1848

Foundation of The London Chest Hospital

The London Chest Hospital was founded in 1848 at a meeting held at the London Tavern in the City of London by a group of 19 philanthropic bankers, and City merchants, 13 of whom were Quakers. Tuberculosis, also known as Consumption or Phthisis, was the major endemic killing disease at that time, accounting for 20% of all deaths, double that of any other disorder. Whilst it affected all classes, it was much more common among the poor. The founders wanted to offer treatment to the people of the City and East London similar to that offered by the Brompton Hospital (founded in 1841) to patients in West London.

A public dispensary treating outpatients was opened in Liverpool Street on 13 June 1848. It attracted so many patients that the numbers treated had to be limited so as to keep the charity solvent and able to raise the money needed to build the new hospital. A site was obtained on Crown land in Bethnal Green, adjoining the 217 acre site, destined to become Victoria Park. Prince Albert laid the foundation stone of the Hospital in 1851, the year of the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, and royal connections helped to raise £30,000 to build an 80-bed hospital which opened in 1855.