St Olave's Hospital was a

general hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

serving the

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe () is a district of south-east London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, as well as the Isle of Dogs ...

area of

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 ...

until its closure in 1985.

History

In 1865 the Rotherhithe Workhouse was denounced in

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles, ...

in its demands for poor law medical reform. There was only one paid nurse, with four pauper assistants. Nurse Matilda Beeton described filth and neglect "where many sick patients were dirty, their bodies crawling with vermin". The Infirmary of St Olave's Union was established by Order of the Local Government Board in 1875. After being known as the Bermondsey and Rotherhithe Hospital in the 1920s, the facility was renamed St Olave's Hospital in 1930 and transferred from the Bermondsey Board of Guardians to the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

. It had 687 beds at that time. In 1948, with 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 " ...

, St Olave's came under the management of the Bermondsey and Southwark Hospital Management Committee. It finally closed in 1985. The site has since been redeveloped as a residential street known as Ann Moss Way. The actor

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

was born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite Jr. on 14 March 1933 at St Olave's Hospital, and there is a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

to that effect on the former gate house at the entrance to the hospital site.Rotherhithe did not become part of the London Borough of Southwark until its creation in 1965. In 1933, it was part of the Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey in the County of London (abolished 1965)Michael Caine, ''My Autobiography: The Elephant to Hollywood'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 2011), p. 16.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Olaves Hospital London Hospital buildings completed in the 19th century Defunct hospitals in London 1985 disestablishments in England Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Southwark Rotherhithe Poor law infirmaries Hospitals established in 1875