The McSloy Coverlet: Quilting Through Convalescence at Woolley Sanatorium

It was made by James Burt who made this for his friend Wilfrid McSloy (above) when they were both being treated for tuberculosis in Woolley Sanatorium in Northumberland in the late 1930s. Tuberculosis was a major public health issue in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Santoria were created to provide both dedicated healthcare and a form of quarantine for TB sufferers.

Recovery was a long process, but Sanitoria like Woolley often organised activities to occupy patients and speed up their recovery, including drawing, cabinet making and embroidery. No doubt making this coverlet would have been an important part of James's convalescence.

Woolley Sanitorium (pictured above) was originally built to treatgas attack victims from the First World War, but then became a dedicated TB Hospital. Open air treatment was considered the best way to treat patients, and all of the windows at Woolley were removed to ensure so that fresh air could circulate the wards—even in winter.

A routine of rest, good food and gentle exercise was followed for a slow but usually beneficial outcome.