Sir
George Bowles was a cousin of Julia Neville Grenville, the wife of Squire Ralph
Neville Grenville, and, when he died, he left an endowment of £14,000 to
provide a hospital for the sick of Butleigh, Baltonsborough, Compton Dundon,
West Pennard, Barton St. David, Kingweston, Keinton Mandeville and West
Lydford. The hospital opened in October 1883 and the architect was George
Skipper who designed Shepton Mallet Hospital in 1880 as well as Crispin Hall (Street),
Sexeys School (Bruton), the houses in Leigh Road (Street), and Clarks factory
clock tower. By 1892, the hospital treated 55 in-patients and 280
out-patients. The hospital was run from
its inception by Governors and Trustees as well as a committee and, for over 60
years, Ralph Neville Grenville, his widow Julia, followed by Robert Neville
Grenville were active in these positions. Though not required for military use
in WW1, the hospital continued and grew in the period between the wars. In 1948, the hospital was handed over to the
newly created National Health Service and this was followed by the building of
a nurses’ home and a children’s ward in 1949.
There were 25 beds in 1964 and a new physiotherapy unit opened in 1969,
with a day hospital being added in 1979.
In 1983 great celebrations were held for the celebration of the hospital’s
centenary and many villagers dressed in period costume for the event. In 2005
the hospital closed and the site remained empty for a number of years before
the buildings were demolished to make way for a development of modern houses. The
original stone crest from the front of the hospital is now incorporated into
the end wall of the new terraced building.