Waringfield House was a grand Georgian building standing between the villages of Moira, Co. Down and Magheralin, Co. Armagh. It was home to the Waring family, who owned more than 2,000 acres of land in the area and after whom the nearby Waringstown takes its name.
In June 1942, the United States military constructed a 900-bed convalescent hospital. The site at Waringfield House would see use by the British Emergency Medical Service. The following year, the United States Army added a further 100 beds. Hospital facilities were in a series of Nissen huts erected in the grounds of the main house.
Wounded soldiers from throughout the world underwent treatment at Waringfield Military Hospital. British, American, and Belgian troops as well as returning prisoners of war from the Far East occupied beds in the Moira hospital. Ambulances also arrived regularly from the nearby Maghaberry Airfield, Co. Antrim.
Belgian Army in Moira, Co. Down
In 1945, the Belgian Army established a Field Hospital in Moira, Co. Down. This permanent medical detachment worked alongside Field Ambulances scattered across Ulster with the 5 Belgian Infantry Brigades. The Belgian operations at Waringfield were under the command of Major Medical Doctor Borremans. They began with the arrival of 2nd (Yser) Infantry Brigade and ceased when 6th (Deynze) Infantry Brigade moved on from Northern Ireland.
On 24th November 1963, the Ulster Military Hospital transferred from Waringfield Military Hospital to Musgrave Park Hospital, Belfast. The Royal Army Medical Corps presented their flag to Moira Parish Church. In the following years, the site became a Chest Hospital and a Geriatric Hospital. It suffered fire damage and then faced demolition in the late 1980s.
A modern housing development with names such as Waringfield Avenue and Waringfield Drive now stands on the site. The grand house and hospital complex are long gone but visitors to the area can still see the perimeter wall around the development.