How a Scottish doctor gave our practice its name

The Munros: father and son

Dr Hugh Munro arrived in Nantwich from Scotland in 1870 and was the practice's senior doctor for the next 46 years. Two of his sons qualified in medicine, and one - Dr Jack Munro - joined him as junior partner in 1900. Patients called them "The Old Doctor" and "The Young Doctor". They worked together until Hugh retired in 1916.

Medical practice in those early years would be unrecognisable today. Patients sat together in the waiting room and were treated in full view of each other - even minor operations like extracting teeth (there were no dentists in Nantwich then). Gleaming instruments lived in a large cupboard on the wall. Babies were delivered at home.

Dr Jack loved horses. The stable block - where Jack kept his horses - was the very building converted in 1974 to become the first modern Kiltearn Medical Centre.

Bicycles, golf, and a war-time single-handed practice

Dr Cyril Whitall joined Dr Jack in 1919 but tragically died from pneumonia just eight years later. He was still remembered with great affection by his old patients 70 years on. He went everywhere on his bicycle - on Saturday afternoons it was usually to be found leaning against the back of the Nantwich Football Club grandstand, ready for a quick getaway should an emergency arise. With telephones few and far between, patients sometimes had to follow him from house call to house call.

His successor, Dr Stewart Johnstone, was another Scot - immaculately dressed at all times, fond of golf and snooker. One old patient described him as "the most patient man I have ever met". When Dr Jack retired in 1939, Dr Johnstone continued single-handed through the entire war and on until his own retirement in 1957.

Dr Kay and the post-war practice

Dr Kenneth Kay took over in 1957. He is remembered most of all for his concern and care for the elderly. As he approached the end of his career, his partners affectionately forecast that he would never completely retire as long as there were any of his "old pals" remaining. Tragically, fate took a hand: he died "in harness" while still working.

Kenneth Kay's arrival had also marked the beginning of enormous changes. He started with one doctor, one receptionist and 1,500 patients in premises that had barely changed in half a century. By the time he died, the practice was on its way to becoming the modern operation it is today.

The 1974 conversion: from stable block to medical centre

In 1974, the old stable block where Jack Munro had once kept his hunters was converted into a purpose-built medical centre - designed deliberately with about 50% extra space to allow for expansion. By 1989 that extra space had been completely absorbed, and an extension was added in 1991. The practice by then consisted of five partners and a trainee doctor, a full-time practice manager, two full-time nurses, and a substantial team of clinical and administrative staff.

Dr Rick Appleton joined in 1962 and bought Nuthurst School House at the top of Hospital Street, converting it back from a schoolhouse to an elegant Georgian dwelling. Like Jack Munro before him, he loved the open air - visiting patients in an open-top sports car, jogging the local lanes before breakfast accompanied by one of his Old English sheepdogs. In the early 1990s he was instrumental in organising the Practices across the local area into a GP Co-operative for the provision of Out-of-Hours Care - removing what he called "the historical millstone of always being tied to the telephone day and night".

Dr Tony Coupe joined in 1966 (the first time the practice had needed more than two doctors). An avid antiques collector, he expanded the hobby into a part-time and later full-time business based at Manor House on Beam Street.