Wanstead Hospital

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Wanstead Hospital
Wanstead Hospital 01.jpg
Wanstead Hospital
Redbridge London UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Redbridge
Geography
LocationLondon,
United Kingdom
Coordinates 51°35′04″N0°01′35″E / 51.5845°N 0.0264°E / 51.5845; 0.0264
Organisation
Care system NHS England
Services
Emergency department No
History
Opened1938
Closed1986

Wanstead Hospital was a former NHS hospital situated on Hermon Hill in Snaresbrook, not far from Wanstead in north-east London.

Contents

History

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]

See also

References

  1. Powell, W R (1973). "'Wanstead: Introduction', in A History of the County of Essex". London. pp. 317–322. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Wanstead Hospital". Lost Hospitals of London. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  3. "Your Story: The Forest Group of Hospitals". BBC. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  4. "History: A look into the past of Wanstead Hospital". East London and West Essex Guardian. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2018.

Further reading