The Healing Process

Last weekend, I got the opportunity to go inside Betley Court for the first time since the temporary roof started going over the top. It was a revelation how the translucent plastic sheeting has changed the house back into an indoor space again – well, nearly! It is a strange cavernous space, recognisable as our former home, but also eviscerated of everything that made it a home. The temporary roof has changed the quality of light in the house enormously, and is now protecting most of the internal walls, so they have begun to dry out.

Our former stairwell

Nigel and I were over to show local borough councillors, Gary and Simon White around the shell of the building as part of a question-and-answer session. We kitted them out in hard hats and hi-viz jackets and took them in to view the test window units we’ve installed, and to show them the extent of the damage inside.

This was the study, laterly the Professor and Dr Brown's bedroom

Describing the extent of the damage to someone is one thing, experiencing it for oneself is quite another. We pointed out some of the decidedly ropey Victorian brickwork, and discussed the challenges of repairing an old house, whilst conforming to modern building and planning regulations.

A first floor fireplace, left high and dry. Note, the rare horizontal chimney that got Historic England very excited, even although it is illegal for us to use it (horizontal chimneys had a terrible habit of killing people with carbon monoxide, as this design of chimney becomes blocked easily!!)

Our Georgian and Victorian predecessors were unhampered by those problems! It was a really useful meeting with lots of insightful questions and advice from our councillors. Many thanks to Gary and Simon for taking time out to visit us over their weekend.

The former kitchen, first floor bedroom and Top Rooms (one of our flats). Professor Brown was sleeping in the kitchen when the fire broke out. We are blessed that he was rescued in time by our friends living in flats in the house.

I had another delve into the British Newspaper Archive this week, and found a fascinating article about a comparatively recent part of Betley Court’s history that is largely unknown to many incomers to the village. The article relates to Betley Court’s brief history as a convalescence unit for orthopaedic cases, firstly as a Red Cross hospital in WW2, then later as part of North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary, when it was known as Betley Court Rehabilitation Centre.  Whilst I have corresponded with a former physio therapist, a patient, and the son of a former patient Click here to read post , we had little details about how the unit was set out, or what went on in the house, outbuildings and gardens.

A photo from the Sentinel in 1940

Luckily, for our research, in 1944, the Evening Sentinel sent a reporter to cover the story of, to use their words, “one of the most beautiful residencies in the area” becoming a centre for rehabilitation. The plan, was to create a rehabilitation centre to deal with injuries sustained by those employed in the North Staffordshire coal field, although it did not solely deal with miners. The staff reporter observed, “the Court is ideally situated for its present purpose, that of restoring injured men from one of the country's most vital heavy industries to full health and efficiency.” Both physio therapy and occupational therapy have become medical disciplines in their own right, but were in their infancy in the 1940s. The importance of rehabilitation to both local and national economies was clear.

To this end, Betley Court itself, was reconfigured to accommodate 40 beds, along with the necessary staff. The stable block (now a private residence known as ‘The Clock House’) became a large gymnasium, kitted out with apparatus ‘for giving graduated exercise’. The laundry block (demolished in the late 1970s due to dilapidation, to provide access to the houses of Court Walk) was adapted for occupational therapy, “which aims to use the injured limbs as normally as possible.” Much of the equipment was paid for by, “the generosity of North Staffordshire colliery owners” (quite right!). The reporter notes that,

“Great advances have been made recently in physical rehabilitation, embodying special lines of treatment to counteract the aftereffects of injury or disease. In addition, the curing of a complaint – the setting of a fracture or performing an operation – patients are given special treatment to keep up the tone of their muscles and to prevent them becoming disabled and unfit.”

The psychological effects of injury were addressed too, with the fear of becoming a permanent invalid spelling disaster for a household wager earner. Treatments were designed to build confidence and patients were encouraged to do things for themselves. (I’ve heard lovely stories from older villagers about patients being sent on errands around the village to aid their recovery).

General physical training to bring all the patients muscles to normal use. Taking place in the stable courtyard.

The reporter was shown physio sessions taking place in the gym. First, he witnessed patients undertaking exercise in the stable yard, then inside patients with leg injuries were taking part in ‘quadriceps drills’ – contracting the thighs by means of weights attached to pulleys.

Inside the occupational therapy room, there was a good range of handicraft equipment which included weaving looms, rugmaking kit, painting supplies and leatherworking tools. The reporter noted,

“Occupational therapy is very valuable because it provides mental diversion and at the same time, gives opportunity for repeated exercises…Men with stiff fingers and arms were operating shuttles and working needles, and every movement means working muscles, which by constant repetition of the movement regain their former mobility.”

Weaving and other activities, taking place under the watchful eye of Miss A Turner and Mrs C Emmett 

It was lovely to read that the grounds of Betley Court were used for rehabilitation too. The patients played organised games on the lawns, including rounders, cricket, and badminton, and the reporter observed that playing games made some men forget the discomfort of their injuries. The ‘pleasant 12.5 acres’ were also available to aid the patients’ recovery. In fact, head gardener, Mr Leath took on some of the patients to help him with gardening, which must have been mutually beneficial as men who might otherwise have worked in the gardens were called up for the war effort.

The article brought Betley Court Rehabilitation Centre alive to me. I’m pleased we found some answers to questions we’ve wondered about. Of course, our biggest rehabilitation task is now on the Betley Court itself, to fix it after its terrible accident. That’s just going to take time, expertise and a lot of money.

All best wishes

Ladybird Su

All quotes taken from:

Evening Sentinel, 1/9/44, p5, “Rehabilitation Centre For The Workers”, accessed from Remedial Work At Bet | Staffordshire Sentinel | Friday 01 September 1944 | British Newspaper Archive

The British Newspaper Archive is a huge collection of newspaper articles from Britain and Ireland, and available online for researchers and nosey-parkers like me! It can be viewed at:British Newspaper Archive