Celebrating 280 years
Let's celebrate!
Over 280 years of The Royal London Hospital.
The Royal London Hospital - our history
The Royal London Hospital has been caring for the communities of East London for over 280 years.
The Royal London Hospital: Our history
The London Infirmary
The London Infirmary was established in 1740 in Featherstone Street in the City of London. In 1741, it moved to Prescot Street in Aldgate.
Its aim was to “relieve all sick and diseased persons and, in particular, manufacturers, seamen in the merchant service and their wives and children".
In 1752 the foundation stone of the hospital building on Whitechapel Road (later known as Front Block) was laid. The first patients were admitted to the hospital, now known as The London Hospital, in 1757, and the building of the front block was completed in 1759. East and West Wings were added in 1770 and extended in the 1830s, and a new outpatients department opened in 1902. Parts of the original building remained in use until 2012.
The London Hospital has always been a general (rather than a specialist) hospital. By the early 20th century, it was the largest voluntary (charitably-funded) general hospital in the United Kingdom with over 1,000 beds.
Originally run by a committee of financial subscribers, the hospital was governed from the 18th century by a Court of Governors to which a House Committee reported. This administration remained the same until the creation of the new National Health Service (NHS) in 1948, when they were replaced by a Board of Governors, itself dissolved in 1974, when the hospital became a part of the Tower Hamlets Health District in the City and East London Health Authority (Teaching). In the late 1980s, the hospital became part of the London Hospital and Associated Community Services Trust, one of first NHS Trusts.
The Royal London Hospital
The London Hospital was granted a Royal title by HM Queen Elizabeth II in 1990, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of its opening on the Whitechapel site.
It became known as The Royal London Hospital. In 1994, the Royal London joined with St Bartholomew’s Hospital as part of the Royal Hospitals Trust, later renamed Barts and The London NHS Trust. By the late 1990s, it was clear that the old hospital buildings were no longer suitable to provide cutting-edge patient care, and plans began for a new hospital building.
In 2005, the Royal London received and treated 208 patients injured in the 7 July bombings. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited the hospital the next day to meet and thank staff. Construction of a new hospital building, designed by HOK Architects, started in 2007, directly behind the old one. The new hospital opened in time for the London Olympics in 2012; the same year, Barts and The London merged with Whipps Cross and Newham hospitals to form Barts Health NHS Trust.
The old hospital building on Whitechapel Road was later purchased by Tower Hamlets Council, and was refurbished to become the Tower Hamlets Town Hall, which opened in 2023, bringing the historic buildings back into public use.
The Royal London Hospital: Our history
The London Hospital Medical College
The first purpose built medical school in England.
From the 1740s, pupils had been taken on by members of the medical staff at the London to "walk the wards", and in 1785 a lecture theatre was opened on the site with the support of surgeon William Blizard and Dr James Maddocks, the first purpose built medical school in England.
By the early 19th century, the school had become known as the London Hospital Medical College. A new College building was opened in 1867, and in 1900, the College became a School of the University of London.
It merged with St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College in 1995, forming what is now known as the Faculty of Medicine and Dentristry, Queen Mary University of London. Students from the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, still train at the Royal London Hospital and in the historic medical college building.
Book an appointment with our archives
Discover the histories of our hospitals
Find out more about the historic collections, spanning from 1137 to the present day, held by the Trust Archives. They include objects and records relating to staff, patients, buildings and management of the hospitals in the current Barts Health group, as well as numerous other hospitals, institutions, charities, organisations and individuals relating to health care and training in the City and East London. Please contact the archives to make an appointment.