Leicestershire and Rutland

Historically most of the general hospital services for the council were centred on the city of Leicester, with some specialist cases needing to go further afield to Derby or Nottingham. In 1948 most of the existing hospitals in the county were transferred to the National Health Service. They came under the administration of the Sheffield Regional Hospital Board which had the oversight of 33 hospital boards of management. The area covered parts of South Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. Four Boards of Management covered Leicestershire, and by the mid-1960s there were 28 hospitals in the county – though Glenfrith Hospital had seven different sites, the largest being Leicester Frith Hospital. (This was for people with learning disabilities.) The Regional Board was disbanded following the NHS reorganisation in 1974. There are currently around 14 hospitals in the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland NHS Trust.

ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCH

Ashby-de-la-Zouch and District Hospital (Ashby-de-la-Zouch and District Cottage Hospital) SK 363 168 100785 part demolished

Ashby and District Cottage Hospital on the 1901-2 revised OS map, National Library of Scotland CC-BY (NLS)

The cottage hospital was originally built in 1897 and was considerably extended over time. By the the early 1940s it was being run almost entirely by local practitioners. A surgeon from Burton-on-Trent latterly served as a consultant carrying out most of the routine surgery. Emergency cases were mostly sent to one of the hospitals in Burton or Derby. It was taken over by the NHS in 1948 and continued to function as a local hospital, with various fairly modest additions, internal modernisation and some replacement windows. In about 2006 it was no longer considered fit for purpose and in 2017 planning permission was granted for the redevelopment of the site, with the retention of the older parts of the hospital and demolition largely of the post-war additions to the rear.

BLABY

Blaby Hospital (Blaby and Wigston Joint Isolation Hospital; now Oakfield School) SP 579 966

Blaby Hospital from the 25-inch OS map revised in 1928 CC-BY (NLS)

CHARNWOOD

Charnwood Forest Convalescent Home (Charnwood Hall, Loughborough Convalescent Home), Nanpantan SK 511 161

Postcard of the Convalescent Home, Loughborough

The foundation stone of was laid on 2 August 1893 for a purpose-built convalescent home designed by the Loughborough architect, George H. Barrowcliff. A convalescent home for Loughborough patients had first been established in rented rooms in a cottage at Woodhouse Eaves in 1875. Its success led to the opening of a second convalescent home on Brand Hill which opened in 1879, intended for Leicester patients. The two homes were merged in 1883 from which time they were officially known as Charnwood Forest Convalescent Homes.

Charnwood Forest Convalescent Homes, 25-inch OS map revised 1901, CC-BY (NLS)

DESFORD

Desford Hall Convalescent Home SK 502 023 BF100787. 56-bed convalescent home opened in 1905.

Desford Hall Convalescent Home, from the 25-inch OS map revised in 1914 CC-BY (NLS)

ENDERBY

Blaby Union Workhouse (Enderby House) SP 548 984 demolished

Blaby Union Workhouse from the 25-inch OS map surveyed in 1884-5 CC-BY (NLS)

HINCKLEY

Hinckley and Bosworth Community Hospital (Sunnyside Hospital: Hinckley Isolation Hospital) SP 428 961

Hinckley Isolation Hospital from the 25-inch OS map revised in 1927 CC-BY (NLS)

Hinckley and District Hospital (Hinckley Cottage Hospital) SP 429 937  100788

Hinckley Cottage Hospital, on Mount Road towards the bottom of the map, 25-inch OS map revised 1901 CC-BY (NLS)

Hinckley’s hospital had 40 beds by the early 1940s but not maternity unit. As was usual at the time it was staffed by local general practitioners, with one local doctor conducting surgery, supplemented by visiting surgeons from Leicester.

