Caring for the sick has long been a calling to many, and hospitals have existed almost since the inception of medicine. London is home to some of the oldest hospitals in the United Kingdom, many of which are still in use today. Naturally, the hospitals that comprise this list have long and interesting (and also some with infamous) histories. All have long been committed to caring for others and have been at the forefront of health and wellness for the mind and the body. Dive into the history of London healthcare with us as we explore the five oldest hospitals in the city.
Guy’s Hospital – 1721
The oldest of the five voluntary hospitals that opened in London in the 18th Century, Guy’s Hospital first opened in 1721 and is named for Thomas Guy, who founded it after making a fortune by printing Bibles. Guy had been a Governor at St. Thomas’s Hospital (more on it later) and set up Guy’s as a place to treat the “incurables” from Thomas’s. Thomas and the other governors then granted the new hospital a rent of £30 per year for 1,000 years. Today, Guy’s is a member of the NHS and serves as a teaching hospital for doctors entering the profession.
Whittington Hospital – 1473
The site has been used to treat the sick since long before it got the name Whittington. First opening in 1473 as St. Anthony’s Chapel and Lazar House, it treated persons suffering from leprosy. It was subsequently closed as a result of the Dissolution of the Monasteries before reopening in 1848 as an isolation hospital for smallpox patients. A new building was constructed in the early 20th Century and has been expanded since, but the original smallpox hospital can still be found on the grounds.
Bethlem Royal Hospital – 1330
Perhaps the most infamous of the hospitals on this list, the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem is perhaps better known by its nickname, “Bedlam.” Also known as Bethlem Royal Hospital, Bedlam was founded in 1247 as a priory and began to provide services to the poor and sick, eventually becoming a hospital in 1330. It may have been used to help care for the insane as early as 1377, and it became more specialist over time, to the point where its name became synonymous with insanity. At one point, the hospital even allowed the public to view the inmates in a way that became a form of sick entertainment. While mental healthcare greatly improved beginning in the 19th Century, Bethlehem hasn’t been without its share of controversies even into the 2010s.
St. Thomas’ Hospital – 1173-ish
This one is a bit of a puzzler since no one is exactly sure when St. Thomas’ Hospital was founded. It’s described as “ancient” even in the 13th Century, but it being named for St. Thomas a Beckett would date it to at least 1173 when he was canonized. Naturally, with this name, it was run by the Catholic Church and fell victim to the Dissolution of the Monasteries, but quickly reformed under a royal charter. The present-day building was constructed in the 19th Century and parts of it were reconstructed after it was damaged during the London Blitz in World War II. As of 2020, it’s become one of London’s leading hospitals in the fight against COVID-19 and was the hospital that treated Prime Minister Boris Johnson when he contracted the virus.
St. Bartholomew’s Hospital – 1123
Since we can’t establish an exact date for the founding of St. Thomas, St. Bartholomew’s Hospital is officially the oldest in London. The Anglo-Norman priest Rahere founded alongside the Prior of St. Bartholomew in 1123. Rahere founded the hospital to complete a promise to God that he had made after contracting malaria on a trip to Rome and being nursed back to health by the monks in the city. Like St. Thomas’s, it fell victim to the Dissolution of the Monasteries but was also reformed under a royal charter. The hospital nearly closed in the 1990s but was saved by a dedicated campaign. Its long history has granted it its own hospital museum, and in a bit of literary trivia, it’s at St. Bart’s where Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson first meet in “A Study in Scarlet.”
Author: John Rabon
John is a regular writer for Anglotopia and its sister websites. He is currently engaged in finding a way to move books slightly to the left without the embarrassment of being walked in on by Eddie Izzard. For any comments, questions, or complaints, please contact the Lord Mayor of London, Boris Johnson's haircut.