Author Archives: Harriet Richardson

About Harriet Richardson

I am an architectural historian. I worked on the Survey of London from 1991-2018, and am an honorary senior research associate at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, and an honorary fellow of the University of Edinburgh. I have worked on surveys of hospital architecture in Scotland and England.

Charnwood Forest Convalescent Homes

Posted on February 3, 2019

As convalescent homes were not strictly speaking medical buildings, and most of the patients sent to convalescence were able to get up during the day, many were established in private houses which required little alteration to fit them to their … Continue reading →

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The first Glasgow Royal Infirmary

Posted on October 26, 2018

Glasgow Royal Infirmary, from the Wellcome Collection, CC BY 4.0 The old buildings of Glasgow Royal Infirmary have long since been demolished. It was there that Joseph Lister pioneered antiseptic surgery in the 1860s. But by then the original part … Continue reading →

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Raigmore Hospital, Inverness

Posted on September 16, 2018

Inverness’s general hospital at Raigmore is the largest and only acute hospital in the NHS Highland’s estate, serving patients from a huge area. It was designed in the post-war era as one of the new National Health Service’s centralised district … Continue reading →

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West Highland Cottage Hospital in Oban

Posted on September 5, 2018

The former West Highland Cottage Hospital played an important part in the health a welfare of Oban for almost a century. A rare postcard gives a glimpse into its history. Continue reading →

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Arbroath Infirmary

Posted on June 1, 2018

Arbroath Infirmary consists of a pleasing if mismatched group of buildings in a variety of dates and styles. The oldest is the former Rosebrae House, probably dating to around the 1830s-40s. The original infirmary of the 1840s was demolished to … Continue reading →

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Dundee Women’s Hospital

Posted on March 18, 2018

South Front of the former hospital, photographed in 2018 © H. Richardson On the slopes of Balgay Hill to the west of Dundee sits the former Dundee Women’s Hospital. Since it closed in the 1970s it has been converted into private … Continue reading →

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Galt Hospital, Lethbridge, Alberta

Posted on March 3, 2018

Recently I bought this postcard of a hospital. The seller had it down as English, but I had never seen anything quite like it either in England or Scotland. On closer inspection it didn’t take long to work out why. … Continue reading →

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