KIBWORTH HARCOURT

Kibworth Hall Hospital (Kibworth Hall) SP 689 952  83762

Kibworth Hall, from the 25-inch OS map revised in 1902

KIRBYMUXLOE

Roundhill Maternity Hospital SK 525 040  100196

The Cliffe became Roundhill Maternity Hospital, and neighbouring Elmsted house the nurses’ home, from the 25-inch OS map revised in 1938 CC-BY (NLS)

LEICESTER

Faire Hospital SK 584 048 100789

The dispensary fronting East Bond Street with hospital blocks to rear, from the 25-inch OS map revised in 1913 CC-BY (NLS)

The John Faire and Fielding Johnson hospitals in Leicester had developed into private hospitals by the end of the 1930s. The Faire Hospital was the smaller of the two, with 30 beds and dealing mostly with surgical cases.

Fielding Johnson Hospital (Leicester Private Hospital) SK 591 037 102001

The Fielding Johnson Hospital had 43 beds by the early 1940s in adapted premises. It was for private, paying patients and had facilities for surgery and radiology.

Glenfield Hospital SK 555 066

Groby Road Hospital (Leicester City Isolation Hospital) SK 565 063 100665 demolished

Groby Road Hospital

By the early 1940s the City Isolation Hospital provided for infectious diseases with an adjacent sanatorium for tuberculosis. It had 194 beds for infectious diseases by that date, including a group of cubicle blocks, one specially designed for puerperal sepsis, 156 beds for pulmonary TB and 26 for non-pulmonary TB.

Groby Road Hospital photographed in the early 1990s
Groby Road Hospital on the 25-inch OS Map revised in 1901 CC-BY (NLS)
Groby Road Hospital from the 1912 revised OS map, CC-BY (NLS)
Groby Road Hospital and sanatorium from the 1928 revised OS map CC-BY (NLS)

Leicester Frith Hospital (Leicester Frith Institution; Glenfrith Hospital) SK 555 068 BF100818.

Former Leicester Frith Hospital from the OS map revised in 1928 CC-BY (NLS)

Only Leicester Frith House remains of the ‘mental deficiency’ institution developed here. The house had earlier been a ‘house of rest’. The present Glenfield Hospital was built by the NHS on land to the south.

Leicester General Hospital (Leicester Union Infirmary; North Evington Infirmary) SK 622 039 100885

Leicester General Hospital on the 25-inch OS map revised in 1913 CC-BY (NLS)

Leicester Maternity Hospital

The Leicester Maternity Hospital occupied converted premises comprising terraced cottages that were knocked through and interconnected. A small extension was added in 1933. It was run as an independent voluntary hospital until 1938 when it became part of Leicester Royal Infirmary. It had 50 beds by the early 1940s.

Leicester Royal Infirmary (Leicester Infirmary) SK586 035 100289

Leicester Royal Infirmary, photographed in the early 1990s

By the early 1940s, Leicester Royal Infirmary was by far the largest voluntary general hospital in the region. It then had 500 beds and a further 120 in its pre-convalescent homes at Swithland. The buildings occupied a cramped site – having expanded considerably over the course of its history – but owned some of the adjoining sites occupied by housing.

Leicester Infirmary from the OS Town Plan of 1885, CC-BY (NLS)
Leicester Infirmary from the 25-inch OS map revised in 1927-8, CC-BY (NLS)

Leicester Union Workhouse (Hillcrest Public Assistance Institution) SK 596 043 demolished

Leicester Union Workhouse from the OS map revised in 1902 CC-BY (NLS)

The union workhouse had a grim reputation by the late 1930s, as a home for dying patients amid gloomy surroundings. Of around 700 admissions per year there were 480-500 deaths. By that time it primarily accommodated the chronic sick, notionally with 369 beds. .

Towers Hospital (Leicester Borough Asylum) SK 618 061 100792

Former Towers Hospital from the 25-inch OS map revised in 1902 CC-BY (NLS)

Westcotes Maternity Hospital (Westcotes Grange) SK 573 039 100790

Westcotes Maternity Hospital from the 25-inch OS map revised in 1927-8 CC-BY (NLS)

One of two maternity hospitals in Leicester. Westcotes occupied converted premises nd was established by the City Council. It also functioned as a council-run midwifery training school.

