The Westminster Children's Hospital was a health facility in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

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 ...

History

The hospital had its origins in the St Francis Hospital for Infants which was founded by Dr Ralph Vincent in a house in Denning Road,

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

in 1903. The

Duchess of Teck Princess Mary Adelaide Wilhelmina Elizabeth of Cambridge (27 November 1833 – 27 October 1897), later Duchess of Teck, was a member of the British royal family. She was one of the first royals to patronise a wide range of charities. Mary Ade ...

became President of the hospital but was unable to carry out the opening ceremony on the 15 July 1903 which was performed by the Duchess of Portland. At the time of the opening the Hospital already had 25 child patients. It was renamed The Infants Hospital in 1904 and it moved to purpose-built accommodation in Vincent Square in 1907. The Duchess of Albany had laid a memorial stone in May 1907 and she returned on 20 November 1907 to formally open the new building which had wards for 50 children. The building and equipping of the hospital had been paid for by

Sir Robert Mond Sir Robert Ludwig Mond, FRS, FRSE (9 September 1867 – 22 October 1938) was a British chemist and archaeologist. Early life and education Mond was born at Farnworth, Widnes, Lancashire, the elder son of Ludwig Mond, a chemist and industriali ...

as a memorial to his late wife. An outpatients department was opened by the Duchess of Albany in 1914 and it joined 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 " ...

as the Westminster Children's Hospital in 1948. After services were transferred to the

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Chelsea and Westminster Hospital is a 430-bed teaching hospital located in Chelsea, London. Although the hospital has been at its present site since only 1993, the hospital has a rich history in that it serves as the new site for the Westminste ...

, the Westminster Children's Hospital closed in 1995. The building has since been converted to luxury apartments.

References

{{reflist Defunct hospitals in London Hospitals established in 1903