Grosvenor Hospital
27 Vincent Square, Westminster, SW1P 2NN
Medical dates:
Medical character:
1866 - 1976
Specialist
The Pimlico and Westminster Institute opened in 1866 as a dispensary for women and children.
In 1873 a property at 29 Vincent Square was purchased and the dispensary moved there, becoming the Vincent Square Hospital for Women and Children. The Hospital treated gynaecological conditions; children with non-contagious disorders could be treated as out-patients. Two years later the house next door was bought, increasing the number of beds from 12 to 18. Until his death in 1885, its president was the Earl of Shaftesbury.In 1884 it was renamed the Grosvenor Hospital for Women and Children.
By 1891 it acquired a third house, when it had 18 beds and 3 private wards. The Hospital was rebuilt in 1895 on the same site, with the addition of an Out-Patients Department. It had cost £9000, £8000 of which had been donated by Lady Kortright of Roden House, Brentwood. It was officially reopened in 1897 by Princess Louise, the Duchess of Lorne. The new building had 36 beds, 20 of which were for poor patients in general wards, paying 5 shillings (25p) a week if recommended by a subscriber, otherwise 10 shillings (50p). The remainder of the beds were in several small wards reserved for private patients, paying from 1- 3 guineas (£1.05-£3.15) a week. The operating theatre was on the top floor. Out-patients paid 2s 6d (12p) per visit, and were required to bring their own medicine bottles.
In 1905 the Hospital was enlarged, with an additional storey being added which contained a new operating theatre, anaesthetic rooms and accommodation for the nurses. In 1907 it was renamed again, as the Grosvenor Hospital for Women. Its work was almost entirely surgical.
In 1928 work began to build a Nurses' Home on top of the Out-Patients Department, but the foundations were found to be inadequate to withstand the extra strain. The building was underpinned and the foundations strengthened. Following this the Out-Patients Department was reconstructed and Princess Louise, the Hospital's patron, opened the building in May 1929. The Hospital then had 37 beds.
During WW2 it became a naval hospital from 1943 until 1946. It joined the NHS in 1948 as the gynaecological wing of St Thomas's Hospital. By 1953 it had 53 beds.
It closed in 1976.
Present status (January 2008) |
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The Hospital building as seen from the south side of Vincent Square. It is now known as Adrian House.
A plaque on the front of the building commemorates the laying of the foundation stone by Lady Kortright in 1896 and the opening of the Hospital by Princess Louise in 1897.
The main entrance.
The building as seen from the east side of Vincent Square.
References (Accessed 1st January 2016)
(Author unstated) 1899 The Hospital World. Nursing Record & Hospital World, 4th March, 178.
(Author unstated) 1897 A New Hospital for Women and Children. Nursing Record & Hospital World, 31st July, 96.
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