The Royal Northern Infirmary was a health facility in Ness Walk,

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histo ...

, Scotland. The site remains the home of a small facility, known as the RNI Community Hospital, which was built in the grounds of the old hospital and is managed by

NHS Highland NHS Highland is one of the fourteen regions of NHS Scotland. Geographically, it is the largest Health Board, covering an area of from Kintyre in the south-west to Caithness in the north-east, serving a population of 320,000 people. In 2016–1 ...

History

The facility, which was designed in the

neoclassical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

, opened in 1804. A continuous three‑storey facade, designed by Matthews & Lawrie, was added in 1865 and an operating theatre extension, designed by Ross & Macbeth, jutting out of the front facade was added in 1898. A chapel, financed by Lady Tweedmouth in memory of her husband,

Lord Tweedmouth Baron Tweedmouth, of Edington in the County of Berwick, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1881 for the businessman and Liberal politician Sir Dudley Marjoribanks, 1st Baronet. He had already been created a baron ...

, was also added in 1898 and a nurses' home was completed in 1899. It 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 " ...

in 1948. After services transferred to a community hospital built in the grounds of the infirmary in 1999, the main building closed and was subsequently converted for use as the headquarters of the

University of the Highlands and Islands The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) is an integrated, tertiary institution encompassing both further and higher education. It is composed of 12 colleges and research institutions spread around the Highlands and Islands, Moray and Pe ...

References

Hospital buildings completed in 1804 Hospitals in Highland (council area) Hospitals established in 1804 Defunct hospitals in Scotland Buildings and structures in Inverness 1804 establishments in Scotland {{UK-hospital-stub