Forest Gate Hospital

• Newham Maternity Hospital

From Lost Hospitals of London: https://ezitis.myzen.co.uk/newhammaternity.html The origins of this Hospital lie in the Forest Gate Industrial School, which was built in 1854 on a 12 acre site once owned by Samuel Gurney (1785-1956), a well known Quaker philanthropist. In 1890 a tragic fire resulted in the deaths of 26 boys, who suffocated because they were locked in their dormitories. (This disaster led to institutions developing 'scattered homes' rather than barrack-style schools.) Poplar Union continued to use the building as a training school until 1906. It then closed temporarily, opening again in 1908 as a branch of the Poplar Union workhouse. In 1911 the building was bought by West Ham Union workhouse. It re-opened in 1913 as the Forest Gate Sick Home, with 500 beds. There were 21 beds for mentally handicapped adults and 25 for mentally handicapped children, including epileptics. In 1930 the West Ham Borough Council took over its administration. The main buildings became the Forest Gate Hospital, with 500 beds for mental patients and the chronic sick, and 64 beds in the maternity unit. A temporary building with 200 beds for the chronic sick was added in 1931. By 1937 the Hospital had 723 patients. During WW2 the Hospital suffered damage in 1940 from two direct hits, one a high explosive bomb. Much of the accommodation for non-maternity patients was destroyed, and the patients were evacuated to the South Ockendon Colony (a mental hospital in Essex which had opened in 1932). The number of beds was reduced to 201. After the war, accommodation for 128 patients re-opened in 1945, and the building of a new maternity unit commenced in 1947. In 1948 the Hospital joined the NHS, when it had 207 beds. Further maternity wards were built in 1950. In 1974 it was renamed the Newham Maternity Hospital, by which time bed numbers had reduced to 116. By 1983 there were 106 beds. The Hospital closed in 1985 when the newly built Newham General Hospital opened.n

Newham Maternity Hospital, Forest Lane, E7 9DF

Nursing Training

International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) 2nd edition - ICA 2004 ISBN 2-9521932-2-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997