The London Lock Hospital was the first

voluntary hospital Voluntary hospitals were created from the eighteenth century in England. In America, Ireland, and Australia, voluntary hospitals were established later. They can be distinguished from municipal hospitals, which were publicly owned, and private hosp ...

for

venereal disease Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and ora ...

. It was also the most famous and first of the Lock Hospitals which were developed for the treatment of

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium '' Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, a ...

following the end of the use of lazar hospitals, as

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria '' Mycobacterium leprae'' or '' Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve d ...

declined. The hospital later developed maternity and gynaecology services before being incorporated into the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

in 1948 and closing in 1952.

History

The hospital was founded by William Bromfeild at

Grosvenor Place Grosvenor Place is a street in Belgravia, London, running from Hyde Park Corner down the west side of Buckingham Palace gardens, and joining lower Grosvenor Place where there are some cafes and restaurants. It joins Grosvenor Gardens to the s ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

as a hospital for the treatment of

and opened on 31 January 1747. The religious commentator, Thomas Scott, who published a ''Commentary on the Whole Bible'' and who became the founding Secretary of the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

, founded the Lock Asylum for the Reception of Penitent Female Patients in 1787 as a refuge for women who had been treated at the hospital. The Lock Asylum opened in Osnaburg Row in 1792 and moved, first to

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End. Toponymy Knightsbridge is an ancien ...

in 1812, then to Lower Eaton Street in 1816 and finally co-located with the Lock Hospital in 1849. Meanwhile, the Lock Hospital had moved to 283 Harrow Road in

Westbourne Grove Westbourne Grove is a retail road running across Notting Hill, an area of west London. Its western end is in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and its eastern end is in the City of Westminster; it runs from Kensington Park Road in th ...

in 1842. It was renamed the Female Hospital when a new site in Dean Street, Soho, opened for male outpatients in 1862. It was expanded as a result of the Contagious Diseases Act 1864 in 1867. The Lock Asylum, which had continued to occupy a wing in the Female Hospital, became known as the 'Rescue Home' in 1893. The whole facility (the Female Hospital and the Lock Asylum) became known as the London Lock Hospital and Rescue Home at that time. A maternity unit opened in 1917, followed by an

ophthalmology Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a me ...

unit and a

genitourinary The genitourinary system, or urogenital system, are the organs of the reproductive system and the urinary system. These are grouped together because of their proximity to each other, their common embryological origin and the use of common pathw ...

unit that treated venereal and non-venereal gynaecological disorders. A new maternity centre opened at 283A Harrow Road in 1938. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

the facility was used as a Military Isolation Hospital. It joined the

in 1948 when it became an outpatients department for Paddington Hospital. After it closed in 1952, the hospital was demolished and the site is now occupied by flats.

History of the name

The Oxford English Dictionary states that the single word term 'lock' was used to describe a leper hospital 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 ...

, where lepers were isolated and treated. The sources for this usage go back to 1359. A 1375 source states that the foreman, William Cook, was sworn to prevent lepers from entering the City of London. The same source asserts that eventually the term 'lock' came to be used attributively, as in 'lock hospital'. The memory of the London Lock Hospital continues with the ''London Lock Hospital Memorial Prize in Sexually Transmitted Diseases'' at the

Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine UCL Medical School is the medical school of University College London (UCL) and is located in London, United Kingdom. The School provides a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate medical education programmes and also has a medical educa ...

, which was established by bequest in 1965 by an old student and staff member of the school. With subsequent mergers of London medical schools, it is now part of the awards in communicable diseases for final-year medical students at the

UCL Medical School UCL Medical School is the medical school of University College London (UCL) and is located in London, United Kingdom. The School provides a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate medical education programmes and also has a medical educatio ...

Traditional folk song

''The Lock Hospital'' is just one of the many alternative titles for a popular traditional British

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

, ''

The Unfortunate Lad "The Unfortunate Lad", also known as "The Unfortunate Rake", is a traditional folk ballad (), which through the folk process has evolved into a large number of variants. Synopsis In nineteenth-century broadside versions, the narrator meets a comr ...

'', a warning against venereal disease, dating from the late 18th century. The hospital is mentioned by name in the first verse: :As I was walking down by the Lock Hospital, :As I was walking one morning of late, :Who did I spy but my own dear comrade, :Wrapped in flannel, so hard is his fate. Subsequent lines mention the "salts and pills of

white mercury Mercury(II) chloride (or mercury bichloride, mercury dichloride), historically also known as sulema or corrosive sublimate, is the inorganic chemical compound of mercury and chlorine with the formula HgCl2. It is white crystalline solid and is a ...

" that might have saved the unfortunate youth's life if only his lover had warned him in time. There are many variants of the song (such as ''

St. James Infirmary Blues "St. James Infirmary Blues" is an American blues song and jazz standard of uncertain origin. Louis Armstrong made the song famous in his 1928 recording on which Don Redman was credited as composer; later releases gave the name Joe Primrose, a ps ...

'', '' Streets of Laredo'', ''The Trooper Cut Down in His Prime'', etc.) in which the personae are variously a gambler, cowboy, soldier, sailor, or even a young girl, "cut down in their prime".

References

{{Coord, 51.5002, -0.1495, type:landmark_region:GB-WSM, display=title 1747 establishments in England 1952 disestablishments NHS hospitals in London History of the City of Westminster Hospitals established in the 1740s Defunct hospitals in London 1740s in London

History

History of the name

Traditional folk song

See also

References