# The Middlesex Hospital Part 1 of 2, London



## za gringo (Apr 17, 2008)

The Middlesex Hospital Part 1 of 2, London - REPORT


1st apologies for the amout of pics but i've tried to represent various parts of the site, it's just that there are a lot of parts and i wanted to explore them all, and as i had no maps or proir knowledge to what was in there or where it was, this took a while. Also photgraphy is not my strong point ( one of the reasons for being on this forum ) & my camera is'nt to hot (hopefully upgrade to DSLR one day),it keeps going dark on me etc. Im shure a higher standard of pics will soon follow. If any other Londoners want to meet up exchange tours or go on reccies for new sites then PM me, im up for anything-ish and its nice to have the extra imput sometimes, compared to solo explores.


1935 Opening of new Middlesex Hospital
1939 Opening of new Middlesex Hospital Medical School building

The Middlesex Hospital was opened in 1745 as the Middlesex Infirmary. The Infirmary started with 18 beds to provide medical treatment for the poor. Funding came from subscriptions and in 1747, the hospital became the first in England to add 'lying-in' (inpatient) beds.

The foundation stone on the site was laid in 1755 by the then President of the Hospital, the Earl of Northumberland and was opened in 1757 as The Middlesex Hospital. The Hospital was Incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1836, allowing it various benefits as a charity.

Over the years, extra wings were added but in 1924, it was decided that the building was about to collapse and something had to be done. The Duke of York, later King George VI, visited the Hospital to lay the foundation stone of the new building, on 26 June 1928. He returned to the Hospital on 29 May 1935 to open the new building. The Hospital had been completely rebuilt, on the same site and in stages, without being closed at any stage, paid for by more than £1 million of donations from members of the public.

In 1992 the St. Peter's Hospitals were closed down and moved into new accommodation in the Middlesex Hospital, which itself was merged with University College London (UCL) Hospital in 1994. The Middlesex closed in December 2005. The Hospitals final home was sold to developer Project Abbey (Guernsey) Ltd for £110m to finance the UCL Hospital PFI scheme.







*PART 1:* Clock, Chapel, Corridors,Lights & Instruments, 

*Clock:* My Festive Grinch pose and my first Avatar.











*Chapel:* This was a suprise discovery. How do you hide a mini church in a building? Even in full daylight it was pretty dark in here and my torches wer'nt really giving off enough light, so appologies for the noisy pics. 

The fact this is the only place I found in the building with heaters that are on, means this maybe be kept and is being kept dry. But this may not be the case as i found out today that the whole place is coming down. PS the organ has a full rack of pipes (mini ones) and I thought of playing them in the hope that it would appear to security like somkinda ghost/haunted organ, but all i know is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Unfotunatly not quite the brown trouser time sound, i was thinking of.





































*Corridors:* ( there are lots and lots of these ) heres 1 or 2 from the basment to the top floor. I love the Deco details lift, tiling, surrounds, windows etc

Funny to find that one of these department signs pointed towards "Patients for Photography" I assume it must be for using photoraphy as therapy, naturaly i felt it was my destiny to follow the signs, only to find the room completly empty  , (Or is that patentialy full). So i set off again searching for the just as illusive, Exploration Department.



















































Joke time; Who are the best people to hang about with in a hospital?












.................. The Ultrasound lot....... Boom Boom. sorry could'nt resist.
















*Inside looking out:* Some more Art Deco windows etc. Views of the clock from the North & West sides of the building ( various floors ), view from the old buildings looking at the new and also you can see a crane base has been put in.










































*Lights & Instruments:* 
















No idea what any of this stuff is but i was glad to enter the " Induction Of Anaesthesia " room


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## smileysal (Apr 17, 2008)

WOW, I love that chapel in the hospital, it's absolutely gorgeous. I love it. all those colours and stained glass windows, it looks awesome. 

Really like the really high arched window, and love the stairs pics. Nice to see inside the Ultra sound areas, don't see those very often on explores. 

