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.

Brooksby House, Largs. From Yachting Residence to Seaside Convalescent Home.

Posted on June 30, 2019

For many decades, Brooksby House was the convalescent home for Glasgow’s Victoria Infirmary. The Governors of the Infirmary purchased this substantial villa by the sea-front at Largs in 1896 and it opened the following year with accommodation for 24 patients. Postcard … Continue reading →

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The Hospitals on Islay

Posted on June 2, 2019

Islay Hospital, Bowmore. View of the ward block and main entrance from the west. Photographed in May 2019, © H. Richardson There have been three hospitals on Islay: a poor law institution that provided medical care for paupers and in … Continue reading →

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Brechin Infirmary and St Drostan’s House

Posted on May 13, 2019

Prospect of Brechin (detail), by John Slezer from Theatrum Scotiae, 1693. Reproduced by permission of the National Library of Scotland On a gloriously sunny day in April I visited Brechin, primarily to see the cathedral with its extraordinary round tower, but … Continue reading →

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The Western Isles Hospital, Stornoway, and its forebears

Posted on March 3, 2019

Memorial stained-glass panel in the Western Isles Hospital, depicting the Lewis Hospital on the right and the County Hospital to the left, both closed when the new general hospital opened. © H. Richardson The Outer Hebrides are served by one general … Continue reading →

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Netherlea Hospital, Newport-on-Tay

Posted on February 23, 2019

Netherlea Hospital will soon be no more, and so here is a slightly revised post from 2017. In March 2017 the Dundee Courier announced plans to demolish the former Netherlea Hospital in Newport, Fife, and replace it with a development of luxury … Continue reading →

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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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