Middlesex Hospital
Encyclopedia
The Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia
Fitzrovia
Fitzrovia is a neighbourhood in central London, near London's West End lying partly in the London Borough of Camden and partly in the City of Westminster ; and situated between Marylebone and Bloomsbury and north of Soho. It is characterised by its mixed-use of residential, business, retail,...

 area of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. First opened in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally closed in 2005. Its staff and services were transferred to various sites within the University College London Hospitals NHS Trust
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS foundation trust based in London, United Kingdom. It comprises the Eastman Dental Hospital, The Heart Hospital, the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, the Royal London Hospital for...

. The Middlesex Hospital Medical School, with a history dating back to 1746, merged with the medical school of University College London in 1987.

History

The first Middlesex Hospital opened in 1745 as the Middlesex Infirmary in Windmill Street, London W1, named after the county of Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...

. The infirmary started with 18 beds to provide medical treatment for the poor. Funding came from subscriptions and, in 1747, the hospital became the first in England to add 'lying-in' (maternity) beds.

The second Middlesex Hospital, in Mortimer Street, was opened in 1757. The foundation stone was laid in 1755 by the hospital's president, the Earl of Northumberland
Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland
Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, KG, PC was an Engish peer, landowner and art patron.He was born Hugh Smithson, the son of Langdale Smithson and grandson of Sir Hugh Smithson, 3rd Baronet from whom he inherited the baronetcy in 1733...

. The Hospital was Incorporated by Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

 in 1836, allowing it various benefits as a charity.

Over the years extra wings were added but, in 1924, it was decided that the building was structually unsound and an entirely new building would be required. The Duke of York, later King George VI, visited the Hospital on 26 June 1928 to lay the foundation stone of the new building. He returned to open the completed building on 29 May 1935. The hospital had been completely rebuilt, on the same site and in stages, without ever being closed, paid for by more than £1 million of donations from members of the public.

Whilst part of the Bloomsbury Health Authority in the 1980s, the Middlesex Hospital was also associated with:
St. Peter's Hospital, Soho (urology); St. Paul's Hospital, Red Lion Square (skin and genito-urinary diseases); Soho Hospital for Women (gynaecological disease); Horton and Banstead hospitals (psychiatric disorders); Athlone House (geriatric care); St. Luke's (Woodside) Hospital (psychiatric disorders).

In 1992 the St. Peter's Hospitals were closed down and moved into new accommodation in the Middlesex Hospital, which itself was merged into the University College London Hospitals NHS Trust
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS foundation trust based in London, United Kingdom. It comprises the Eastman Dental Hospital, The Heart Hospital, the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, the Royal London Hospital for...

 in 1994.

Although the former county name "Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...

" is common to all, there was no working connection between the Middlesex Hospital and the North Middlesex
North Middlesex Hospital
The North Middlesex University Hospital, known locally as North Mid, is a District General Hospital in Edmonton, in the London Borough of Enfield, within the area served by the Enfield Primary Care NHS Trust.- History :...

, Central Middlesex
Central Middlesex Hospital
Central Middlesex hospital is in the centre of the Park Royal business estate, on the border of two London boroughs, Brent and Ealing.-Hospital role:CMH is a teaching hospital of Imperial College School of Medicine and part of the...

 and West Middlesex Hospitals.

Middlesex Hospital Medical School

The Middlesex Hospital Medical School traced its origins to 1746 (a year after the foundation of the Middlesex Hospital), when students were 'walking the wards'. The motto of the medical school, 'Miseris Succurrere Disco', was provided by one of the deans, Dr William Cayley, from Virgil's Queen Dido aiding a shipwreck: 'Non ignara mali, miseris succurrere disco' ('Not unacquainted with misfortune myself, I learn to succour the distressed').

At the establishment of the then London University (now University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...

