their stay, some would have returned to the front whilst others faced a fairly uncertain future in civvy street. Either way the future was not a rosy one and Furzedown must have been a wonderful, albeit brief, haven for those soldiers passing through it.

Furzedown was not closed for long, however. After a thorough cleaning it reopened on 22 November 1917, now offering 21 beds. This time it was affiliated to the Croydon War Hospital. In reality the new parent hospital was a collection of 5 school buildings scattered around Croydon that had been requisitioned by the Military. The Croydon War Hospital remained open until May 1919 and treated some 19,000 patients over its 5-year lifespan. Furzedown must therefore have continued to be a busy place until it finally closed sometime in 1918 when it was decided that auxiliary beds were no longer needed.

I first read about Furzedown, when I saw the picture below of patients in the garden of a convalescent hospital located somewhere in Limpsfield. A quick house name search (it has kept its name to this day) and a subsequent stroll along Grub Street confirmed its location.

Perhaps someone living in the village had a relative who was a VAD and if so they may have worked at Furzedown. By the end of the Great War 90,000 VADs were serving nationally. It’s nice to know that Limpsfield did more than just provide men for the war that was supposed to end all wars. It helped heal some of them too.

David Claridge

🏥 Furzedown Auxiliary Hospital, Limpsfield – information from Lost Hospitals of London

• Furzedown was situated on Grubb Street (Grub Street) in Limpsfield and occupied a house still known locally as “Furzedown”.
• The Furzedown Auxiliary Hospital opened in October 1914 under the Aldershot Command.  Housed in a former private residence, it had 20 beds and had been equipped by the Surrey/62 Voluntary Aid Detachment (V.A.D.).  A Comfort Fund for the servicemen was started at the same time.
• In 1915 the Hospital was transferred to London Command and was affiliated to Charing Cross Hospital.  In lieu of rest and massage, the patients were encourage gradually to do work in the garden and house. It functioned as an auxiliary military hospital, offering about 22 beds for “other ranks” – typically less serious cases recovering from wounds, separate from front‑line military hospitals.
• The Furzedown Auxiliary Hospital opened in October 1914 under the Aldershot Command.  Housed in a former private residence, it had 20 beds and had been equipped by the Surrey/62 Voluntary Aid Detachment (V.A.D.).  A Comfort Fund for the servicemen was started at the same time.
• In 1915 the Hospital was transferred to London Command and was affiliated to Charing Cross Hospital.  In lieu of rest and massage, the patients were encourage gradually to do work in the garden and house.
• It operated alongside similar local institutions such as Caxton Convalescent Home and the Henry Radcliffe (Passmore Edwards) Home, forming a cluster of recovery places where servicemen could recuperate in more homely surroundings.
• In 1917 the Governors of Charing Cross Hospital decided they could no longer run the auxiliary hospitals at Binefield and Furzedown.  [More info on Binefield in WWII here]
• The Hospital closed in November 1917.  Some 168 patients had received treatment during the months January – November 1917.
• After thorough cleaning the Hospital reopened on 22nd November 1917 with 21 beds.  It was affiliated to the Croydon War Hospital.
• The Hospital closed again in 1918 towards the end of the war, when it was decided that the Croydon War Hospital no longer needed auxiliary beds.

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🌳 Other Convalescent Homes in Limpsfield Area

• Caxton Convalescent Home (Limpsfield Chart)
  Built circa 1894–95 by Passmore Edwards for London’s printing-trade patients; later used during WWI and after, offering medically supervised convalescence in the countryside
• Henry Radcliffe / Passmore Edwards Convalescent Home (Trevereux Hill, Limpsfield Chart)
  Opened in 1896 by Edward VII, with 50 beds serving discharged patients from Charing Cross Hospital. During WWI, it expanded to approximately 100 beds. In the 1920s it became the Henry Radcliffe Convalescent Home for injured merchant seamen, before closing in the 1960s.
• Wolfe’s House (Wolf’s Row, Limpsfield Village)
  Originally the Limpsfield Convalescent Home founded in the 1880s by the local rector to aid women and children from London’s East End. It served during WWI for injured soldiers and continued to operate as a convalescent home into the 1950s before becoming a residential care home.

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🧭 Significance & Historical Context

• Limpsfield’s proximity to London and its peaceful rural setting made it attractive for auxiliary convalescent care. The local gentry and philanthropists—especially Passmore Edwards—championed these institutions for recovering patients discharged from London hospitals
• During WWI, auxiliary hospitals like Furzedown provided essential follow‑on care for returning soldiers—they were often volunteer‑run and less crowded than main hospitals, offering a calmer environment for convalescence.
• Enlisting around 22 beds, Furzedown was modest in scale but significant in the network of locally available recovery homes.

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📚 Additional Sources & Further Reading

• British History Online for the broader social history of Limpsfield and its institutions in late 19th/early 20th centuries British History Online.