Wanstead Hospital | |
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![]() Wanstead Hospital | |
Geography | |
Location | London, United Kingdom |
Coordinates | 51°35′04″N0°01′35″E / 51.5845°N 0.0264°E |
Organisation | |
Care system | NHS England |
Services | |
Emergency department | No |
History | |
Opened | 1938 |
Closed | 1986 |
Wanstead Hospital was a former NHS hospital situated on Hermon Hill in Snaresbrook, not far from Wanstead in north-east London.
The building was originally constructed to accommodate the Merchant Seamen's Orphan Asylum and was opened by Prince Albert in 1861. [1] [2] A chapel was added in 1863. [2] The orphans moved to Bearwood House in Wokingham and the orphan asylum became a convent in 1921. [3] The building was taken over by Essex County Council and converted to use as a hospital in 1938. [2] It joined the National Health Service in 1948 but, after services were transferred to Whipps Cross Hospital, closed in 1986. [2]
The majority of the building was gutted internally and converted into apartments. [2] The hospital's old chapel lay empty until 1995, when it was purchased by what was then the Buckhurst Hill Reform Synagogue. The building was refurbished to a high standard and is now the Sukkat Shalom Reform Synagogue. [2]
The exterior of the hospital was used for the opening credits of the Doctor in the House comedy series produced by London Weekend Television from 1969. [4]