Bartholomew Mosse (1712 – 16 February 1759) was an Irish surgeon and

impresario An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer. His ...

responsible for founding the

Rotunda Hospital The Rotunda Hospital ( ga, Ospidéal an Rotunda; legally the Hospital for the Relief of Poor Lying-in Women, Dublin) is a maternity hospital on Parnell Street in Dublin, Ireland, now managed by RCSI Hospitals. The eponymous Rotunda in Parnell S ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

Early life

Bartholemew Mosse was born in Dysart, 2 km east of Portlaoise (then called Maryborough), the fifth son of seven children born to William Mosse, a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

clergyman, and Martha Boyle. Bartholomew apprenticed with Dr. John Stone as a

barber-surgeon The barber surgeon, one of the most common European medical practitioners of the Middle Ages, was generally charged with caring for soldiers during and after battle. In this era, surgery was seldom conducted by physicians, but instead by barber ...

from 1729-1733, when he passed examination by the surgeon-general. He married Mary Elizabeth Mallory in 1734, and they had a son, Michael, who was born in 1737. While historical records are unclear, it appears that both mother and infant died shortly thereafter. In 1738, he was appointed surgeon in charge of the draft of troops to

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, following which he spent time traveling through Europe. It is believed that it was during this time that he decided to focus on

midwifery Midwifery is the health science and health profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period (including care of the newborn), in addition to the sexual and reproductive health of women throughout their lives. In many ...

, to which end he observed maternity care in

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, among other cities. In 1742, he married his cousin, Jane Wittingham, with whom he had two children: Charles and Jane, born in 1745 and 1746 respectively.

The Dublin Lying-In Hospital

By 1743, he had determined to raise money for a purpose-built

maternity hospital A maternity hospital specializes in caring for women during pregnancy and childbirth. It also provides care for newborn infants, and may act as a centre for clinical training in midwifery and obstetrics. Formerly known as lying-in hospitals, most ...

, which he achieved through subscriptions, as well as the patronage of many of Dublin's prominent citizens. With this money, he purchased an old theatre in George's Lane, which he converted into the Lying-In Hospital, opening in 1745. Demand soon outstripped the capacity of the hospital, and Mosse staged theatrical productions to raise money for expansion. He also purchased land on the outskirts of the city, where he constructed a pleasure garden, concert hall and coffee house, known as the New Gardens. Profit from this venture was used to construct the Rotunda Hospital, designed by

Richard Cassels Richard Cassels (1690 – 1751), also known as Richard Castle, was an architect who ranks with Edward Lovett Pearce as one of the greatest architects working in Ireland in the 18th century. Cassels was born in 1690 in Kassel, Germany. Althou ...

, which opened on 8 December 1757. Mosse spent a considerable amount of his personal fortune on this venture, falling into debt, and eventually being imprisoned for indebtedness, although he escaped through a window and went into hiding in

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. He was also accused of misappropriation of funds, although no formal charges were ever brought, and Mosse was never convicted of any crime. He died of unknown causes on 16 February 1759 and is interred in Donnybrook Cemetery. His successor at the Hospital was Fielding Ould.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mosse, Bartholomew 1712 births 1759 deaths 18th-century Irish medical doctors People from County Laois Burials at Donnybrook Cemetery