Plaque

Royal Northern Hospital - 4 - Newbon Ward

Royal Northern Hospital - Islington war memorial arch - inside Royal Northern Hospital - 4 - Newbon Ward

Erection date: 1892

Inscription

The Newbon Ward
So named in accordance with the will of Robert Alger Newbon Esq., a governor of this hospital, 1887 – 1889, who died 28th October 1891 having bequeathed £15,000 consolidated 2 ¾ per cent Stock to endow the same.
AD 1892

Site: Royal Northern Hospital - Islington war memorial arch - inside (5 memorials)

N7, Manor Gardens

The original 1923 WW1 memorial consisted of the whole Casualty Department building for the Royal Northern Hospital, including this arched passageway and the list of names it contains. The architect was H. Percy Adams, of Adams, Holden and Pearson. The builder: F. C. Minter may be related to E. J. Minter.

See Islington War memorial arch - outside for a photo of the arch entrance into this passageway through the building. It is like a tunnel with gates at each end. The walls of the main part of the tunnel are covered with a list of names as shown in our photo. The memorials relating to the Royal Northern Hospital are housed in a smaller section, at the back, the northern end of the tunnel (possibly added later?).

When the Casualty Department building was demolished (by 1997) this arch was retained in situ, and the plaque on the outside that explained the whole-building nature of the memorial was salvaged and erected in the nearby public garden. The arch-passageway was incorporated into a private residential development. This means that the gates are normally locked, the list of names can only be viewed skew-whiff through the gates, and the memorials at the back are not visible at all.

We've numbered the memorials as follows:

At the back on the west wall:
1. Ifor Williams
2. Islington Victoria Ward

At the back on the east wall:
3. St David’s wing and RNH navigational sign
4. Newbon Ward

After many years of failing to find the gates open we finally gained access on 11 November 2021 when they had been opened for someone to pay their respects. The key-holder said that we could always revisit by asking for the key at the nearby Islington North Library. We also understand that a memorial event is held here annually on Remembrance Sunday, but probably in the nearby memorial garden, so we don't know if the gates to this tunnel would be opened for that event.

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Royal Northern Hospital - 4 - Newbon Ward

Subjects commemorated i

Robert Alger Newbon

Governor of the Royal Northern Hospital, 1887-9, who died having bequeathed £...

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This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
Royal Northern Hospital - 4 - Newbon Ward

Also at this site i

Islington WW1 memorial - Manor Gardens - names

Islington WW1 memorial - Manor Gardens - names

Through the gates you can see that most of the names are nicely picked out bu...

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Royal Northern Hospital - 1 - Ifor Williams

Royal Northern Hospital - 1 - Ifor Williams

We think this may have been the sign giving the name of a ward at the hospita...

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Royal Northern Hospital - 2 - Islington Victoria Ward

Royal Northern Hospital - 2 - Islington Victoria Ward

The phrase "gratitude to God for national and parochial progress during that ...

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Royal Northern Hospital - 3 - St David’s wing and RNH navigational sign

Royal Northern Hospital - 3 - St David’s wing and RNH navigational sign

These were presumably navigational signs for people visiting St David’s wing,...

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Nearby Memorials

Guilders Stone - 1961

Guilders Stone - 1961

NW1, Canal tow path, Camden High Street

We chose the frame in the film that shows the plaque (immediately in front of the man's head) and also the corner stone lintel and pillar...

St Dunstan's Garden

St Dunstan's Garden

EC3, St Dunstan's Hill, St Dunstan's in the East Garden

It's not possible to read all the text but the 1345 date confirms that our (not very difficult) guess is probably correct - that the Gard...

1 subject commemorated
Gertrude Bell

Gertrude Bell

SW1, Sloane Street, 95

Unveiled on (or before) 7 November 2019.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
St Mary of Eton - Rev. Douglas

St Mary of Eton - Rev. Douglas

E9, Eastway

The plaque to Rev. Douglas is in the covered walkway, accessed via the arch at the right of our photo. Displayed close to the plaque is a...

2 subjects commemorated
Norman Wisdom

Norman Wisdom

W9, Fernhead Road, 91

Plaque unveiled by Nick Wisdom (his son) and Robin Gibb, who were showered with loose plaster in the process.

1 subject commemorated, 3 creators