Railings (North of former Orthopaedic Hospital)

Site of the ornamental  railings in front of nurse's homes in Hartshill

Rosemary Ednam Close

Rosemary Ednam Memorial
The heraldic panels have roundels supported by griffins with the interlinked letters HSH in the centre and the inscription around the edge.

Boundary wall and railings. 1931; by Gordon Mitchell Forsyth; panels modelled by William Ruscoe. Brick wall with stone coping and iron railings with bronze or alloy panels. The eleven bays of railings are set between brick piers with fluted stone caps and stand on a brick dwarf wall with stone coping.

The railings are designed in a fretwork pattern and at the centre of each bay there is a bronze or alloy relief panel modelled by William Ruscoe depicting girls skipping, playing with hoops and swimming with dolphins, a panel with youths running and another heraldic panel with a monogram.

The railings were a memorial to Viscountess Ednam, president of the orthopaedic hospital, who had been killed in an air crash.

These railings, situated in the front of the former orthopaedic hospital [demolished], are of considerable artistic merit and an unusual memorial.

 

 

on William Ruscoe

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All over the country garden railings were compulsorily cut down and carted away for the War Effort - for railings to be spared from this fate, they had to be of special architectural or historical significance - legend has it that the newly erected ornamental  railings at the Orthopaedic Hospital in Hartshill ( known as "the Cripples"), which depicted children engaged in all kinds of healthy activities became a contentious issue.

Apparently the Hospital Board's architect was also appointed to oversee the activities of the Metal Salvage Board, and engaged in correspondence with himself, on one hand as the Appellant, and one the other hand as the Confiscating Authority. The Hospital won and the railings are still to be seen in Hartshill.

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In 1930 Rosemary Ednam, daughter of the Duke of Sutherland, was leading a fund-raising campaign to build an extension to what was then called the Cripples' Home when she was killed in an air crash. Her death brought an emotional response from local people, and the target for the extension was reached within twelve months. The new buildings, named after Lady Ednam, were opened in 1931 by the Prince of Wales.

The hospital site was bounded by metal railings, painted green, into which a series of decorative panels have been inserted. There are seven separate panels, with four heraldic panels alternating with four panels showing two girls rolling hoops, three boys running and two girls skipping and four boys swimming.

The heraldic panels have roundels supported by griffins with the interlinked letters HSH in the centre and the inscription around the edge.

A smaller version of the HSH roundel appears above the panels,
flanked by two Tudor roses.

The two panels depicting the girls are very symmetrical and highly stylised, with each girl being a mirror image of the other in both cases.......

The skipping girls both have short hair and each wear robes loosely wound around the waist and revealing the breasts. Above the panel are two birds with outstretched wings, their backs to one another.

The two girls rolling hoops are shown frontally, have long flowing hair, and wear short-sleeved blouses and pleated skirts. Ribbons stream out behind them in circular arcs. The panels is surmounted by two ducks standing beak to beak.

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 Likewise the panels showing the boys are also highly stylised......

 

 Each of the three running boys adopting very similar postures and overlapping the one in front.
Above the panel are two furry animals seated facing one another. These may be either dogs or bears.

Four boys in various stages of swimming, on the right one appears to be hesitating to enter the water, one is about to dive off a board to join another boy in the water. To the left a naked boy performs a full dive into the water.
The panel is completed by the addition of stylised water and three fish or dolphins.   
Above this panel are two fish facing one another.

 

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