A cradle of reform

Abstract

While health services are always changing, the middle decades of the 19th century were an extraordinarily active period of reform. And in England, one small area of London, St Pancras and Bloomsbury—bounded by Euston Road in the north, Gray's Inn Road in the east, Great Ormond Street in the south and Russell Square in the west—was to prove exceptionally influential. Between 1740 and 1840, as London spread north, the rural tranquillity of this area was replaced by terraced streets and squares. At that time, the only hospitals in the area were for those suffering infectious diseases (the London Smallpox Hospital and the London Fever Hospital) and for abandoned infants (the Foundling Hospital). Despite this, during the early decades of the 19th century, leading doctors and medical organizations had made the area just to the south, in Holborn, the centre of ‘medical London’. Figure 1 A map of the route It may simply have been a coincidence that so many revolutionary changes emanated from this area between 1840 and 1880. But more likely the area attracted and accommodated reformers determined to challenge established ways and develop new health services, just as it has attracted reformers in fields as diverse as the penal system, adult education, literature and painting. A walk through this area reveals how, in a 40 year period, health care in England was radically altered by events that took place here. The highlights of the walk are shown in Box 1. Box 1 Highlights of the walk Largest Ear, Nose and Throat hospital in the world (Royal Nose, Throat & Ear Hospital) Most radical, innovatory teaching hospital in England in the 19th century (Royal Free Hospital) One of the leading children's hospitals in the world (Great Ormond Street Hospital) Largest homoeopathic hospital in Britain (Royal London Homeopathic Hospital) Hospital for Italians (Ospedale Italiano) Leading hospital for nervous diseases in Britain (National Hospital for Neurology & Neurosurgery) Remains of the first foundling hospital in Britain First medical school for women in Britain Only hospital for women, staffed by women in Britain (Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital)