Benjamin Golding's tomb, Brompton Cemetery - geograph

Benjamin Golding (7 September 1793 – 21 June 1863) was a British doctor and the founder of the West London Infirmary which later became the

Charing Cross Hospital Charing Cross Hospital is an acute general teaching hospital located in Hammersmith, London, United Kingdom. The present hospital was opened in 1973, although it was originally established in 1818, approximately five miles east, in central Lond ...

. He wrote the history of that hospital and of St. Thomas's Hospital, originally in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

. He was known for his dedication to serving the poor.

Early life and family

Benjamin Golding was born on 7 September 1793 in the town of

St Osyth St Osyth is an English village and civil parish in the Tendring District of north-east Essex, about west of Clacton-on-Sea and south-east of Colchester. It lies on the B1027, Colchester–Clacton road. The village is named after Osgyth, a 7t ...

in Essex, England. He was the youngest son of the sixteen children of John Golding (1766–1831), a well-off tanner and landowner. Only eight of his father's 16 children lived into adulthood. He enrolled at the University of Edinburgh in 1811, where he attended the lectures of Dr James Gregory, and in 1813 started as a medical student at

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foun ...

, London. Also in 1813 he received his MD from the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

where degrees could be awarded from written testimonials."Golding, Benjamin (1793–1863), physician"
by M. Waugh, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', 2004. Retrieved 16 March 2018. https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/10909 In 1822, Golding married Sarah Pelerin Blew (1799–1873), a member of the family that owned Bayley & Blew, who among other things were perfumiers.MacMichael, J. Holden. (1906
''The Story of Charing Cross and its Immediate Neighbourhood.''
London: Chatto & Windus. p. 289. They had nine children but several did not survive to adulthood.

Medical career

Golding began medical practice in 1815 at his house in Leicester Place,

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and London boroughs, borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of cent ...

, which was open particularly to the poor. It was at this time that he conceived the idea of a medical school being integral to a hospital, to ensure the needy were cared for in the present and future. In 1820, he published the ''Historical Account of the Origin and Progress of St. Thomas's Hospital, Southwark'', a topic he was devoted to for much of his life. By 1822, he had drafted his medical education plans. Golding gave particular attention to the sick poor in the district of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...

in central London. With public support and help from friends, they raised over £6,000 and founded the West London Infirmary in

Villiers Street Villiers Street is a street in London connecting the Strand with the Embankment. It is partly pedestrianised; traffic runs northbound only up to John Adam Street, where vehicles must turn right. It was built by Nicholas Barbon in the 1670s on th ...

in 1823.Imperial College 1845 - 1899.
Imperial College. Retrieved 17 March 2018. On 4 June 1825 he gained a licentiate of the College of Physicians.Benjamin Golding.
Munk's Roll, Royal College of Physicians. Retrieved 17 March 2018. By the early 1830s and at a cost of about £20,000, they established the Charing Cross Hospital. He remained active in the hospital councils and in the management of hospital affairs until his attendance became less frequent towards the end of his life.

Death and legacy

Golding died on 21 June 1863 in

West Brompton West Brompton is an area of south-west London, that straddles the boundary between the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The centuries-old boundary was traced by Counter's Creek, now lost be ...

at age 63. He is buried at

Brompton Cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is a London cemetery, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Estab ...

, London. His tomb is a

grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

monument with

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

Selected works

* ''Burns and Scalds''. 1814. *
An Historical Account of the Origin and Progress of St. Thomas's Hospital, Southwark
'. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, & Brown, London, 1819. *
The Origin, Plan, and Operations of the Charing Cross Hospital
'. Allen & Co., London, 1867. Edited by his son George B. Golding.

References

External links