Dinky Dispensary Traditional Cache
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Paul
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A nano-cache, placed at the site of the old Southam Dispensary, parking available at the layby opposite, or in the car park of the Stoneythorpe Hotel.
Please bring a pencil as its tiny!!
Dr. Henry Lilley-Smith (1787 - 1859), born in Southam, created the first self-supporting dispensary here which specialised in the treatment of diseases of the eyes and ears
The hospital, which was built on land owned by Dr Smith, contained about 14 beds and was supported by voluntary donations. The hospital treated about 12,220 patients during its first forty years, two thirds of whom were cured.
The Infirmary, which passed into the hands of trustees when Dr Smith died, continued for a few years but fell into financial difficulties and was forced to close in December 1872. Attempts were made to reinstate the hospital but financial constraints meant that none were successful.
In September 1889 a stone monument was presented to the Trustees to be placed at the site of the original Dispensary cottage with inscriptions detailing some of the charitable work Dr Smith encouraged including Allotments for Boys, the Maypole Holiday and the Dispensary itself.
There are few records of what the building was then used for but we have some sketchy details that regular dances were held during the 1930s and it was used as a community centre for the local residents.
It was finally turned into a guest house (Eastleigh Guest House) and then transformed into the Stoneythorpe Hotel in 1965 and has stayed so until 2010 when Fennes Estates Ltd purchased the property in January of that year.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Obggbz bs gur gnyy pbeare envyvat, gur ynzc cbfg vf lbhe thvqr.