London Fever Hospital

History

Originally established with 15 beds in 1802 in Gray's Inn Road, it moved in 1815 to the west wing of the Smallpox Hospital at Battle Bridge where it had 120 beds.

After the Northern Railway bought the original site for King's Cross station the compensation money paid enabled the charity to commission a new Hospital on Kettle Field, a 4-acre site in Liverpool Road, Islington with 200 beds. By 1924 it had about 150 beds. A new wing was opened by the Duchess of York in 1928 and a new isolation block was opened by the Duke of Kent in 1938.

In 1948, the hospital joined the National Health Service under the same management as the Royal Free Hospital. After services had been transferred to the Royal Free Hospital, the hospital closed in 1975.

Notable staff

• Laura Margaret Holroyde, Royal Red Cross and bar (1881-1958), Matron from about June 1921 until 1946. Holroyde trained at The London Hospital under Matron Eva Luckes between 1909-1911. She continued to work at the hospital until 1917 in various positions as a holiday sister, then night sister. During that time she also completed her midwifery training. Prior to her appointment at the Fever Hospital she was matron of the Royal Flying Corps Hospital / Royal Air Force Hospital in Eaton Square, London. These hospitals were part of the fledgling Royal Air Force Temporary Nursing Service (RAFNS) which was created in 1918. She was a founding member of the College of Nursing, now the Royal College of Nursing.

References

References

1. (10 January 2018). "Royal Free: The lost Liverpool Road hospital where thousands of Islington babies were born".
2. "Royal Free Hospital (Liverpool Road Branch)".
3. "The History and Redevelopment of the Royal Free Hospital Site in Islington". Local History.
4. (12 January 1924). "The London Fever Hospital". The Spectator.
5. (4 August 1958). "Obituary". [[The Nursing Times]].
6. Laura Margaret Holroyde, RG15/17139, 30; The General Record Office, The England and Wales Census 1921 for Moreton, Birkenhead; The National Archives, Kew [Available at: www.findmypast.co.uk, accessed on 8 January 2022].
7. Holroyde, Laura Margaret, Register of Nurses, General Part 1925, 777; The General Nursing Council for England and Wales; The Nursing Registers, 1898–1968 [Available at: www.ancestry.co.uk, accessed on 29 October 2018]
8. (15 April 1922). "Fever Matron's Address the Minister of Health". [[The British Journal of Nursing]].
9. Holroyde Laura M., RG101/280c; 1939 England and Wales Register for Islington, London; The National Archives, Kew [Available at: www.ancestry.co.uk, accessed on 29 October 2018]
10. Rogers, Sarah (2022). 'A Maker of Matrons'? A study of Eva Lückes's influence on a generation of nurse leaders:1880–1919' (Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Huddersfield, April 2022)
11. Laura Margaret Holroyde, Register of Probationers; RLHLH/N/1/15, 138; Barts Health NHS Trust Archives and Museums, London
12. Laura Margaret Holroyde, Register of Sisters and Nurses; RLHLH/N/4/3,133; Barts Health NHS Trust Archives and Museums, London.
13. Matrons Report, 8 January 1917, House Committee Minutes, 1916–1918; RLHLH/A/5/55, 160; Barts Health NHS Trust Archives and Museums, London
14. (14 June 1919). "Royal Air Force, Royal Red Cross". [[The British Journal of Nursing]].