The General Lying-In Hospital was one of the first

maternity hospital A maternity hospital specializes in caring for women during pregnancy and childbirth. It also provides care for newborn infants, and may act as a centre for clinical training in midwifery and obstetrics. Formerly known as lying-in hospitals, most ...

s in Great Britain. It opened in 1767 on

Westminster Bridge Road Westminster Bridge Road is a road in London, England. It runs on an east–west axis and passes through the boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark. Between 1740 and 1746, the Commissioners of Westminster Bridge bought land from the Archbishop of C ...

, London and closed in 1971. Lying-in is an archaic term for childbirth (referring to the month-long

bed rest Bed rest, also referred to as the rest-cure, is a medical treatment in which a person lies in bed for most of the time to try to cure an illness. Bed rest refers to voluntarily lying in bed as a treatment and not being confined to bed because of ...

prescribed for

postpartum confinement Postpartum confinement is a traditional practice following childbirth. Those who follow these customs typically begin immediately after the birth, and the seclusion or special treatment lasts for a culturally variable length: typically for one mo ...

History

The General Lying-In Hospital was an initiative of Dr John Leake, a physician, and the site chosen was on the north side of

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area e ...

, then on the outskirts of London. Its

foundation stone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over tim ...

was laid in August 1765 and the facility opened as the Westminster New Lying-in Hospital in April 1767. With a view to expansion, the governors bought a lease of a plot of ground with 100-foot frontage on the east side of

York Road, Lambeth York Road is a road in Lambeth, London, running between Westminster Bridge Road (south) and Waterloo Road (north). To the west is the old County Hall, Shell Centre, Jubilee Gardens and, beyond, the London Eye and the River Thames. Waterloo s ...

in the early 1820s. The new building was designed by Henry Harrison and was built at a cost of about £3,000. On 22 September 1828, the minutes record that "On Friday Morning a Patient was delivered of a Son in the New Hospital and the Committee met this day in the new Hospital for the first time." The facility was incorporated by

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...

as the General Lying-In Hospital in 1830. A new ward and a training school for

midwives A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; c ...

was established in 1879.

Joseph Lister Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, (5 April 182710 February 1912) was a British surgeon, medical scientist, experimental pathologist and a pioneer of antiseptic surgery and preventative medicine. Joseph Lister revolutionised the craft of ...

became consulting surgeon in March 1879 and Sir John Williams and Sir Francis Champneys were appointed physicians the following year. Two houses on the north side of the hospital, known as the Albany Baths, were converted into a nurses' home (i.e. staff accommodation) in 1907; this facility was re-built between 1930 and 1933 as a modern red brick building with a mansard roof, designed by E. Turner Powell. The hospital was evacuated to Diocesan House, St Albans during the Second World War, but returned to Lambeth and joined the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

under the management of

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS ...

in 1946.

Restoration

The hospital closed in 1971 and fell into a state of dereliction. It was restored and refurbished in 2003 at a cost of £4.27 million financed in part by a grant from the Guy's and St Thomas' Charity. Since March 2013 the building has comprised part of the

Premier Inn Premier Inn is a British limited service hotel chain and the UK's largest hotel brand, with more than 72,000 rooms and 800 hotels. It operates hotels in a variety of locations including city centres, suburbs and airports competing with the like ...

Hotel Waterloo. The modern elements of the hotel were nominated for the 2013 Carbuncle Cup for bad buildings.

References

External links

Premier Inn Westminster Bridge
the building in its current guise {{authority control NHS hospitals in London Maternity hospitals in the United Kingdom Defunct hospitals in London Hospital buildings completed in 1828 Hospitals established in the 1760s 1971 disestablishments 1767 establishments in England

History

Restoration

See also

References

External links