Century-old former nurses training centre being moved across Bowmanville Hospital grounds

Lakeridge Health officials will be showcasing the before-and-after story of the Lambert House, built a century ago as a training facility and nurses’ residence on the grounds of the Bowmanville Hospital, after the historic building is moved across the hospital campus this weekend.

The house, which originally served as the home of Bowmanville Hospital’s nurse training program for nearly two decades, will be relocated this weekend from its current location on Mabel Bruce Way to the other side of the grounds to face Prince Street.

Built in 1926, the Lambert House continued its institutional use until 1941. Over the years, it has also served as office space for the Durham Regional Health Unit and the Bowmanville Hospital Foundation.

The Lambert House is a good example of Tudor Revival Architecture popularized during the first four decades of the 20th century. This two-storey solid masonry building was built with a basement and a full attic on a steeply sloped roof in a Tudor Revival Architectural style.

An initial proposal had the building moved home onto Liberty Street, but the new plan will allow the structure to be moved through the hospital property only, rather than using surface streets, and will also provide an appropriate transition between the hospital and the residential neighbourhood to the east.

The current site of Lambert House will eventually become part of the redeveloped Bowmanville Hospital site, providing Durham Region with expanded access to critical health-care services for generations to come. In its new location, Lambert House will be positioned by the entrance of the redeveloped Bowmanville Hospital.

With Durham Region’s population expected to double by 2041, the demand for care is rising faster than the hospital’s current infrastructure can support and the Lambert House’s move was required to make way for the redevelopment of the hospital, a project that will double the hospital’s size, modernize care and expand essential services, reducing the need to travel outside of the community for care.

Once complete, the Bowmanville Hospital will include a new ambulatory care clinics, a Haemodialysis Centre, Level 3 Critical Care capacity and a rooftop helipad to support rapid access to emergency services.