Excellent work, 

 Sal


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## za gringo (Apr 17, 2008)

thanx for the comment smileysal

unfortunatly my camera is crap so you cant really see, but well spotted that is actualy real gold across the ceiling (see the sparkly bits). Agreed the chapel is great, unfortunatly my pics dont do it justice. There is only about a third of the whole site left and what is left in the areas i visited is totally stipped as in most of the wood has been pulled out ( apart from the basment tunnels. )


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## smileysal (Apr 17, 2008)

You can still see the gold and all the colours. It does look amazing. What are they going to do with the building? Hope the beautiful parts, like the chapel and the chapel of rest are going to be saved in some way. 

Cheers,

 Sal


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## northseawidow (Apr 17, 2008)

beautiful photos of another great NHS insitution left to rot. Most hospitals have a small room out of the operating theatre which is where the anaesthetists would induce anaesthesia. Its so that a nurse or parent could accompany a patient or child until they were asleep. It meant that uniforms/ ordinary clothes could be worn without affecting the cleanliness of the main theatre room. Many surgeons and staff would also be preparing for the forthcoming op and wouldn't want to frighten the patient anymore than they already were.
I guess the limb room was a storage area for amputated limbs prior to incineration or for a pathologists review ( to exclude cancers etc)
The chapel is devine and I guess at some point all will replaced with luxuary flats. sue


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## Pip (Apr 17, 2008)

Wow, I would love to have played the toccata and fugue in D minor in that chapel! 
Great photos/report thanks for sharing.

Pip


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## martinl (Apr 17, 2008)

Lovely shots, the Chapel looks amazing, it's not about what camera you have it's all about the capture!


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## za gringo (Apr 17, 2008)

martinl said:


> Lovely shots, the Chapel looks amazing, it's not about what camera you have it's all about the capture!




maybe, but a longer exposure would have been nice. Agreed though great composition leads to great photos, unfortunatly im not great at either. Yet!


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## Midnight (Apr 18, 2008)

> The fact this is the only place I found in the building with heaters that are on, means this maybe be kept and is being kept dry. But this may not be the case as i found out today that the whole place is coming down.



fortunately for this chapel.. thats not entirely true.. 

what is happening with the chapel as you will read in my report, is it will be kept and made a centre piece for the new 1BN pound flats that are being built. Each tile from the ceiling(which is 24K gold) is being removed one by one and numbered so when demolition and building they will place em back up. The chapel is being placed in a 'bubble' of sorts which will protect the outer layer of the chapel, windows, walls etc...


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## Foxylady (Apr 18, 2008)

I couldn't believe it when you said the chapel was going as it's absolutely superb...really very glad it's going to be saved in some way. The whole building is amazing. 
Excellent report, za. No, really...those photos are cracking. Sometimes, messing about with longer exposures, etc, takes all the sponteneity and life out of a shot. Yours are great.


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## sqwasher (Apr 18, 2008)

Fantastic pics & report-you can't beat a good bit of history! Glad to hear that the chapel will be saved, pity about the rest of the buildings though!


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## King Al (Apr 18, 2008)

Super report that Chapel is breath taking, Really like the glass and Pic 10


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## Neosea (Apr 18, 2008)

That chapel is first rate! Love the basement too


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## za gringo (Apr 18, 2008)

thanx again for the comments heres part 2 of the report
http://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/showthread.php?t=4231

easy Midnight how goes it?, yep that comment i made was a little old and relied on heresay. After i read the planning app i should have updated it but forgot. Thanx for clearing that up and glad you got to see the place.  bet your camera did the chapel a little more justice.

went in very very recently night no tourch or camera again. More than half the site is down all the top floors roofs have been taken off and the inside is stripped down to supporting walls only, the only things left are the locked chapel ( which they are keeping ) and some mini digers on the roof where the front facing clock used to be. Although the basment seems intact i didnt bother going to see the slab.


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## witchhazel (Apr 18, 2008)

For someone who says 'photography isn't my strong point 'I think you're pictures are really good. Really great report


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