Birtley History

Records of the Birtley Estate go back to the 12th century. Ownership remained in the Street family for two centuries until the late 19th century when it was bought by the Cubitt family.

The Cubitt family then owned Birtley until the end of the war in 1945, when it was bought by the family of the current owners, although it was let or leased for much of this time. The succession of occupants included the establishment of a girls' school in the 1930s and an evacuated firm of electrical engineers during the Second World War.

A dormitory in the 1930s - now Wisteria Apartment

Birtley House with 48 acres was bought by Eyhurst Court Ltd., a nursing home company run by Dr. Lloyd Driver, his wife Joan Winifred Driver and various members of their family – initially Joan (Dodo) Wardle and Tony Hadden (children of Mrs Driver’s previous marriage) and their only daughter together, June Whalley. The Home had been located at Loxwood House (now known as Loxwood Hall) just over the county border in Sussex during the war years, but was, originally, a convalescent home, which had been running since the mid 1920s in various locations but had been set up as a Company and first Registered in 1932/3 at Eyhurst Court at Sutton in Surrey. There Dr. Driver specialised in mental health patients for a time though this was ceased after moving to Birtley. Always a family business, the earliest brochure records 4 members of the family as Directors. Although these changed over the years as the family grew and moved away, new generations have come on to the Board and there are still 4 family Directors today.

Simon Whalley, the current owner, wrote 'A Brief History of Birtley House & the Nursing Home' which is available to download here:

The booklet will be updated during 2012 as part of the celebrations for the 80th anniversary of the registration of the Nursing Home.