Dr. Garfit - Doctor
Charles Corringham Garfit M.B., was Kirby's first full time doctor. Previously, the village had been served for just three days a week by Dr Kelly of Desford and Dr Harris from Anstey. Dr Wright of Newtown Unthank occasionally attended, arriving on his horse and cart or on his horse and sleigh in the winter. By 1894, Arthur Crossley, surgeon, of Leicester was attending twice a week. Dr Garfit was born in Delamere, Cheshire, in 1871. He was the son of Charles Taylor Garfit, a land agent and his wife Ada Maria Cunningham. He had three younger sisters, Ada, Helen and Kate. He gained an Exhibition to Hulme Hall, Manchester University to study medicine, qualifing in 1896. He arrived in Kirby as a single man in 1897 and lodged with Mrs Crawford at 'Ashleigh', Station Road. After his marriage he moved next door to 'Inglewood' and continued in practice until 1944. Dr Garfit is well remembered in the village and his reputation is legendary. We are told numerous stories of his rusty scissors, profuse use of iodine, unhygienic habits and liberal applications of ointment. It is also said that he more than once removed tonsils from a child on the kitchen table. His main cause of death for anyone over the age of 60 was 'senile decay'. Dr Garfit was, initially of course, practicing medicine at the turn of the century when medicine was still in its infancy. At first, the doctor's surgery was held in the front room of a cottage on Main Street. The cottage was built at right angles to the road and on a small jitty. The jitty is still there today. At one time, at dead of night, Harry Webster, who was well known in the village, is said to have crept down the jitty and fixed a sign to the wall of the cottage which said 'Harley Street'. The doctor was quite enamoured by the sign and so it stayed there until the cottage was demolished. In 1933, Dr Garfit was joined by Dr Jones and became part of the firm of Garfit and Jones, Physicians and Surgeons. Dr Jones bought The Old White House on Main Street and erected a large wooden chalet-like building in the front garden. Many people from Ratby and Kirby Muxloe will remember visiting the doctors' surgery there, firstly with Doctors Garfit and Jones and later with Doctors Jones and Alexander. Eventually in 1969, a purpose built surgery was erected at Braunstone Crossroads. Now latterly in 2024, the surgery at the Crossroads is hardly used and a new surgery is available at Leicester Forest East on the David Wilson development. Dr Garfit was a member of both the Quorn and Atherstone hunts and it was not unusual on hunt days for him to arrive at house calls on horseback, with his trusty hunt terriers in tow. We are told that he usually arrived between 7:30 and 8:30am, tied up his horse on the gatepost, visited his patient, then went off to join the hunt of the day. Dr Garfit was very well known in the village and very involved in community life. He was a member of the Parish Council and Chairman of the Governors at the school for many years. He was also a member of the Parochial Sanitary Committee. Charles Garfit will always be remembered for his rousing performances in Gilbert And Sullivan's Mikado and for preserving the 'right of way' through the Old White House by walking through the hallway, front to back, once a year. Dr Garfit retired in 1944 and died in 1955, aged 84 years. Part of the information for this article comes from Old Kirby (Muxloe) by Jonathan Wilshere, which has generously been made available online by his son, Andrew Wilshere.
Dr Garfit on horse back, ready to join the hunt.
