Greenwich District Hospital was an

acute Acute may refer to: Science and technology * Acute angle ** Acute triangle ** Acute, a leaf shape in the glossary of leaf morphology * Acute (medicine), a disease that it is of short duration and of recent onset. ** Acute toxicity, the adverse eff ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

general hospital situated in the

Maze Hill Maze Hill is an area in Greenwich and Blackheath, in south-east London, lying to the east of Greenwich Park, and west of the Westcombe Park area of Blackheath. It is part of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and takes its name from the main thorou ...

district of

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. It was built in the 1960s on the site of

St Alfege's Hospital St Alfege's Hospital was a hospital that operated in the Maze Hill area of east Greenwich in southeast London. It operated as the Greenwich Union Infirmary from 1874 to 1929. It was briefly known as the Greenwich and Deptford Hospital before beco ...

, Greenwich, on the east side of Vanbrugh Hill, south of its junction with Woolwich Road.

History

The hospital had its origins in

in Greenwich which by the 1960s was in need of replacement. In order to build a hospital with a large enough capacity for the requirements of the local population (up to 800 beds) on a small site (less than 8 acres), a single large building was designed -

Pevsner Pevsner or Pevzner is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aihud Pevsner (1925–2018), American physicist * Antoine Pevsner (1886–1962), Russian sculptor, brother of Naum Gabo * David Pevsner, American actor, singer, da ...

described it as "an unusually large enterprise to be undertaken by the Department of Health and Social Security (chief architect: W. E. Tatton Brown)". The new hospital was fully open by 1972, and it also absorbed services previously provided at the

Miller General Hospital The Miller General Hospital was a hospital in Greenwich, London from 1884 until 1974. It was developed adjacent to an earlier dispensary, and was the first British hospital designed with circular wards, and one of the first to have an X-ray depa ...

in west Greenwich, which finally closed in 1974. The wards were located around the outside of the building, to receive natural light, while other departments such as operating theatres and laboratories were situated in the centre. The engineering services were contained in gaps between the floor and ceiling of each pair of storeys, so that maintenance work could be carried out without disruption to the running of the clinical areas of the hospital. The interior design was based on large, open areas which maximised the use of the available space, and which could be altered to match changing demands. The entire hospital was ventilated artificially to improve air quality. The hospital closed in 2001, and its services were moved to the

Queen Elizabeth Hospital, London Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...

. Some scenes from the film '' About A Boy'', and the music video for ''

Chain Reaction A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events. Chain reactions are one way that syst ...

'' by the pop group Steps, were filmed in the closed hospital prior to its demolition in 2006. An adjacent health centre - described by Pevsner as "an ugly A-frame with forceful raking struts" has also since been demolished. The hospital site was redeveloped for mainly residential use, centred around Lambarde Square and Hawthorne Crescent, with some retail outlets along Woolwich Road. The health centre facilities were relocated to the Greenwich Centre, a building in Lambarde Square also housing a leisure centre, swimming pool and library.

References

External links

Greenwich District Hospital
{{authority control Defunct hospitals in London NHS hospitals in London Former buildings and structures in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Hospitals disestablished in 2001 2001 disestablishments in England Buildings and structures demolished in 2006 Demolished buildings and structures in London

History

See also

References

External links