| Date | 3 December 2010 |
|---|---|
| Source | Slough Observer |
| Reference | VP-0116 |
| Volume | Views of the Past |
| Collection | Press Clippings |
Transcript
Infirmary Treated Poor
The Windsor General Dispensary was a charity that offered medical treatment to poor people in Windsor.
It was founded in a house in Church Street and was the precursor of King Edward VII Hospital, which provides medical assistance to the inhabitants of the town today.
The charity was financed by subscriptions raised from the gentry and nobility in the area. The dispensary had royal patronage from its inception, and its first patrons were Queen Charlotte and the Princesses Augusta, Elizabeth and Sophia. Each patron, or subscriber, was allowed to recommend one patient to the dispensary per guinea they donated to the charity. In return for their donations, each was given the rank of governor.
The charity was open only to those who were unable to pay for private treatment, although a smallpox vaccination was free to anyone who requested it. During the 1820s there was actually an incentive to be vaccinated, as patients were paid a shilling to be vaccinated.
Medical staff at the hospital consisted of a permanent dispenser and consulting honorary surgeons, often distinguished consultants to the Royal Family.
George IV became a patron in 1821, and authorised the use of the name The Windsor Royal General Dispensary.
Succeeding monarchs followed him as patron and other members of the Royal Family became its president, including Prince Albert (1850-1861), who was the first to visit the infirmary in 1859, and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (1888-1917).
In 1833-4, a new dispensary was built on the corner of Bachelor’s Acre and New Road (later Victoria Street), and the number of patients treated more than doubled to more than 4,000 a year. In 1857, after it was left a legacy, a new infirmary was built that enabled patients to be treated overnight.
The adjoining Windsor Savings Bank was purchased in about 1864, and was temporarily used by the Vicar of Windsor as a school. In 1873, this building was converted to provide two convalescent wards.
[Text printed vertically on the bottom left corner]:
…Windsor Savings Bank was purchased in about 1864, and was temporarily used by the Vicar of Windsor as a school. In 1873, this building was converted to provide two convalescent wards.
Extensions continued to be added in the 1880s and 1890s, including a children’s ward in 1892 (children under six had hitherto not been admitted).
District Infirmary began to train nurses in 1895. However, from the turn of the century, the number of serious cases it saw increased and the need for a proper hospital became essential.
In 1909, the King Edward VII Hospital was opened on the corner of St Leonard’s and Frances Roads. The patients and equipment were transferred from the old infirmary, which was finally sold in 1930 and demolished in 1973.
- [Image caption left]: The Windsor Infirmary circa 1900
- [Image caption right]: The opening of the Edward VII Hospital in 1909
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