The Edward Hain Memorial Hospital was founded by Sir Edward Hain in memory of his son, Capt. The building was bought with funds from Teddy's father's business, the Edward Hain Steamship Company, and endowed by his mother, Lady Catherine Hain. It opened in 1920 - sadly, after Teddy's father had died. In 1948, pursuant to the National Health Act of 1946, the hospital was handed over to the newly-formed NHS. The fuller story:
In-patient wards at The Edward Hain Memorial Hospital in St. Ives were closed by the NHS in February 2016 due to fire safety and evacuation concerns, even though in its 97 years in operation, there had never been a fire at the hospital. Many viewed this as a pretext to full closure, as many such "cottage" hospitals over the UK had been closed since the 1990s with similar reasons given. In June 2016, the Friends of the Hospital efforts, aided by Hain descendants, initially seemed to win their campaign with NHS Property Services (NHSPS), who agreed to fund the work initially deemed necessary. However the hospital's managers, the NHS Cornwall Trust, then said more work was needed. The cost escalated, and progress halted. Finally, after a long fight, the NHS announced its permanent closure, and in December, 2021, NHSPS put the building up for sale
At this point, the League of Friends of the former hospital decided on a new mission: to use the considerable funds they'd raised over the years and buy the building in order to create a new health and well-being hub, to be called the Edward Hain Centre. With the help of St. Ives Town Council, a deal is in the works - but the Friends' funds fall short of the likely purchase price (still tba). So fundraising events are in full swing, and will be henceforth posted here as well. Please visit the Events page on our sister page, The Edward Hain Community Project. We will also be publicising a crowdfund campaign, which we hope to kick off in April or May, 2022. Thank you!
