The
London Lock Hospital was the first
venereal diseaseA sexually transmitted disease , also known as sexually transmitted infection or venereal disease , is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans or animals by means of sexual contact, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex...
clinic, being the most famous and first of the
Lock Hospitals, which opened on 31st January 1747.
The 'Lock Hospitals' were developed for the treatment of
syphilisSyphilis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the spirochetal bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The route of transmission of syphilis is almost always through sexual contact, although there are examples of congenital syphilis via transmission from mother to child in utero.The...
following the end of the use of
lazarA leper colony, leprosarium, or lazar house is a place to quarantine leprous people.-History:Leper colonies or houses became widespread in the Middle Ages, particularly in Europe and India, and often run by monastic orders...
hospitals, as
leprosyLeprosy , or Hansen's disease , is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions are the primary external symptom...
declined.
It later developed maternity and gynaecology services before being incorporated into the
National Health ServiceThe National Health Service is the name commonly used to refer to the publicly-funded health care services in Great Britain. In England the name National Health Service is used without further qualification whereas the services in Scotland and Wales are known as NHS Scotland and NHS Wales...
in 1948 and it finally closed in 1952.
A charitable society had been working to establish this hospital since July 1746.
The
London Lock Hospital was the first
venereal diseaseA sexually transmitted disease , also known as sexually transmitted infection or venereal disease , is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans or animals by means of sexual contact, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex...
clinic, being the most famous and first of the
Lock Hospitals, which opened on 31st January 1747.
The 'Lock Hospitals' were developed for the treatment of
syphilisSyphilis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the spirochetal bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The route of transmission of syphilis is almost always through sexual contact, although there are examples of congenital syphilis via transmission from mother to child in utero.The...
following the end of the use of
lazarA leper colony, leprosarium, or lazar house is a place to quarantine leprous people.-History:Leper colonies or houses became widespread in the Middle Ages, particularly in Europe and India, and often run by monastic orders...
hospitals, as
leprosyLeprosy , or Hansen's disease , is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions are the primary external symptom...
declined.
It later developed maternity and gynaecology services before being incorporated into the
National Health ServiceThe National Health Service is the name commonly used to refer to the publicly-funded health care services in Great Britain. In England the name National Health Service is used without further qualification whereas the services in Scotland and Wales are known as NHS Scotland and NHS Wales...
in 1948 and it finally closed in 1952.
History
A charitable society had been working to establish this hospital since July 1746. In November of that year a house was bought for this purpose in Grosvenor Place, London, near
Hyde Park CornerHyde Park Corner is a place in London, at the south-east corner of Hyde Park. It is a major intersection where Park Lane, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Grosvenor Place and Constitution Hill converge...
. The founder of the hospital was William Bromfield. Having opened in January 1747, the hospital treated nearly three hundred patients during its first year; the demand for its services stemmed from the unfounded belief that the treatments then available could be effective.
Thomas ScottThe Rev. Thomas Scott is principally known for his best-selling work A Commentary On The Whole Bible, and as one of the founders of the Church Missionary Society.- Life :...
was a hospital chaplain here from 1785-1803. During this time he published his
Commentary On The Whole Bible and became the founding Secretary of the
Church Missionary SocietyThe Church Mission Society, also known as the Church Missionary Society, is a group of evangelistic societies working with the Anglican Communion and Protestant Christians around the world...
.
The hospital moved in 1842 to 283 Harrow Road in Westbourne Grove. It was renamed
The Female Hospital when a new site on Dean Street opened for male outpatients in 1862 and later expanded in 1867 as a result of the
Contagious Diseases Act 1864The Contagious Diseases Acts were passed by the UK Parliament in 1864, 1867, and 1869. The initial Act of 1864 was passed after concern over the high levels of venereal disease in the armed forces: during the 1860s, one in three sick cases in the military was venereal in origin...
.
The Female Hospital and the Lock Asylum
The
Lock Asylum for the Reception of Penitent Female Patients (also known as the
Lock Rescue Home) was proposed in 1787 and opened in 1792 as a refuge for women who had been treated at the Lock Hospital. It was originally sited in Osnaburg Row and moved to
KnightsbridgeKnightsbridge is a road which gives its name to an exclusive district lying to the west of Central London. The road runs along the south side of Hyde Park, west from Hyde Park Corner, spanning the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
in 1812 and then to Lower Eaton Street in 1816. However this address was felt to be too far from the chapel at Grosvenor Square that might provide guidance and support for "fallen" women, so the Home moved again in 1849 to adjoin The Female Hospital in Harrow Road. By 1890 Harrow Road consisted of 140 inpatient beds and 40 asylum places for women.
The asylum changed its name in 1893, becoming known as a 'Rescue Home'. The full name of the hospital became the
London Lock Hospital and Rescue Home.
Maternity services
A maternity unit opened in 1917 at The Female Hospital, followed by an
ophthalmologyOphthalmology is a branch of medicine which deals with the diseases and surgery of the visual pathways, including the eye, hairs, and areas surrounding the eye, such as the lacrimal system and eyelids. The term ophthalmologist is an eye specialist for medical and surgical problems...
unit and a genitourinary unit that treated venereal and non-venereal gynaecological disorders. During the Second World War it was used as a Military Isolation Hospital, with Dean Street treating both sexes. A new maternity centre opened at 283A Harrow Road in 1938 and with the formation of the National Health Service it became a part of Paddington Hospital until 1952.
Continuation of the name
The memory of the hospital continues with the
London Lock Hospital Memorial Prize in Sexually Transmitted Diseases at the
Royal Free Hospital School of MedicineThe Royal Free Hospital is a large teaching hospital in London, England. It is an NHS hospital trust and is part of the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust. It is located in Hampstead, just northwest of central London. The nearest Tube stop is Belsize Park, on the Northern Line...
, which was established by bequest in 1965 by an old student and staff member of the school. With subsequent mergers of London medical schools, it is now part of the awards in communicable diseases for final year medical students at UCL Medical School.