The lost hospitals of St Luke's

Abstract

Few Londoners know the whereabouts of St Luke's, yet for much of the 19th century it was home to seven leading hospitals. In 1865 you could have stood on City Road, near the famous Eagle Tavern, and been able to see six of them. But during the 20th century all but one were to vanish. And it was not just the hospitals that disappeared. The district of St Luke's itself became invisible. This may have been the result of a deliberate policy to ‘lose’ one of the poorest, most deprived areas of London. Like St Giles (another area that became invisible), much of the housing stock was dreadful, with overcrowded ‘rookeries’. In the 1850s St Lukes had 245 people per acre, more than St Giles (221), Clerkenwell (170), Westminster (71) or Islington (30). The local Medical Officer of Health described the houses as ‘typhus nests’. Both St Luke's and St Giles were ‘dealt with’ by wholesale redevelopment that left them almost unrecognizable, destroying as it did both their architectural heritage and any sense of community. Box 1 Highlights of the walk Site of the world's first chest hospital (Royal Hospital for Diseases of the Chest) Remains of one of London's largest workhouse infirmaries (Holborn & Finsbury Poor Law Union) Former home of the leading hospital for bowel disease in the UK (St Mark's Hospital) Site of the earliest voluntary hospital in London (French Huguenot Hospital) One of the leading ophthalmic hospitals in the world (Moorfields Eye Hospital) One of the last surviving public baths and washhouse in London (Ironmonger Row) Site of one of the most spectacular buildings in 19th century London (St Luke's Hospital) Box 2 St Mark's Hospital for Cancer, Fistula &c The instigator, Frederick Salmon, was an ambitious surgeon whose progress and advancement had been obstructed by medical nepotism and corruption. In 1835 he opened what became known as the ‘Fistula Infirmary’ in Aldersgate Street. Many of his subscribers had themselves suffered from lower bowel problems (a common problem at the time given people's diet), including William Copeland, Lord Mayor of London; Charles Dickens, who suffered from anal fistula; and Lord Iveagh of the Guinness brewing empire. By 1838 the infirmary needed more space. It first moved to Charterhouse Square and then in 1854 to a fine new, three storey, Italianate building designed by John Wallen (Figure 2). It had 25 beds for inpatients together with outpatient facilities. One to benefit was the artist, Walter Sickert, whose treatment at St Mark's has been used as evidence that he suffered from an anal fistula and not, as those who believe he was Jack the Ripper have alleged, a penile fistula (which would have rendered him impotent and therefore, they claim, more likely to be a serial killer of women). Figure 2 The main entrance to the original St Mark's Hospital building in City Road (1853). It expanded several times (the 1926 extension can be seen on the left) before moving to Harrow in 1995. Significantly, in 1854 the infirmary acquired a new name—St Mark's Hospital for Fistula and other Diseases of the Rectum. It was common practice among specialist hospitals to pick a saint's name so as to make fund-raising easier. However, Salmon was insistent that the public should know what went on in the new building by inscribing in the stonework across the front of the building ‘St Mark's Hospital for Fistula &c (The lettering was covered over in the 1990s by the redevelopers, probably to avoid putting off potential residents.) Further expansion in 1896 meant there were now 54 beds, though financial constraints meant that only half could be used. Fund-raising events—dinners, balls, theatre performances (including one organized by Lillie Langtry)—helped. The increasing importance of bowel cancer led to another change of name in 1909 to St Mark's Hospital for Cancer, Fistula &c. In 1926 another wing was built, as was a nurses’ home to help attract and retain nurses. In 1948 the hospital, which Aneurin Bevan called ‘a jewel in his health service’, became part of the NHS and in 1995 it moved to Harrow to be amalgamated with Northwick Park Hospital, where it continues to be the national centre for large bowel diseases. A walk through St Luke's gives you the opportunity to rediscover its lost hospitals. Their fortunes have been mixed: one is still functioning; one has survived though is no longer a hospital; parts of two still exist; but no trace remains of the other three. The highlights of the walk are shown in Box 1.