LOUGHBOROUGH

Lougborough General Hospital (Loughborough and District General Hospital and Dispensary) SK 538 197 100784 demolished

Loughborough Dispensary and Infirmary on the 25-inch OS map surveyed in 1883 CC-BY (NLS)

Opened in 1862. By the early 1940s the hospital had 86 beds, and was staffed by general practitioners from the town. It occupied a small site surrounded by business premises in the centre of the town.

Loughborough Hospital SK 523 198 Built to replace the old general hospital and opened around 2003 when the old hospital closed.

Regent Hospital (Loughborough Union Workhouse; Hastings House) SK 530 199 100714 demolished

Loughborough Union Workhouse, 25-inch OS map surveyed in 1883, CC-BY (NLS)

LUTTERWORTH

Fielding Palmer Cottage Hospital (Lutterworth Cottage Hospital) SP 547 847 100711

Lutterworth cottage hospital on the 25-inch OS map revised in 1902 CC-BY (NLS)

This small cottage hospital expanded, particularly post-war under the NHS. A health centre was also built to the east, and an ambulance station and fire station to the west.

MARKET BOSWORTH

Bosworth Park Infirmary (Bosworth Park) SK 408 033 100775

Bosworth Park from the OS map surveyed in 1885 CC-BY (NLS)

The mansion house of Bosworth Park became a public assistance institution providing accommodation for the chronic sick. By the early 1940s there was also a maternity unit with 7 beds and 12 cots for healthy children. The mansion was adapted and a detached ward block built to the north (since demolished). Under the NHS it became a general hospital.

Market Bosworth Union Workhouse (West Haven County Home) SK 402 030 part demolished

MARKET HARBOROUGH

Market Harborough and District Hospital (Market Harborough Cottage Hospital and Nursing Association) SP 729 871 100779 demolished

Market Harborough Cottage Hospital from the 25-inch OS map revised in 1928 CC-BY (NLS)

This small cottage hospital hd 16 general beds and 15 maternity beds by the early 1940s. Patients were in the care of their own general practitioners. Operative surgery was done by one of these GPs. The maternity unit hd been added in the 1930s. The hospital closed in about 2017 and was demolished after 2018. Rosewood Manor now occupies the site, an assisted living residential block.

St Luke’s Hospital (Market Harborough Union Workhouse) SP 727 882

Market Harborough Workhouse, from the 25-inch OS map surveyed in 1884-1885, CC-BY (NLS)

By the early 1940s this was a public assistance institution with 56 beds mostly accommodating chronic sick patients and a few maternity cases. The original workhouse complex has now been demolished, but the later detached infirmary to the north remains part of the present St Luke’s Hospital.

Market Harborough Poor Law Institution from the 1928 revised OS map, CC-BY (NLS)

MARKHELD

Markfield Sanatorium (Leicestershire Sanatorium and Isolation Hospital; now Markfield Institute of Higher Education and Markfield Court) SK 493 088 100659

Former Markfield Hospital, photographed in the 1990s

In the early 1940s Markfield Sanatorium had 76 beds for infectious disease and 30 beds in wooden huts erected under the Evacuation Scheme.

Former Markfield Sanatorium, photographed in the 1990s
Markfield Sanatorium and isolation hospital, OS map 1955, CC-BY (NLS)

MELTON MOWBRAY

Framland Nursing Home (Melton and Belvoir Joint Isolation Hospital; Framland Hospital) SK 752 208 100666 A small isolation hospital with 32 beds by the early 1940s.

Former Framland Hospital, 25-inch OS map revised 1928 CC-BY (NLS)

Melton and District War Memorial Hospital (Wyndham Lodge) SK 752 185 100780

Melton War Memorial Hospital, 1928 revised OS map, CC-BY (NLS)

Originally established in Wyndham Lodge. New wards were added in the 1930s and by the early 1940s the hospital had 52 beds, 15 of which were for private patients. There was also a nurses’ home. Wyndham Lodge remains, but the rest of the extended hospital has been demolished and the site developed for housing around 2022-3.

