History Of Burnham House
This page is currently under construction - or rather, we're in the process of sifting through archives and old press cuttings! More will be added as it is discovered. If you are one of our longer-standing clients and have any memories of vets and surgeries past, please do let us know - we'd love to hear from you.
The first reference to a Veterinary Surgeon in Castle Street appears in the 1861 census, where a Mr Fletcher Norfolk, Veterinary Surgeon, was listed, curiously, at 32 Castle Street (we are now numbers 33 and 35). Mr Norfolk lived with his wife Sophia (whose occupation is listed as "Veterinary Surgeon's Wife"!), two sons (also Veterinary Surgeons), a daughter Maria, and their maid Ann Middleton.
32 Castle Street: Mr Fletcher Norfolk - Head - Married - 60 - Veterinary Surgeon
Sophia Norfolk - Wife - Married - 53 - Veterinary Surgeon's wife
Master Fletcher Norfolk - Son - Unmarried - 30 - Veterinary Surgeon
Robert Fletcher Norfolk - Son - Unmarried - 27 - Veterinary Surgeon
Maria Norfolk - Daughter - Unmarried - 28 - Veterinary Surgeon's daughter
Ann Middleton - Servant - - 18 - House Servant
Ten years later, however, in the 1871 census, there are two Vets listed in Castle Street: Mr Walter H Bulmer and his wife at number 37 and Mr John H Cooper at number 46, along with Mr William Lawrence, Veterinary Student. It's nice to see that our support of young Vets "seeing practice" has a long history! John Hixon Cooper qualified from London in April 1867 and moved to Dover soon after. Interestingly, under "profession", Mr Bulmer has "MRCVS London" rather than "Veterinary Surgeon". In those days no qualifications were required to call yourself a vet and Mr Bulmer was therefore one of the first vets in the country to have formal training. MRCVS is the designation still used by practicing Vets in the UK.
37 Castle Street: Walter H Bulmer - Head - Married - 28 - MRCVS London
Anne Bulmer - Wife - Married - 29
Ellen Roberts - Servant - Unmarried - 18 - Domestic
46 Castle Street: Margaret Loring - Head - Unmarried - 30 - Lodging-House Keeper
Elizabeth Loring - Sister - Unmarried - 26 - Dress Maker
John H Cooper - Lodger - Unmarried - 25 - Veterinary Surgeon
William Lawrence - Lodger - Unmarried - 22 - Veterinary Student
The census listings give residences, not places of work, so it is likely that Mr Bulmer and Mr Cooper were practicing together, particularly as Mr Cooper and Mr Lawrence ar both lodgers at number 46. It would certainly be unusual to have competing Vets in the same street.
Castle Street c.1880. The house with the first-floor bay window on the left is number 33.
Mr Cooper's practice appears to have been succesful - in the Pike's Directory for 1889 (the Yellow Pages of the day), he is still in Castle Street although has now moved to number 29. By 1891 he has two branch surgeries in Fector's Place and Tower Hamlets Road. He died in 1898 and his RCVS record gives "cause of death: cirrhosis of liver and general exhaustion" (a worrying prospect!).
Mr F B Ditmas joins the practice in 1900; and the 1901 Directory lists "Cooper and Ditmas, Veterinary Surgeons". However, the 1905 Directory lists F C Golden and William Newman MsRCVS at 29 Castle Street and the Marine Livery Stables, Trevanion Street. (Trevanion Street used to run from St James' churchyard to the sea.) This remains the case until the 1908 Directory but, by 1909, they have vanished.
The intervening period, including the move from 29 to 33 Castle Street, currently remains a mystery. John Dyke MRCVS DVSM opened our direct forerunner at number 33 in 1953 (proudly advertising his phone number as "Dover 989" - still used by us) and remained there until handing over to John Douch MRCVS in 1962. Our most long-standing clients will remember Mr Douch, who practiced here single-handedly for nearly 35 years, and his wife, Barbara, at the original surgery at 33.
The announcement from the local paper when Mr Douch retired.
Jeremy Stattersfield took over what was then the "Castle Street Veterinary Centre" in 1990 and practiced single-handedly for a year and a half until placing a "lonely hearts" ad in the Veterinary Record (the Vets' professional journal) for an assistant! Since then the practice has grown steadily to its current staff of 24, including seven full-time Vets, and seen huge changes in the profession. We are now a busy, modern surgery spread over five floors of two adjoining houses, with extensive diagnostic and surgical facilities, treating over 500 pets every week. We also have two smaller branch surgeries: Havelock Veterinary Surgery, serving our Folkestone clients; and we opened our third branch, Bewsbury Cross Veterinary Clinic, in Whitfield in 2005.
With very many thanks to Pippa Ottley at the RCVS Trust Library and the Reference staff at Dover Library