The Metropolitan Free Hospital was a London hospital, founded in 1836 and based for most of its existence in

Kingsland Road Kingsland Road is the name given to an East London stretch of the A10 road within the London Borough of Hackney in England. The A10 was originally a Roman Road better known as Ermine Street or sometimes the Old North Road. The name ''Kingslan ...

, Hackney. It became part of the

NHS 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 closed in 1977, with its residual functions transferring to Barts Hospital.

History

Early years

The hospital was founded by Jonathan Fry, a son of

Elizabeth Fry Elizabeth Fry (née Gurney; 21 May 1780 – 12 October 1845), sometimes referred to as Betsy Fry, was an English prison reformer, social reformer, philanthropist and Quaker. Fry was a major driving force behind new legislation to improve the tr ...

, to provide medical treatment for the destitute, in 1836. Its mission was ‘to grant immediate relief to the sick poor of every nation and class whatever may be their diseases, on presenting themselves to the charity without letter of recommendation; such letters being always procured with difficulty and often after dangerous delay’. It was based initially at 29 Carey Street, near

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

, previously the home of the silversmith Richard Cooke. In 1843,

Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, (Adolphus Frederick; 24 February 1774 – 8 July 1850) was the tenth child and seventh son of the British king George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He held the title of Duke of Cambridge from 18 ...

sponsored its first inpatient beds. In 1850, the hospital moved to 8 Devonshire Square,

Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate gave its name to the Bishopsgate Ward of the City of London. The ward is traditionally divided into ''Bishopsgate Within'', inside the line wall, and ''Bishop ...

, and soon after began to treat inpatients. However, in the 1870s, the Devonshire Square site was wanted by the

Great Eastern Railway The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern R ...

Company to extend their London terminus,

Liverpool Street Station Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is the t ...

. The hospital sold its premises to the railway for £8,500 in 1876. It moved to 81 Commercial Street,

Spitalfields Spitalfields is a district in the East End of London and within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The area is formed around Commercial Street (on the A1202 London Inner Ring Road) and includes the locale around Brick Lane, Christ Church, ...

and remained there until 1885 when it found a suitable site on the Kingsland Road.

Kingsland Road

The hospital operated from a series of buildings on Kingsland Road while a dedicated building was being constructed between 1885 and 1886. Under its new governor, Sir Edmund Hay Currie, it began to charge a small subscription, and so dropped the word ‘Free’ from its title. As the Metropolitan Hospital, it formed a partnership with

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

nursing order, the Order of All Saints. In 1902 King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

became its patron. The hospital developed specialist services, including a dedicated ward for Jewish patients, and expertise in treating tuberculosis. In 1948 the Metropolitan Hospital became part of 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 " ...

. After services were transferred to Barts Hospital, the hospital closed in 1977. The building was subsequently converted for use as a business centre and as a hostel.

References

{{authority control NHS hospitals in London Hospital buildings completed in 1886 1836 establishments in England Hospitals established in 1836 Health in London Defunct hospitals in London Voluntary hospitals