Group    From 5/12/1816 

Royal Westminster Ophthalmic Hospital

Categories: Medicine

The wonderful Lost Hospitals of London provides information:

The Royal Westminster Infirmary for the Cure of Diseases of the Eye was founded by George James Guthrie (1785-1856). Clinics were initially held at Guthrie's house, 2 Berkeley Street. It moved first to what is now Glasshouse Street, then Warwick Street. c.1830 it was decided that this hospital and Charing Cross Hospital would construct new buildings on a shared site, where the plaques are now. The building was reconstructed in 1900, 1906 and 1912 (we assume these were refurbishments or extensions rather than complete rebuilds).

1926-8 moved to a new building in what is now High Holborn (our image). The next-door Charing Cross Hospital took over the vacated building.

In 1947 it merged with the Central London Ophthalmic Hospital in Judd Street and the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital in Moorfields, becoming the Westminster Branch of the Moorfields, Westminster and Central Eye Hospital. The group joined the NHS in 1948 and the Westminster Branch closed in 1989. The High Holborn building was demolished and the site is now (2019) occupied by High Holborn Residence a 1995 student accommodation.

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Royal Westminster Ophthalmic Hospital

Commemorated ati

Royal Westminster Ophthalmic Hospital

The first stone of this hospital was laid by Charles Duke of Richmond, Knight...

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Other Subjects

Dr Noel Bertram Farman

Dr Noel Bertram Farman

Physician and surgeon. He was a GP in Hampstead for 40 years and his obituary in the British Medical Journal, 7 February 1970 makes him sound a lovely doctor.

Person, Medicine

1 memorial
Indian doctors in the NHS

Indian doctors in the NHS

The 2019  Hindustan Times provides the following: There are currently nearly 30,000 doctors in the National Health Service (NHS) who gained their primary qualifications in India. Besides, there ar...

Group, Medicine, Indian Sub-continent

1 memorial
Dr John Langdon Haydon Down

Dr John Langdon Haydon Down

Doctor specialising in mental illnesses who classified what is now called Down's Syndrome in 1862.  We think the family used 'Langdon Down' as their surname. Born Cornwall.  Aged 18, he came to Lo...

Person, Medicine

1 memorial
Order of St John of Jerusalem

Order of St John of Jerusalem

The Priory was the English headquarters of the Order of St John of Jerusalem which combined religion, crusading military might and the care of the sick. The members of the order were also known as ...

Group, Armed Forces, Medicine, Religion

2 memorials
Dr. William Hunter

Dr. William Hunter

William Hunter was born on 23 May 1718 at Long Calderwood, East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, the seventh child of John Hunter (1673-1741) and Agnes Hunter née Paul (1691-1751). William H...

Person, Medicine, Scotland

2 memorials