Homes of Healing: The Medical Utilisation of British Country Houses in the Second World War. A Spatial History of Alternative Spaces

This thesis focuses on the history of Britain's stately homes and country houses during the Second World War. It will explore the ways these historic properties shaped the wartime experiences of those who lived, worked, and recovered within and how the transitional nature of the space resulted in divergent identities forming around the properties' popular representation. It builds upon the scholarly research of Peter Mandler and Adrian Tinniswood and attempts to rectify the often overlooked and underappreciated contribution of country houses to the provision of medical care and to the wider war effort. The thesis will understand the wartime representation of the properties in accordance with the interwar attitudes towards the city and the countryside. It examines the ways in which the idealisation of rurality impacted the popular representation of the auxiliary hospital and convalescent home. Furthermore, it will explore the way new and existing identities shaped the relationships that developed between aristocratic homeowners, medical personnel, and military patients. Ultimately, it will argue that the military-medico utilisation of country houses during the Second World War added new layers of cultural meaning to what were already palimpsest-like spaces. The thesis will consult an array of sources from a variety of repositories. Firstly, it will draw on the lived experience of patients, staff and homeowners through their diaries, letters, and memoirs. Secondly, it will explore the representational value and understanding of these institutions and their occupants through an analysis of local and national newspapers as well as popular periodicals and magazines. Finally, it will consult with parliamentary records and medical journals to provide essential context to the changes being made to these historic monuments.