The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Obstetric Hospital and its predecessor organisations provided health care to women in

central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

from the mid-Victorian era. It was named after

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (9 June 1836 – 17 December 1917) was an English physician and suffragist. She was the first woman to qualify in Britain as a physician and surgeon. She was the co-founder of the first hospital staffed by women, ...

, one of Britain's first female physicians, and its work continues in the modern Elizabeth Garrett Anderson wing of University College Hospital, part of UCLH NHS Foundation Trust.

History

The New Hospital for Women, London Wellcome L0038371

In 1866,

, with financial backing from her father, founded and became General Medical Attendant to St Mary's Dispensary in Seymour Place, where she worked for over 20 years. This

dispensary A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital, industrial plant, or other organization that dispenses medications, medical supplies, and in some cases even medical and dental treatment. In a traditional dispensary set-up, a pharmacist dispen ...

developed into the New Hospital for Women in 1872. It was established to enable poor women to obtain medical help from qualified female practitioners - in that era a very unusual thing. In 1874 it moved to

Marylebone Road Marylebone Road ( ) is an important thoroughfare in central London, within the City of Westminster. It runs east–west from the Euston Road at Regent's Park to the A40 Westway at Paddington. The road which runs in three lanes in both direction ...

, on a site now occupied by The Landmark Hotel. The foundation stone for new purpose-built facilities in

Euston Road Euston Road is a road in Central London that runs from Marylebone Road to King's Cross. The route is part of the London Inner Ring Road and forms part of the London congestion charge zone boundary. It is named after Euston Hall, the family ...

was laid by the

Princess of Wales Princess of Wales (Welsh: ''Tywysoges Cymru'') is a courtesy title used since the 14th century by the wife of the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. The current title-holder is Catherine (née Middleton). The title was firs ...

in 1889. The architect was

J. M. Brydon John McKean Brydon (1840 – 25 May 1901) was a Scottish architect who developed a practice in designing public buildings, particularly hospitals, in London. He designed the St Peter's Hospital in Henrietta Street, Covent Garden (1880–84), the ...

, who took into his employment at this time Anderson's sister

Agnes Garrett Agnes Garrett (12 July 1845 – 1935)Serena Kelly"Garrett, Agnes (1845–1935)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved 9 January 2015. was an English suffragist and interior designer and the founder i ...

and her cousin

Rhoda Garrett Rhoda Garrett (28 March 1841 – 22 November 1882)Serena Kelly"Rhoda Garrett (1841–1882)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved 9 January 2015. was an English suffragist and interior designer. Wit ...

, who contributed to its design. The hospital was renamed the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital in 1918, in the year following the death of the pioneer physician.M. A. Elston
"Anderson, Elizabeth Garrett (1836–1917)"
''

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 ...

'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, Sept 2004; online edn, Oct 2005. In 1946 the hospital purchased the Hampstead Nursing Home at 40 Belsize Grove (close to Belsize Park Underground station). Between 1948 and 1977 the property in Belsize Grove was known as the Garrett Anderson

Maternity Home A maternity home, or maternity housing program, is a form of supportive housing provided to pregnant women. Maternity housing programs support a woman in need of a stable home environment to reach her goals in a variety of areas including educatio ...

. The building was subsequently demolished and replaced by residential accommodation. The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson hospital in Euston Road was under threat of closure from the 1960s and closure was announced in 1976 by Camden

Area Health Authority Area health authorities were 90 bodies responsible for administering the National Health Service, established in England by the National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973 in 1974. Each covered a geographical population which matched a Local Go ...

. In November that year the building was occupied by the staff. Campaigning continued until 1979. In January 2001 the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital amalgamated with the Obstetric Hospital to form the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Obstetric Hospital: it moved to Huntley Street at the same time. In November 2008, the hospital's

maternity ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gestati ...

and

neonatal An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

services moved to the new

University College Hospital Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College London ...

, a £70 million purpose-built wing offering the latest technology and facilities, and the old building in Huntley Street was demolished to make room for the

UCH Macmillan Cancer Centre UCH Macmillan Cancer Centre is a research-led day hospital in Huntley Street in central London. It is the oncology (cancer treatment) wing of University College Hospital, part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Hist ...

, which opened in April 2012.

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Gallery

The 1890 core of the former Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital building in Euston Road has been listed and, restored, now forms part of the

UNISON In music, unison is two or more musical parts that sound either the same pitch or pitches separated by intervals of one or more octaves, usually at the same time. ''Rhythmic unison'' is another term for homorhythm. Definition Unison or per ...

Centre. Within this building the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Gallery is open to the public. The gallery is a permanent installation and uses a variety of media to tell the story of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, her hospital, and women's struggle to achieve equality in the field of medicine within the wider framework of 19th and 20th century social history. Interactive displays allow the visitor to discover more about the "Enterprising Women" who followed Elizabeth Garrett into the medical profession – and into other spheres of British public life.

References

External links

UCLH - Our hospitals - University College Hospital Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing
uclh.nhs.uk; accessed 6 May 2015.

ezitis.myzen.co.uk; accessed 6 May 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Obstetric Hospital Hospital buildings completed in 1890 Hospitals established in 1866 University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Camden Organisations based in London with royal patronage Defunct hospitals in London Maternity hospitals in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures in Bloomsbury 1866 establishments in England Hospitals disestablished in 2008 2008 disestablishments in England Unison (trade union) Dispensaries in London

History

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links