HORNCASTLE WAR MEMORIAL CENTRE
Horncastle War Memorial Centre Trust
Horncastle War Memorial Centre is a thriving business premises which opened in 2002, following the closure of Horncastle War Memorial Hospital in 1997.
As a hospital from 1924, it had been a great asset, serving the people of Horncastle and employed many local people, not just doctors and nurses, but support staff such as cleaners and cooks. There are many Horncastle residents alive today, who can recount stories of their treatment and care at Horncastle War Memorial Hospital.
However, in 1997, despite a hard fought campaign by local residents, Horncastle Town Council and the local MP, Sir Peter Tapsell, the decision was taken that the hospital would close.
Such was the determination to save the building, the plan being to demolish it, that a new campaign was born. This was to save the building and transform it into an asset for the community.
A long but successful campaign by Councillor Bill Aron and a group of local residents, supported by Horncastle Town Council, led to the building being taken over by a group of Trustees. Horncastle War Memorial Centre became a registered charity, with the aim of overseeing the preservation of the building whilst providing a facility for the residents based on health and healthcare.
The layout of the building was re-vamped to allow different businesses to lease small areas with the building. This has made it possible for a wide variety of different types of healthcare to be provided at the centre.
The Horncastle War Memorial Centre is currently leased by a number of different organisations, including a section of the NHS, Horncastle Chiropractice, Horncastle Hypnotherapy, Andrea Jayne Therapies and the rear section of the building which houses Nurture Hub Day Nursery.
The fact that the building has had full occupancy for the majority of its 22 year history in its current state, proves that the fight to retain the building, whilst being long and hard, has proved to be the correct one.
