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Stop Press!
New Governor Elected
On 4th October 2008, William, the 9th Earl of Radnor was elected to be the new Governor of the French Hospital.
For more details please click here
New Book Published
To mark the tercentenary of the founding bequest for La Providence, Randolph Vigne & Tessa Murdoch
have written a superb book: "The French Hospital in England
Its Huguenot History and Collections"
Click here for details and printable order form.
Welcome
to the home page of the French Hospital in Rochester, Kent, England.
The
French Hospital provides 60 self-contained flats for people of French
Protestant descent. Here residents can enjoy their privacy and have their
own furniture and belongings around them, with help in sickness or emergency
always at hand.
Do you know of anyone who would qualify and would like to live in one of our flats? If so please contact the French Hospital.
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History
of the French Hospital |
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The
French Hospital's presence in Rochester started with the purchase of 19
terraced houses that made up Theobald Square in the cathedral city of
Rochester in Kent. The square had been laid out as an elegant speculation
in the 1840s on the site of an old brewery, whose vaults still lie beneath
the road and gardens. The houses were completely restored and rearranged
to make 39 self-contained flats where residents could enjoy privacy and
have their own furniture and belongings around them but with help in sickness
or emergency always at hand. La Providence, at its fourth home, was opened
by the Lord Lieutenant of Kent, Lord Cornwallis, on 21 June 1960. The
accommodation was enlarged by the addition of 14 new flats in 1974. In
1983, on land acquired between the square and the old Roman city wall,
four more flats were built, together with a common room for the residents
with gardens on either side, including a 'Huguenots' garden', in which
flowers and shrubs associated with the Huguenots are planted. The Common
Room is also home to the chapel where the French Hospital's chaplain conducts
Holy Communion once a week. The development of the 'City Wall site' was
completed in 1988 with the addition of three flats beside the drum tower
at the northern end of the wall. Four flats in the square have also been
reconstructed with special features designed for disabled residents. Thus
there are now in excess of 55 residents' flats, predominantly with single
bedrooms and all fitted with an emergency call system, and overseen 24
hours a day by a duty Steward. There are also two guest flats. Residents'
contributions towards the overheads are subsidised by the charity, and
many services such as hot water and heating are provided free.
A
general rise in living standards, together with constant changes in legislation,
have meant that the French Hospital is always looking at ways of improving
the accommodation and facilities that it provides. In addition to the
redesigned flats, ramps have been installed in kerbs, lifts have been
incorporated within buildings to give the majority of the flats either
level or lift-serviced access, most have showers, and some are designed
to ease the problems of failing eyesight. The acquisition of an adjoining
property has also allowed for the provision of secure car-parking facilities
accessible from the square. And improvements are not only practical. A
Jubilee garden was opened in 2001, with seating and tables, a barbecue,
sun-dial and a water feature so that the residents can enjoy the summer
months out of doors if they so wish. In recent years the French Hospital
has become a place for the display of items of significant Huguenot interest,
with historic pieces from both the Hospital's past and also from other
sources throughout the world.
Photo Courtesy of Tim Rawle
Management
of the French Hospital is still carried on as set out in the first Royal
Charter of 1718, though a Supplemental Charter was granted by H.M. The
Queen in 1953 to allow it to become a housing association. The General
Court of the Hospital consists of 'between 25 and 50' (but in practice
about 40) Directors, who are mostly themselves representative of French
Protestant refugee families, and who serve 'for their natural lives';
from within this General Court smaller Quarterly Committees of management
are elected. The Court is presided over by the Governor, who is elected
every three years, or the Deputy Governor, who is elected annually, as
are the Secretary and Treasurer. The first Governor was Henri de Ruvigny,
Earl of Galway, the revered leader of the Huguenots of the diaspora. For
over 200 years, almost without a break, the office of Governor has been
in the Pleydell-Bouverie family, held by the hereditary Earls of Radnor,
the present Governor being the 8th Earl. The lists of Directors' names
enhance the theme of continued care within the Huguenot community that
has been passed down the generations; the pattern is fascinating and intricately
woven - just as there were Bosanquets, Cazalets, Champion de Crespignys,
Duvals, Minets and Ouvrys in the 18th and early 19th centuries, so these
names, and many others, have echoed and re-echoed into our own time.
In
1720 a necklace of orient pearls, the St Leger necklace, was donated and
sold to raise funds for the new Hospital; it was among the first of a
continuing stream of gifts of all kinds that have been received from well-wishers
and grateful beneficiaries thus enabling the work to be carried on into
times of changing values; many financial bequests are administered as
charitable funds to help people with special needs.
The
Huguenot Society (then of London, now of Great Britain and Ireland) was
founded in 1885 by Directors of the French Hospital to preserve and maintain
the records of the Hospital and to promote the publication and interchange
of knowledge about the Huguenots. The further aim, of equal importance,
is to develop a bond of fellowship among those who, whether or not of
Huguenot descent, respect and admire the character of the Huguenots and
seek to perpetuate their memory.
It
was in 1961 that the Association of the Friends of La Providence was founded
to encourage interest in and support for the Hospital's work, especially
amongst the descendants of Huguenot families. If you wish to know more
about the Association please write to the Secretary at 41, La Providence,
Rochester, Kent ME1 1NB.
Photo Courtesy of Tim Rawle
