Nottingham General Hospital was a major hospital in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, England. It was founded in 1781 and closed in 1992.

History

The hospital was the result of a legacy from John Key, a wealthy banker, who had left money in his will for hospitals to be built in Nottingham and

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. The site selected for the hospital in Nottingham was part of the area known as Nottingham Park, immediately to the north of

Nottingham Castle Nottingham Castle is a Stuart Restoration-era ducal mansion in Nottingham, England, built on the site of a Norman castle built starting in 1068, and added to extensively through the medieval period, when it was an important royal fortress and o ...

and near the wharves: one half of the land was given by

Thomas Pelham-Clinton, 3rd Duke of Newcastle Major-General Thomas Pelham-Clinton, 3rd Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne (1 July 1752 – 18 May 1795), known as Lord Thomas Pelham-Clinton until 1779 and as Earl of Lincoln from 1779 to 1794, was a British Army officer and politician who sat in the ...

for the purpose and the other half by the town corporation.Bittiner and Lowe, p. 8 The foundation stone for the first building, which had been designed by John Simpson, was laid on 12 February 1781 and the hospital opened with 44 beds in September 1782.

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...

, the

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, was an early visitor to the hospital.Bittiner and Lowe, p. 9 The hospital was extended with the Derbyshire wing, financed by a large donation from

Henry Cavendish Henry Cavendish ( ; 10 October 1731 – 24 February 1810) was an English natural philosopher and scientist who was an important experimental and theoretical chemist and physicist. He is noted for his discovery of hydrogen, which he termed "infl ...

, which opened in 1787. In 1844 the hospital had to respond to a major disaster when 12 people were killed and over a hundred injured when a stand collapsed at a public hanging on Garner's Hill.Bittiner and Lowe, p. 19 A design for a third storey for the original building was developed by

Thomas Chambers Hine Thomas Chambers Hine (31 May 1813 – 6 February 1899) was an architect based in Nottingham. Background He was born in Covent Garden into a prosperous middle-class family, the eldest son of Jonathan Hine (1780–1862), a hosiery manufacturer an ...

and the works completed in 1855. Another new wing on the Park Row frontage opened in 1879, and the Jubilee Wing, designed by

Alfred Waterhouse Alfred Waterhouse (19 July 1830 – 22 August 1905) was an English architect, particularly associated with the Victorian Gothic Revival architecture, although he designed using other architectural styles as well. He is perhaps best known f ...

in a circular shape to celebrate

Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria was officially celebrated on 22 June 1897 to mark the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. Queen Victoria was the first British monarch ever to celebrate a Diamond ...

, opened in 1900.Bittiner and Lowe, p. 21 During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

102 beds were made available to the Government for wounded soldiers.Bittiner and Lowe, p. 24 The Nurses Memorial Home was opened by the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

in 1923 as a monument to the soldiers of

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

who had died in the

. Extensions financed by donations from William Goodacre Player included the Ropewalk Wing opened by Princess Mary in 1929,Bittiner and Lowe, p. 27 the Player Wing opened in 1932Bittiner and Lowe, p. 29 and the Castle Ward, designed by

Evans, Clark and Woollatt Evans, Clark and Wollatt was an architectural practice based in Nottingham from the early 1920s to 1948. History The practice was established by Robert Evans, John Thomas Clark and John Woollatt by 1921. Robert Evans died in 1927, and John Thomas ...

, which opened in 1943.Bittiner and Lowe, p. 32 In 1948, at the formation 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 " ...

, the hospital came under the Sheffield Regional Hospital Board. The hospital comprised 423 beds at that time. The Intensive Care Unit was completed in 1963 and the Trent Wing was opened by

Sir Keith Joseph Keith Sinjohn Joseph, Baron Joseph, (17 January 1918 – 10 December 1994), known as Sir Keith Joseph, 2nd Baronet, for most of his political life, was a British politician, intellectual and barrister. A member of the Conservative Party, he ...

in 1972.Bittiner and Lowe, p. 44 After services had transferred to the

Queen's Medical Centre The Queen's Medical Centre (popularly known as QMC, Queen's Med or Queen's) is a teaching hospital situated in Nottingham, England. Until February 2012, when it was surpassed by the Royal London Hospital, it was the largest hospital in the Unit ...

, the hospital closed in 1992. The main hospital block is now home to the offices of Nottingham City Clinical Commissioning Group and Nottingham CityCare Partnership.

References

Sources

External links

Nottingham University website: Nottingham Park, with early print of hospitalDermatology in Nottingham: Dr B.R. Allen (history specifically of the dermatology department, but includes much background information on the whole hospital)
{{authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1782 Hospital buildings completed in the 18th century Defunct hospitals in England Buildings and structures in Nottingham 1782 establishments in England Hospitals disestablished in 1992