Melton Mowbray Hospital SK 759 192

NHS hospital built to the east of the former St Mary’s Hospital probably in the 1980s-90s.

St Mary’s Hospital (Melton Mowbray Union Workhouse) SK 759 193 100713

Melton Mowbray Union Workhouse, surveyed 1883-4, CC-BY (NLS)

MOUNTSORREL

Glenfrith Hospital (Barrow upon Soar Union Workhouse) SK 586 142 largely demolished

Barrow upon Soar Union Workhouse, from the 25-inch OS map surveyed in 1883

Barrow upon Soar Workhouse between 1838 and 1840 at a cost of £6,400. It could accommodate 300 inmates. The architect was William Flint who also designed Leicester Union Workhouse. The layout of the workhouse was based on Sampson Kempthorne’s square plan model published by the Poor Law Commission in 1835.

Barrow upon Soar poor law Institution from the 1928 revised OS map CC-BY (NLS)

In 1886, additional men’s vagrants wards were erected followed by an additional block for female vagrants in 1892. In 1911, tenders were taken for general alterations to the workhouse and in 1913 for alterations to the infirmary. Under the NHS it was renamed Glenfrith Hospital (the name also used for the former Leicester Frith Hospital – see above). All that remains of the original buildings is a single-storey brick entrance block now converted to residential use

Mountsorrel Cottage Hospital and Convalescent Home SK 581 147 100781

The cottage hospital in Mountsorrel, from the OS map revised in 1901 CC-BY (NLS)

NARBOROUGH

Carlton Hayes Hospital (Leicestershire and Rutland County Asylum; Narborough Asylum) SP 537 984 100791 demolished

Former Carlton Hayes Hospital from the 1914 revised OS map CC-BY (NLS)

OAKHAM

Catmose Vale Hospital (Oakham Union Workhouse) SK 862 093 100712 part demolished

Oakham Union Workhouse from the OS map surveyed in 1902 CC-BY (NLS)

Rutland Memorial Hospital (Rutland Memorial Cottage Hospital) SK 854 089 100668

Rutland Hospital, photographed in the 1990s

The Rutland Memorial Hospital originally provided 22 beds.

Rutland Hospital from the OS map surveyed in 1928 CC-BY (NLS)

UPPINGHAM

Uppingham Isolation Hospital SP 870 999

Uppingham Isolation Hospital from the 25-inch OS map revised in 1902 CC-BY (NLS)

This small hospital for infectious diseases was established by the Rural District Councils for Uppingham in combination with Gretton and Hallaton in the 1890s. The Joint Hospital Committee purchased a temporary iron hospital from Humphrey’s of Knightsbridge. Though originally intended for smallpox cases it was used mostly for scarlet fever or diphtheria, and only seldom at that. Hallaton withdrew from the combination around 1902. The building was sold in 1929 and converted into a dwelling. It remained on the site and inhabited until the late 1980s or early ’90s and has since been demolished. [Information kindly supplied by Mark O’Brien.]

WOODHOUSE

At various times there have been four convalescent homes to the south of Woodhouse Eaves. They all seem to have been purpose built except Empitts House (Hemp Pitt Hill House on the 1960s map below).

The convalescent cluster south of Woodhouse Eaves, from the OS map published in 1966 CC-BY (NLS)

Charnwood Forrest Convalescent Home for Children (now Charnwood House) SK 532 138

Charnwood Convalescent Home for Children, from the 25-inch OS map revised in 1901, CC-BY (NLS)

Empitts Convalescent Home SK 532 137 BF100786. Eighteen bed convalescent home opened in 1920.

Swithlands Convalescent Home (now Swithland Court) SK 533 134 BF100782. Fifty bed convalescent home for women. Opened in 1912 in connection with the Leicester Royal Infirmary.

Swithlands Convalescent Home for women, from the 1928 revised OS map CC-BY (NLS)

Zachary Merton Convalescent Home SK 532 136 BF100783 demolished. Convalescent home of 1934 by Keay and Haird built as an annexe of Leicester Royal Infirmary. It provided 100 beds, though seldom reached capacity.