Guest Hospital
| Guest Hospital | |
|---|---|
| The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust | |
 | |
  Shown in West Midlands | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Dudley, West Midlands, England |
| Coordinates | 52°31′13″N 2°04′22″W / 52.5202°N 2.0727°W |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | NHS |
| History | |
| Opened | 1871 |
| Links | |
| Website | http://www.dgoh.nhs.uk/ |
The Guest Hospital is a hospital in Dudley, West Midlands, England, part of the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust[1][2]
History
Victorian origins
Situated in Tipton Road, Dudley the buildings were originally constructed as almshouses in 1849 by the Earl of Dudley to accommodate workers who had become blind in the limestone pits. The site became known as the Blind Asylum. In 1871 they were taken over by local chainmaker Joseph Guest after mine workers rejected the Earl’s almshouses. Joseph Guest was an English chainmaker who developed his industry in the Black Country of Central England during the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century. Guest converted the buildings for hospital use.[3]
Dudley Guest hospital appointed its first staff members in September 1871. The left wing of the hospital was for male patients and the right wing for females. The buildings were lit by gas and held 60 patients.
The hospital officially opened on 25 October 1871 with flags flown, a procession and was attended by guests including the Earl and Countess of Dudley. The Countess declared the hospital open and the Earl presented £30,000 to the new hospital.
The hospital was named The Guest Hospital in recognition of Joseph Guest’s endowment.
20th century hospital
In 1908, Tipton pawnbroker Hugh Lewis left his entire estate of £80,000 to the hospital.[4]
In March 1922, the hospital treated several victims of the Tipton Catastrophe, a factory explosion in which 24 teenage girls who were dismantling surplus World War I ammunition suffered extensive burns, 19 dying.[5]
Most of the hospital was rebuilt between 1929 and 1939, on the far side not visible from Tipton Road, though part of these new buildings were visible from Birmingham New Road which opened in 1927 and allowed for a second vehicular access point (which was closed in the 1990s).[6] A new pre-fabricated timber/plaster board annex was added in the 1960s, and survived until the hospital's closure.[7]
The hospital's accident and emergency department closed in the spring of 1984 and was relocated to the new Russells Hall Hospital. Around this time, there were concerns in the local area that Guest Hospital was on the verge of closure, but the opening of a new hydrotherapy pool and physiotherapy department in 1986 appeared to ease those concerns. However, National Health Service officials announced in July 1990 that they were considering closing the hospital (along with nearby Burton Road Hospital, which ultimately closed in December 1993) and expanding Russells Hall to accommodate replacement facilities, but the hospital survived another 17 years. The former nurse's home at the hospital was demolished in 1996.[7]
New buildings
A new horseshoe-shaped extension was opened in 2003, but the old buildings - including the out-patients department - remained in use until October 2007.[7] Today the horseshoe-shaped building is used as an outpatient centre for Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust. Most of the buildings are due to be retained owing to their historic importance, though some of the less significant structures were demolished to make way for a housing development - these included the wards at the rear of the site which were built in the 1930s, as well as the hydrotherapy pool and physiotherapy department. The administration building, former out-patients unit and hospital lodge were retained to form residential properties.[7]
In 2008, it was used to film Ghosthunting with... and stars from I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! ghosthunted in parts of the hospital, just six months after it closed.[7] The hospital continues to operate as an out-patient centre.[8]
Redevelopment
A major programme of renovation work to convert the main hospital building into 29 apartments began in November 2015. The new owners of the apartments were able to take possession of their properties in "Bourne Hall" in December 2018.[9]
Gallery
-
The Joseph Guest Hospital's Victorian wing. -
The Joseph Guest Hospital's 1960's Annex.
References
- ^ "Guest Hospital, Dudley, West Midlands DY1 4SE". iWest Midlands. 28 February 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
- ^ "Google Maps". Google Maps. 4 April 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
- ^ Folkes, J. Homery The Victorian Architect and George Edmund Street Transactions of the Worcestershire Archaeological Society. Third Series Vol 4 1974 p9
- ^ Sedgley Manor School[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Needless loss of life marked with Tipton plaque". Express and Star. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
- ^ "NHS 60 :: Dgoh ::". Archived from the original on 23 February 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "History of Hospitals - Dudley Guest Hospital". Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ "Guest Hospital Outpatient Centre". Dudley Community Information Directory. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
- ^ "Dudley Guest Hospital site transformed into homes as work complete". Express and Star. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
