who was Dorothy Kerin?

Burrswood was founded in 1948 by the 20th century healing visionary, Dorothy Kerin (1889 – 1963), regarded by many as a modern-day Christian saint.

In 1912 Dorothy Kerin was a 22-year-old who had been confined to bed for five years with tubercular meningitis, peritonitis and diabetes, when a miraculous cure restored her to full health overnight.  Her healing earned her national attention and press headlines of ‘Miracle Girl’.

Dorothy Kerin’s personal experience of the living Christ turning her life around - literally taking her from death to healthy life in a moment – led her to establish a place where others could come to find the same healing from God which she had herself received.

Homes of prayer and healing

Helped by a group of dedicated and committed followers, Dorothy Kerin successively established three homes of prayer and healing in southern England from 1929 onwards. She believed she had a commission from God to ‘heal the sick, comfort the sorrowing and give faith to the faithless’, a commission which is still Burrswood’s today.  She began in Ealing, West London, setting up a nursing home she named Chapel House, which quickly expanded into all seven houses on that side of the street as her ministry developed. 
After the war she moved to Speldhurst in Kent, and finally, in 1948, she was able to purchase the land and buildings making up the core of the present-day Burrswood estate. All the funding and financial support came, as it had done in London, from donations.
 
‘Whole person’ care

Dorothy Kerin pioneered what is now generally termed ‘whole-person care’, that is, she understood that physical illness cannot be separated from a person’s spiritual, mental or emotional state, and that people must be cared for as a whole – body, mind and spirit.  She firmly believed in bringing together mainstream medicine and Christian healing, and from the beginning she worked closely with the local vicar and GP to look after those entrusted to her care.  For the rest of her life she relied on the skills of trained professionals, and it was a natural step therefore when Burrswood became a fully-registered hospital in 2000.
Throughout her life, Dorothy Kerin attracted a widespread following – and some measure of controversy – for her pioneering work in Christian healing. In later years, she drew worldwide support and praise from, among others, the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Cosmo Lang and the American evangelist, Dr Norman Vincent Peale.

The present Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, is a Patron of Burrswood, and the work of Burrswood is strongly supported by the Church of England; as it is by the many healthcare professionals who refer their patients to it.

If you would like to know more about the life and healing ministry of Dorothy Kerin, the following books are available from the Burrswood Bookshop on 01892 865996, or email bookshop@burrswood.org.uk:

The Living Touch and Fulfilling by Dorothy Kerin, incorporated into a single volume at £7.50
The Vision of Dorothy Kerin by Bishop Morris Maddocks, at £9.99
Dorothy Kerin: Called by Christ to Heal by Dorothy Musgrove Arnold, at £7.50 
Will You Go Back? by Ruth Farr at £6.50
This House Called Burrswood by Johanna Ernest, also at £6.50