St Olave's Hospital was a

general hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

serving the

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe ( ) is a district of South 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, with the Isle of Dogs to the ea ...

area of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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, founded in England in 1823. It is one of the world's highest-impact academic journals and also one of the oldest medical journals still in publication. The journal publishes ...

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 Boards of guardians were ''ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930. England and Wales Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the po ...

to the

London County Council The 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 ...

. It had 687 beds at that time. In 1948, with the formation of the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

, St Olave's came under the management of the Bermondsey and Southwark

Hospital Management Committee Hospital Management Committees (HMCs) were established as the main instrument for the local management of hospital services of the National Health Service (NHS) in England and Wales under the National Health Service Act 1946. There were originally ...

. 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 a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...

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 certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

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