Middlesex Hospital

For others, see Middlesex Hospital (disambiguation).

Middlesex Hospital
Geography
Location	Camden, London, England, United Kingdom
Organisation
Care system	Public NHS
Hospital type	General
Affiliated university	University College London
Services
Emergency department	No Accident & Emergency
History
Founded	1745, moved 1757, rebuilt 1928
Closed	2005
Links
Website	None
Lists	Hospitals in England

The Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, United Kingdom. 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. 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. 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. The Hospital was Incorporated by Act of Parliament 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 in 1994.

Although the former county name "Middlesex" is common to all, there was no working connection between the Middlesex Hospital and the North Middlesex, Central Middlesex 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), 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.

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 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^{[citation needed]}; in order to finance the UCL Hospital PFI scheme on Euston Road, 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.^[1] The planned redevelopment of the Mortimer Street site passed to the nationalised Icelandic bank Kaupthing Bank 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, 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, and in 2010, the canvasses were loaned to The National Gallery for an exhibition.

See also

• North Middlesex Hospital
• West Middlesex Hospital
• John Raymond Hobbs

References

1. ^ Keilthy, Paul Noho Square Deal in Ruins West End News 31 October 2008

External links

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

Coordinates: 51°31′08″N 0°08′16″W / 51.5190°N 0.1377°W / 51.5190; -0.1377