Following a request from the Fairfield WI for a public display case for artefacts from the former Fairfield Hospital, Fairfield Parish Council (FPC) has agreed to provide a display cabinet and mannequin, and these are soon to be installed in Fairfield Community Hall. The WI has agreed to care for the artefacts and rotate the display periodically. The memorabilia were acquired by FPC from a local collector in 2017, and although some of the items have been shown previously, they have never been on permanent display.

The pieces shown in the header picture are just a few of the items of crockery and glassware bearing the institution’s name – which changed at least twice during its history: having opened as the Three Counties Asylum, it was renamed Three Counties Hospital following the Mental Treatment Act 1930, and officially became Fairfield Hospital in 1960. On the left in the picture, the oldest piece of crockery in the collection, a Victorian water jug, bears the original name. A platter gives the name as ‘Three Counties Mental Hospital’ – which is another variation. But in spite of the changing name, the crest remains very similar throughout the ‘Three Counties’ period, with at its centre the initials HBH for Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire.