Photo courtesy of East Surrey Museum
The building pictured in the Town Trail leaflet survives at the corner of Waller Lane and Church Road as part of the Dene Hospital. It was originally built in 1906 for The Dene boys’ preparatory school on a 1.5 acres site when the headmaster was Rev Morgan Watkins. The centrally heated buildings included a 54ft schoolroom, gymnasium, carpenter’s shop and a bicycle house. In 1927 it was called the Caterham Preparatory School for Boys. The school was founded in 1873 by Rev Crosland Fenton and situated in Underwood Road, Harestone Valley before moving to Church Road. A former president of the Bourne Society, the late Jeoffry Spence, was educated here from 1923 and his memories of the school, published in 1991, provide an entertaining account of school life. He was both a day boy and a boarder and attended St Mary’s Church every Sunday dressed in an Eton suit.
The main Caterham & District Hospital was situated on the corner of Beechwood Road and Beechwood Gardens from 1903 to 1987. The foundation stone was laid by William Garland Soper on 4 October, 1902 and the opening ceremony performed by Princess Christian. The new hospital was in memory of Queen Victoria and the site, now Valley Court, has a Bourne Society blue plaque.
During the Great War it was used as a hospital for British soldiers. Commemorative boards, including a list of legacies from 1906, have been re-housed at The Dene.
The Dene Hospital’s additions include a physiotherapy department and a main entrance dating from 1987 and 1990 respectively and both officially opened by Sir Geoffrey Howe. The hospital is currently part of the hub of the Surrey & Borders partnership with NHS and has a Rapid Assessment Unit and a Minor Injuries Unit.