Charing Cross Hospital Medical School (CXHMS) is the oldest of the constituent medical schools of Imperial College School of Medicine. Charing Cross remains a hospital on the forefront of medicine; in recent times pioneering the clinical use of CT scanning, reflective of its position as one of the most important neuroscience centres in London; and advances in oncology and

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemother ...

. Students of the medical school have benefited from this expertise, with many taking a research interest in these areas during their training.

History

It was founded in 1818, as part of the Charing Cross Hospital, by Dr

Benjamin Golding Benjamin Golding (7 September 1793 – 21 June 1863) was a British doctor and the founder of the West London Infirmary which later became the Charing Cross Hospital. He wrote the history of that hospital and of St. Thomas's Hospital, origin ...

, to meet the needs of the poor who flocked to the cities in search of work in the new factories. This was a revolutionary notion at a time when London doctors mainly practised privately. The hospital was well patronised, and soon had to move to larger premises in ''Agar Street'' (near '' Villiers Street'', off the Strand), where it first became known as Charing Cross in 1834. Buildings on this site were expanded several times, but by the late 1950s it became clear that no further expansion would be possible in the area, and the hospital would have to move. Two sites were identified – a rebuild of the Fulham Hospital in west London, and a new-build site at Northwick Park in Harrow, north London. Whilst many staff supported the idea of moving to the northern suburbs, the Fulham site was selected and building began in the late 1960s. Northwick Park Hospital was built as well, but to a reduced budget. Charing Cross Hospital in London, spring 2013 (11)

Charing Cross Hospital in London, spring 2013 (11)

The new hospital opened in 1973, still known as Charing Cross Hospital. To avoid confusion, for the first ten years, correspondence was referred to "Charing Cross Hospital at Fulham". From the opening of the new hospital in 1973, the medical school was contained entirely within the hospital tower (in the east wing laboratory block), but in 1976 the medical school's own building (the Reynolds Building) was completed. Housing the CXHMS students’ union (now part of Imperial College School of Medicine Students' Union, it saw the start of many ongoing traditions, including the annual "Invasion of London", in which garishly-dressed students persuade commuters and other city folk to donate to charity.The Reynolds Bar – ICSMSU
/ref> A large brass Maltese cross was brought from the old (Strand) site to the bar to serve as the students' emblem, and newly qualified doctors traditionally "Sign the Cross" on graduation.

Merger

In 1984, CXHMS merged with local rivals

Westminster Hospital Medical School The Westminster Hospital Medical School was formally founded in 1834 by George Guthrie, an ex-military surgeon – although students had been taken on at Westminster Hospital almost from the hospital's foundation in 1719 (the traditional name a ...

to form

Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School existed as a legal entity for 13 years, as the midpoint of a series of mergers which strategically consolidated the many small medical schools in west London into one large institution under the aegis ...

(CXWMS). This merger took place against the background of a series of mergers between London medical schools in the early 1980s, which foreshadowed the second, larger round of mergers in the late 1990s. During this round, CXWMS merged with Imperial College, London (whose medical department was at St Mary's Hospital Medical School), the National Heart and Lung Institute at the Royal Brompton Hospital, and the Royal Postgraduate Medical School to form Imperial College School of Medicine.

Alumni

Carys Bannister Carys Margaret Bannister (1935 – 20 August 2010) was the first female British neurosurgeon. Born in Brazil to Welsh parents, she moved to England as a teenager and trained in surgery after qualifying as a doctor. She spent most of her career ...

* Patrick Dixon * Joseph Fayrer * Constance Fozzard *

Robert Heptinstall Robert H. "Heppy" Heptinstall (20 July 1920 – 5 January 2021) was an English pathologist specialising in renal pathology. He was the chair of the department of pathology at Johns Hopkins Hospital for 19 years. Career Heptinstall was born in Gre ...

, chair of the Pathology department, Johns Hopkins Hospital *

Rosalind Hurley Dame Rosalinde Hurley, DBE, FRCPath, FRCOG (30 December 1929 – 30 June 2004), was a British physician, microbiologist, pathologist, public health and medical administrator, ethicist and barrister. She was knighted in 1988 for her services to ...

* Thomas Henry Huxley * Sir

Bruce Keogh Professor Sir Bruce Edward Keogh, KBE, FMedSci, FRCS, FRCP (born 24 November 1954) is a Rhodesian-born British surgeon who specialises in cardiac surgery. He was medical director of the National Health Service in England from 2007 and n ...

, Medical Director of the NHS * Louise Lake-Tack, Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda, 2007- * David Livingstone * Cecil Lyster *

Christine Moffatt Christine Joy Moffatt, Order of the British Empire, CBE, Royal College of Nursing, FRCN is a British nurse and educator. Biography Following training at Charing Cross Hospital, Moffatt trained as a district nurse. Following a diploma in leg ulcer ...

William Kitchen Parker William Kitchen Parker FRS FRMS (23 June 1823 – 3 July 1890) was a British physician, zoologist and comparative anatomist. From a humble beginning he became Hunterian Professor of Anatomy and Physiology in the College of Surgeons of Engla ...

Ann Redgrave Ann, Lady Redgrave ( Elizabeth-Ann Callaway; born 8 February 1960) is a British surgeon and osteopath. She is the wife of British rower Sir Steve Redgrave. Rowing career Having taken up the sport in 1981, Redgrave rowed in the women's eight ...

, wife of

Steve Redgrave Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave (born 23 March 1962) is a British retired rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships gold ...

* Edith Summerskill *

Jane Yardley Jane Yardley is an English author, raised in a village in 1960s Essex, (where most of her novels are set). She went to university in London and gained a Ph.D. degree from Charing Cross Hospital Medical School. Although living in London she spends ...

, author * Khushwant Lal Wig

List of deans

References

External links

Website

Lists of Charing Cross Hospital Medical School students

Video clips

Second Health London on YouTube
{{Authority control Medical schools in London History of Imperial College London Educational institutions established in 1818 United Hospitals 1818 establishments in England Imperial College School of Medicine