Wanstead Hospital

Wanstead Hospital
Wanstead Hospital
Location within Redbridge
Geography
Location	London, United Kingdom
Coordinates	51.5845°N 0.0264°E / 51.5845; 0.0264
Organisation
Care system	NHS England
Services
Emergency department	No
History
Opened	1938
Closed	1986

Wanstead Hospital was a former NHS hospital situated on Hermon Hill in Snaresbrook, not far from Wanstead in north-east London.

History

The building was originally constructed to accommodate the Merchant Seamen's Orphan Asylum and was opened by Prince Albert in 1861.[1][2] A chapel was added in 1863.[2] The orphans moved to Bearwood House in Wokingham and the orphan asylum became a convent in 1921.[3] The building was taken over by Essex County Council and converted to use as a hospital in 1938.[2] It joined the National Health Service in 1948 but, after services were transferred to Whipps Cross Hospital, closed in 1986.[2]

The majority of the building was gutted internally and converted into apartments.[2] The hospital's old chapel lay empty until 1995, when it was purchased by what was then the Buckhurst Hill Reform Synagogue. The building was refurbished to a high standard and is now the Sukkat Shalom Reform Synagogue.[2]

The exterior of the hospital was used for the opening credits of the Doctor in the House comedy series produced by London Weekend Television from 1969.[4]

See also

• Healthcare in London
• List of hospitals in England

References

1. Powell, W R (1973). "'Wanstead: Introduction', in A History of the County of Essex". London. p. 317-322. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
2. "Wanstead Hospital". Lost Hospitals of London. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
3. "Your Story: The Forest Group of Hospitals". BBC. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
4. "History: A look into the past of Wanstead Hospital". East London and West Essex Guardian. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2018.

Further reading

• Dowling, Ian; Harris, Nick (1994). Wanstead & Woodford. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-0113-0.