We need to preserve this building...it’s too important to lose
A determined Paisley scout warden is pleading for help to uncover the history of the town’s old tuberculosis hospital.
Lapwing Lodge, which is currently an outdoor centre and hostel, was once the respite centre of hundreds of Paisley mill workers who picked up the bacterial infection after constant work with thread.
The 111-year-old site is now run by scout warden Ross Dunbar, who has lived in what used to be the sister’s quarters for nearly seven years.
After being handed two rare pictures of patients receiving treatment at the former hospital, he is now determined to find out more to ensure the history of the building is not lost forever.
He said: “Lapwing Lodge is a stunning site in the braes of Paisley, only around ten minutes from the town centre.
“It was built as a TB hospital because there was a high incidence of the infection due to working with thread for long periods of time.
“There was no cure for TB at that time and the only thing they thought helped was rest and fresh air, so patients were taken to Lapwing and wheeled to their windows and forced to stay in bed all day.
“Unfortunately the rate of recovery was only around 50 per cent.
“I was recently handed two pictures from someone who had a family member taken to the hospital in the 1920s.
“They are absolutely fascinating and I’d love to see if we could collect a lot more to build up a real picture of what Lapwing Lodge was like.
“We need to preserve the history of this building because it’s too important to lose.”
Ross, 66, has appreciated being in the 25-acres of scenic land during the coronavirus lockdown.
Lapwing is owned by the West of Scotland Scouts and is normally used by scouts, guides, boys brigades and church groups and Ross can’t wait for it to get back to serving its normal purpose.
He said: “The mills ran the hospital until the middle of World War Two when vaccines started to become more widely available.
“The Red Cross then used the site for recovering soldiers before the NHS used it as a recovery hospital, again for TB.
“It lay empty for many years before the scouts took it over in the 1980s.
“We know people in Paisley may have a connection to Lapwing, either themselves or through a family member. We’d love to hear their stories and help build an even clearer picture of this fascinating place.”
I’d love to build up a real picture of what Lapwing Lodge was like