The Westminster Children's Hospital was a health facility in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

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, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

in 1903. The

Duchess of Teck Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ...

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 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 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 ...

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. The hospital has a rich history in that it serves as the new site for the Westminster Hospital. It is operated by Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS ...

, 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