Brynkinalt Hospital was located at Chirk Green, near Oswestry. In 1898, when Brynkinalt Cottage was vacated by its tenant, Lady Rosamund Trevor, Countess of Bantry placed a District Nurse there to serve the parishes or Chirk and St Martins.
Lady Trevor was the second wife of Arthur William Hill Trevor. The couple married in 1897 and had their only child, a daughter, in 1899. She died in 1904 aged just 5 years.
In 1905 Brynkinalt was opened as a children’s hospital. Two full time nurses were employed, one to work at the hospital and one as a District Nurse. Further staff were added, including a gardener who was expected to also work in the kitchen when required. From 1906, children’s lessons were introduced – possible taught by Lady Trevor herself. A nursery maid and two servants were also employed.
Income to the hospital was very limited. Patients only contributed a small amount, even when the hospital opened to adults in 1908. Small donations were made by local organisations and a collection box was placed at Chirk surgery. Workmen at Brynkinalt Colliery began paying £10 a year. Black Park Colliery would soon match this and in 1916, W Y Craig, the new owner of Byrnkinalt Colliery, gave £10 in support of the adult ward. The Ifton Miners also contributed.
When war broke out in 1914, the hospital was offered to the War Office, but the offer was only taken up to accommodate the mounting casualties in 1916/17. The hospital opened for 301 days a year. It had 26 beds and took in 139 patients from the War Office in 1918. The average patient stay was 38.2 days.The Drill Hall, Station Avenue was added as an annexe to the wartime hospital – providing extra accommodation for the wounded. Lady Trevor took over the administration of Brynkinalt Military Auxiliary Hospital and was appointed Commandant, working alongside Dr Charles Scott as medical officer.
Two nurses listed as working at the hospital were Annette Graesser and Cecil E Lovett.
Lady Trevor’s activities towards the War effort were mentioned in the Llangollen Advertizer on 14th August 1914:
MEETING AT CHIRK. A well-attended meeting, convened by Lady Trevor, who presided, was held at the Parish Hall, Chirk, on Wednesday evening, to consider the best means of assisting the sick and wounded from war by providing clothing, etc. Lady Trevor, in opening the proceedings, urged everyone to exercise the greatest possible economy in the use of commodities and particularly asked that well-to-do people should not get into a state of panic and rush to purchase large stores of food. The result of this was that the shops were denuded of stocks and poor people were unable to obtain the necessaries of life. The duty of all was to meet the position calmly and quietly to avoid panic and to do everything possible to help the sick and wounded at the war, and they were here that evening to decide upon the best means of doing this. She thought it would be a good thing to have a series of lectures on causes and objects of the war and explaining its course in the different parts of the world, and that either a small charge should be made for admission or a collection made from those present, the proceeds to be handed over to the Fund to be started. Mr. Darlington said it gave him great pleasure to support all that Lady Trevor had said but be thought many people had laid in stocks of food with the object of assisting necessitous cases when they arose in their own particular localities. Lord Trevor and Dr. J. D. Lloyd also spoke in support, and the latter suggested that a fund should be started at once. After some discussion, this was decided upon and district committees were appointed to arrange the work. Lady Trevor was appointed president, Mrs, J. D. Lloyd hon. treasurer and Mr. Beattie hon. secretary. The Chirk Boy Scouts, who should have been in their annual camp with the Denbighshire Boy Scouts this week, have subscribed £1 towards the fund, this being money they had saved towards the expenses of their camp which has been abandoned in consequence of the war.