Monument record TQ 57 SE 1086 - Dartford War Hospital

Information from Bexley Young Archaeologists' Club following a survey of the Dartford Hospital sites for the Home Front Legacies Project:

Dartford War Hospital, originally established as a tented camp for smallpox patients in 1883, evolved into a major medical facility during epidemics and later wartime. Initially serving as Gore Farm Hospital, it expanded during the 1893–94 epidemic to accommodate 1,000 beds, treating over 10,000 patients. In May 1915, the site became Dartford War Hospital, caring for severely wounded German POWs and internees. Many recovered prisoners worked locally, including on farms and at Joyce Green Airfield, though they could be recalled to camps at short notice. Reports from local newspapers highlight their role in agricultural labor during food shortages. Some Germans remained post-war, training as nurses, while others died and were buried in Darenth Park Cemetery; their remains were later moved to Cannock Chase by the German War Graves Commission. After WWI, the hospital partially closed, reopening in 1955 as the Mabledon Rehabilitation Unit for Polish ex-servicemen, who transformed the site with gardens and community facilities. The hospital finally closed in the 1980s. A 2018 survey by Bexley Young Archaeologists’ Club recorded surviving features, including chapel remains, ward bases, and non-native trees such as bladder senna, reflecting the site’s layered history and its role in healthcare and wartime support. (1)

<1> Young Archaeologists Club, 2018, Dartford War Hospital, Survey (Unpublished document). SKE52762.