), the governors of the Middlesex Hospital declined permission of the former's medical students to use the wards of the Middlesex Hospital for clinical training. This refusal prompted the foundation of the North London Hospital, now University College Hospital
University College Hospital
University College Hospital is a teaching hospital located in London, United Kingdom. It is part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is closely associated with University College London ....

.

The medical schools of the Middlesex Hospital and University College Hospital merged in 1987 to form the University College and Middlesex School of Medicine (UCMSM). The current UCL Medical School, which resulted from the merger of UCMSM and the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine
London School of Medicine for Women
The London School of Medicine for Women was established in 1874 and was the first medical school in Britain to train women.The school was formed by an association of pioneering women physicians Sophia Jex-Blake, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Emily Blackwell and Elizabeth Blackwell with Thomas Henry...

 in 1998, still honours the Middlesex Hospital in its coat of arms.

Closure

The Middlesex Hospital closed in December 2005. The main hospital building in Mortimer Street was sold to developer Project Abbey (Guernsey) Ltd for £180m which was considerably more than the anticipated sale price due to the property boom; in order to finance the UCL Hospital PFI
Private Finance Initiative
The private finance initiative is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital...

 scheme on Euston Road
Euston Road
Euston Road is an important thoroughfare in central London, England, and forms part of the A501. It is part of the New Road from Paddington to Islington, and was opened as part of the New Road in 1756...

, and was demolished in the spring of 2008. Some of the peripheral buildings remain, and have been renovated for other uses by UCL or the NHS.

The building was used, just before it was demolished, in the film Eastern Promises. Its name in this film was changed to "Trafalgar Hospital" using an inscription matching the style and apparent age of the old legend above the main door.

Candy and Candy failed in plans to redevelop the site into a 273-apartment luxury accommodation complex, named "NoHo Square
NoHo Square
NoHo Square was the name given to the 95,000 m2 office, residential and commercial complex in Fitzrovia, London which was being developed from the former Middlesex Hospital building...

. The planned redevelopment of the Mortimer Street site passed to the nationalised Icelandic bank Kaupthing Bank
Kaupthing Bank
Kaupthing Bank was an international Icelandic bank, headquartered in Reykjavík, Iceland. It was formed by the merger of Kaupthing and Búnaðarbanki Íslands in 2003 and was the largest bank in Iceland....

 and then to other players following the 2007 global financial crisis.

Paintings of Frederick Cayley Robinson

For nearly 100 years, four giant paintings welcomed visitors to the reception area of The Middlesex Hospital. 'Acts of Mercy' were painted in 1912 by Frederick Cayley Robinson
Frederick Cayley Robinson
Frederick Cayley Robinson was an English painter, decorator and illustrator. He is perhaps best known for his series of paintings for the Middlesex Hospital entitled "Acts of Mercy" commissioned around 1915 and completed in 1920.- Biography :Born in Brentford, Cayley Robinson was the son of a...

, a distinctive yet elusive British artist, after being commissioned by Sir Edmund Davis, one of the governors of the hospital. Prior to the demolition of the hospital, the art was purchased by The Wellcome Library
Wellcome Library
The Wellcome Library is founded on the collection formed by Sir Henry Wellcome , whose personal wealth allowed him to create one of the most ambitious collections of the 20th century. Henry Wellcome's interest was the history of medicine in a broad sense and included subjects like alchemy or...

, and in 2010, the canvasses were loaned to The National Gallery for an exhibition.

See also

  • North Middlesex Hospital
    North Middlesex Hospital
    The North Middlesex University Hospital, known locally as North Mid, is a District General Hospital in Edmonton, in the London Borough of Enfield, within the area served by the Enfield Primary Care NHS Trust.- History :...

  • West Middlesex Hospital
    West Middlesex Hospital
    The West Middlesex University Hospital is an acute NHS hospital in Isleworth, west London. It serves the London Boroughs of Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames...

  • John Raymond Hobbs

External links

  • http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8814342.stm An audio slideshow of the paintings and art of Frederick Cayley Robinson
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