Photograph part of the Will Walker Collection
Roundhill Nursing Home
In 1930, Dora (Doreen ) Clarke, later Greaves was one of the first intake of new trainee nurses at Leicester General Hospital (formerly known as Evington Poor Law Infirmary). After she qualified. she worked in many different departments of the Leicester General Hospital, becoming a sister, after just a few years. During WWII, she became a Relief Officer and also an Air Raid Precaution Nursing Officer, part of the Civil Nursing Reserve (CNR). The A.R.P. Nursing Reserve was created in the 1930's and during the war, trained nurses, assistant nurses and auxiliary nurses who worked in hospitals and also First Aid Posts. In the early stage of WWII, Dora was the nurse in charge of a First Aid Post in Knighton, a place where the young Richard Attenborough worked as a volunteer, running errands and generally helping out where needed. Eventually, the war ended and by 1946, Dora decided to open her own Maternity Home and so looked for a suitable building to rent. The house was found in Thurmaston, a large Victorian pile in quite large grounds. The house belonged to a Mr Veasey who we are told also owned a large sandpit to the rear of the property. The house was in a bad state of repair, as was the garden, it was said to be like a wilderness, however, she soldiered on and with help from aunts, cousins and other relatives , she was determined to realise her dream. The house was named 'Roundhill' and is now the site of Rounhill School Thurmaston. At the time Dora, her husband Arthur and her daughters all moved in and lived on the premises. After the long hard winter of 1946/47 she opened the doors and the first baby was born there. By 1958, Dora was looking to purchase a larger property to carry on the work started in Thurmaston. The Cliffe, a large house with ample grounds was found on Hastings Road, Kirby Muxloe. The house was built in around 1856 and is said to have been originally two buildings, but by 1900 it had been converted into one large imposing house. There have been a number of interesting occupants of the house, including Mr Simpkin of Simpkin and James (many of us will remember the large shop, just off Leicester Market with wooden floors selling all sorts of groceries including the famous 'cheese cakes', a cake which might or might not have contained cheese-it didn't taste like cheese, but it was delicious! After Mr Simpkin came the Dawson family (Mr Thomas Dawson was company secretary at Oliver's Shoes). following the Dawson's came the Snaiths (painting and decorating suppliers). Lastly, in the 1930's, the house was taken over by Major Reid of Reid and Sigrist. Around 1958, the house was purchased by Dora Greaves. Dora and her husband Arthur spent a whole year converting the house into the new Maternity home, the former chauffeur's cottage became domestic quarters and the vegetable garden was converted into a car park. The Greaves family also purchased Elmstead, another large house, situated right next to the Cliffe. Elmstead was also an interesting building, built in 1895, it was originally the home of Charles Squire a Leicester solicitor. By 1904, the house was owned by by Robert Pochin and family, owner of the large ironmongery company, still in existence today. After two more occupants it was home to Stanley Wesley Olorenshaw, an oyster merchant who most likely stayed until it was sold to Mrs Greaves. Roundhill, Kirby Muxloe opened in late 1957. The Maternity Unit had 30 beds and in 1970, they achieved 1,000 births in the one year. By 1965, the Home became part of the N.H.S. with Mrs Greaves staying on as Matron until 1970. There are many memories to be found on the Kirby Muxloe Community Facebook page where women between 1958 and the 1980's, recall their stay at the Home. We have also received may interesting memories from people on the Kirby Muxloe Community Facebook page, many thanks, they were all very interesting. The majority of the memories involve cups of tea in the beautiful rose gardens, home cooked food and friendly staff. One of the lasting memories was one where mothers were encouraged to lie on their tummies in the afternoon 'rest' time. They were awoken up later with a cup of tea and a piece of homemade cake. Another earlier memory was at a time when mothers stayed at Roundhill for two weeks after the birth of their baby. Fathers were encouraged to take their wives for an evening out and then return them to the Home for the rest of their stay. Everyone remembers the midwives- Janet Short, Sister Blakeney, Peggy Woodcock and Sadie. One last memory which cannot be left out is of when Janet Short was presented with a mother about to give birth, and so after putting on her scrubs and wellies, with a good amount of humour announced that this very pregnant lady could have waited for her to finish her tea! So many patients had become very friendly with the midwives as they cared for them all through the antenatal check-ups. Dora Greaves was said to be very forward thinking in some ways, for instance she encouraged new mothers to get out of bed. whereas in the early years, many hospitals had the mothers staying horizontal for the first few days. She also devised ante-natal classes, by playing music whilst encouraging women to join in. It is also said that Mrs Greaves was very sympathetic to unmarried mothers, some who stayed on after the birth of their babies as part of the domestic workforce. By 1987, even after a prolonged campaign led by Deborah Simmons and Brenda Downham to keep the Home open, it sadly closed it's doors for the last time. Unfortunately, at the time it was reported that Roundhill and the Fielding Johnson Hospital were closing due to overspending at Leicester Royal Infirmary. It does have to be remembered that at that time many of the smaller hospitals closed their doors for the last time too. Mrs dora Greaves passed away in 2003, not long after her 90th birthday. The family received a card from Richard Attenborough upon her death. Obviously he had never forgotten her. Some of the information is taken from an article written in 2003 by Helen Warren, Mrs Greaves daughter.
Mrs Dora Greaves