Connaught Hospital
Orford Road, Walthamstow, E17 9LL
Medical dates:
Medical character:
1878 - 1977
Acute
In the late 19th century Walthamstow residents Mr and
Mrs Tudor opened a 'Cottage for Sick Children' in a private house in
Brandon Road.
The Hospital moved to larger premises in Salisbury Road in 1880 and
became known as the Leyton, Walthamstow and Wanstead Hospital.
In 1894 the gift of Holmcroft in Orford Road enabled the hospital to
expand so that it could also provide general services, and it was
duly renamed the Children's and General Hospital for Leyton,
Leytonstone, Walthamstow and Wanstead.
It was enlarged in 1897 and again in 1903. By 1925 it had 50
beds. The Leyton and Leytonstone War Memorial Ward was added in
1927.
In 1928 it was renamed the Connaught Hospital, as the Duchess of Connaught had been patron since 1866. The Duke of Kent had helped
to raise £17,000 for its running costs. By this time it had
100 beds.
Comely Bank in Orford Road was acquired as a clinic in 1930. In
1934 the Hospital was enlarged again and by 1939 had 118 beds.
Although mooted in 1945, the prospect of building a larger hospital
never materialized and, in 1959, the old Walthamstow Town Hall, built
in 1866, was incorporated into the Hospital and became its main
entrance. This expanded it to 128 beds.
In 1948 the Hospital joined the NHS under the control of the Forest
Group Hospital Management Committee, part of the North East
Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board.
In 1974, following a major reorganisation of the NHS, it came under the
auspices of the Enfield District Health Authority, part of the North
East Thames Regional Health Board.
The Hospital finally closed in 1977 due to financial cutbacks in the NHS.
| Present status (December 2007) Most of the buildings have been demolished and small housing built on the site. The former National School (also built in 1866), which had housed the pathology department and hospital stores from 1949, is now the Waltham Forest Asian Centre. The Grade II listed Town Hall building, restored in 1994, has just been sold. Holmcroft House now contains 14 sheltered housing units. UPDATE: January 2016 The Town Hall has now been converted into Connaught Court, an apartment block. |
|---|
The Old Town Hall from the west (left) and east (right).
The main entrance (left) with an historic building plaque (right) above the doorway mentioning the role of the Hospital.
Notice advertising that the building has been sold.
Connaught Close - new housing to the east of the Old Town Hall, which can be seen in the distance.
The National School once housed the Pathology Department of the Hospital, while the left-hand part of the building was used for hospital stores. It became the Waltham Forest Asian Centre. It has recently become the Waltham Forest Community Hub.
Holmcroft House, now sheltered housing. The original house was demolished and the site redeveloped.
References (Accessed 28th March 2021)