History:
The Royal London Hospital was founded in September 1740 and was originally named The London Infirmary. The name changed to The London Hospital in 1748 and then to The Royal London Hospital in 1980 when the Queen came to visit and gave it the added ‘Royal’. The first patients were treated at a house in Featherstone Street, Moorfields in November 1740. In May 1741, the hospital moved to Prescot Street, and remained there until 1757 when it moved to its current location on the south side of Whitechapel Road, Whitechapel, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
The Royal London is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. The Royal London provides district general hospital services for the City and Tower Hamlets and specialist tertiary care services for patients from across London and elsewhere. It is also the base for London’s Air Ambulance, operating out of a rooftop helipad. There are 675 beds, 110 wards and 26 operating theatres at The Royal London Hospital. The new building opened in February 2012.
The London Hospital Medical College, the first in England and Wales, was founded in 1785. It amalgamated in 1995 with St Bartholomews Hospital Medical College, under the aegis of Queen Mary and Westfield College, now known as Queen Mary University of London, to become St Bartholomews and The Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry (name changed to Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry in 2007).
The present School of Nursing and Midwifery was formed in 1994 by the merger of the Schools from St Bartholomew’s Hospital and The Royal London Hospital to become the St Bartholomew School of Nursing & Midwifery. Prior to this, the school of nursing was known as The Princess Alexandra College of Nursing and Midwifery. In 1995 the new Nursing School was incorporated into City University, London. Both Schools have a strong and respected history dating back over 120 years and have produced many nurse leaders and educators. The School has since been incorporated into the School of Health Sciences, City University.
Facade of the old Royal London Hospital building
In March 2005 planning permission was granted for a £1 billion redevelopment and expansion of The Royal London Hospital. Sited on the grounds of the existing hospital, the redevelopment will replace the hospital’s previously demolished facilities, some of which date back to when the hospital moved to its existing site in 1757. On completion of the project, the hospital will have London’s leading trauma and emergency care centre, one of Europe’s largest renal services and the capital’s second biggest paediatric service. Barts is also undergoing redevelopment and will become a cancer and cardiac centre of excellence.
Joseph Merrick, known as the “Elephant Man”, spent the last few years of life at The Royal London Hospital and his mounted skeleton is currently housed at the Medical School, but is not on public display. Tower Hamlets Council today announced its purchased the old hospital site opposite Whitechapel station, which has been empty just two years since a new hospital complex opened in 2013 nearby. The historic grade II-listed building has its medical history back to the 18th century, now to be transformed into a civic hub as part of the Whitechapel Masterplan with Crossrail arriving in 2018.
The council is currently drawing up plans to “make sure its heritage is retained”, a Town Hall spokesman confirmed today. “This stunning building has been a part of our history and our heritage for hundreds of years,” Mayor Lutfur Rahman said. “It’s fitting that we have purchased this building, to make sure it continues to be a part of the community.” The former Whitechapel Infirmary was founded in 1740 by philanthropists for the sick and poor among the merchant seaman and manufacturing classes in the East End at the time. It relied on public donations for 200 years, from its opening with only a shilling (5p) in the bank, until its running costs were taken over when the NHS was established in 1948.
The Explore:
Anyway, once we got into the hospital, we had a look around for security who were nowhere to be seen, so of course we got our cameras out and began documenting our explore.
Ill begin with the rather grand staircase…
Anyway, after wandering around a fair bit we started to find some weird things that do not belong in a derelict hospital... For instance a tray of fresh fruit...
And a bicycle...
And a bedroom...
And then we worked out that the security company advertised all around the building is actually fake, and they are shooting a film/series inside...
Some form of sterilising chamber..
From the roof...
Visited with @mockney reject
Thanks for looking!
The Royal London Hospital was founded in September 1740 and was originally named The London Infirmary. The name changed to The London Hospital in 1748 and then to The Royal London Hospital in 1980 when the Queen came to visit and gave it the added ‘Royal’. The first patients were treated at a house in Featherstone Street, Moorfields in November 1740. In May 1741, the hospital moved to Prescot Street, and remained there until 1757 when it moved to its current location on the south side of Whitechapel Road, Whitechapel, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
The Royal London is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. The Royal London provides district general hospital services for the City and Tower Hamlets and specialist tertiary care services for patients from across London and elsewhere. It is also the base for London’s Air Ambulance, operating out of a rooftop helipad. There are 675 beds, 110 wards and 26 operating theatres at The Royal London Hospital. The new building opened in February 2012.
The London Hospital Medical College, the first in England and Wales, was founded in 1785. It amalgamated in 1995 with St Bartholomews Hospital Medical College, under the aegis of Queen Mary and Westfield College, now known as Queen Mary University of London, to become St Bartholomews and The Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry (name changed to Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry in 2007).
The present School of Nursing and Midwifery was formed in 1994 by the merger of the Schools from St Bartholomew’s Hospital and The Royal London Hospital to become the St Bartholomew School of Nursing & Midwifery. Prior to this, the school of nursing was known as The Princess Alexandra College of Nursing and Midwifery. In 1995 the new Nursing School was incorporated into City University, London. Both Schools have a strong and respected history dating back over 120 years and have produced many nurse leaders and educators. The School has since been incorporated into the School of Health Sciences, City University.
Facade of the old Royal London Hospital building
In March 2005 planning permission was granted for a £1 billion redevelopment and expansion of The Royal London Hospital. Sited on the grounds of the existing hospital, the redevelopment will replace the hospital’s previously demolished facilities, some of which date back to when the hospital moved to its existing site in 1757. On completion of the project, the hospital will have London’s leading trauma and emergency care centre, one of Europe’s largest renal services and the capital’s second biggest paediatric service. Barts is also undergoing redevelopment and will become a cancer and cardiac centre of excellence.
Joseph Merrick, known as the “Elephant Man”, spent the last few years of life at The Royal London Hospital and his mounted skeleton is currently housed at the Medical School, but is not on public display. Tower Hamlets Council today announced its purchased the old hospital site opposite Whitechapel station, which has been empty just two years since a new hospital complex opened in 2013 nearby. The historic grade II-listed building has its medical history back to the 18th century, now to be transformed into a civic hub as part of the Whitechapel Masterplan with Crossrail arriving in 2018.
The council is currently drawing up plans to “make sure its heritage is retained”, a Town Hall spokesman confirmed today. “This stunning building has been a part of our history and our heritage for hundreds of years,” Mayor Lutfur Rahman said. “It’s fitting that we have purchased this building, to make sure it continues to be a part of the community.” The former Whitechapel Infirmary was founded in 1740 by philanthropists for the sick and poor among the merchant seaman and manufacturing classes in the East End at the time. It relied on public donations for 200 years, from its opening with only a shilling (5p) in the bank, until its running costs were taken over when the NHS was established in 1948.
The Explore:
The Royal London has been on my To-Do List for over a year now and having heard that it is near enough impossible to get into, I’ve been postponing my visit.Anyway, once we got into the hospital, we had a look around for security who were nowhere to be seen, so of course we got our cameras out and began documenting our explore.
Ill begin with the rather grand staircase…
Anyway, after wandering around a fair bit we started to find some weird things that do not belong in a derelict hospital... For instance a tray of fresh fruit...
And a bicycle...
And a bedroom...
And then we worked out that the security company advertised all around the building is actually fake, and they are shooting a film/series inside...
Some form of sterilising chamber..
From the roof...
Some sort of Medication organising machine..?
Fake sign, it seems the producers of whatever was being made have re-named the hospital to "The Greater London Hospital"...
And to finish with the original Royal London Hospital war memorial!
Visited with @mockney reject
Thanks for looking!
