A brief history of Whipps Cross Hospital

by Alan Simpson

Appendix A

The Builder, April 1903

INFIRMARY, LEYTONSTONE, N.E.

A NEW Infirmary for West Ham was opened by Mr. J. Lasham at Whipp's Cross, Leytonstone, N.E., recently. The estate comprises about forty-four acres of gardens, pleasure grounds, and meadow land, together with the mansion house (known as Forest House) and outbuildings, the lodge and cottage (since pulled down) in James-lane, and the cottage at the entrance to the estate in Whipp's Cross-road. The establishment is placed nearly parallel with the Whipp's Cross-road, the main entrance being reached by a roadway across a strip of forest land lying immediately to front of the boundary of the site.

Generally, the plan is an administrative block centrally with two ward blocks right and left, connected by a covered corridor running from end to end of the building. Immediately in the rear of the administrative block is the boiler-house, laundry, and machinery building, and to the east of same are detached houses for the engineer and steward. On the south-west side of ward block D is the nurses' home, and near the Whipp's Cross-road entrance are the ambulance and stable buildings and the post-mortem room, mortuary, &c.

The accommodation is as follows: — Ward A, six wards of twenty-four each, 144; twelve isolation wards of two each, twenty-four; wards B, C, D, being exactly similar, 504; lunatic ward, two. The whole of the buildings are connected by a complete arrangement of fire-escape bridges, so that every ward has access to other blocks at each floor level, and these bridges are constructed by brick arching. In the administrative block, right and left of the large entrance hall, are placed male and female receiving wards, each having attached a bathroom, and close by these wards are corridors connecting the medical superintendent's and assistant medical staff houses.

Immediately behind the main corridor is the kitchen, and off this corridor, right and left, are the medical superintendent's office, stores, matron's rooms, workrooms, nurses' and probationers' rooms, dining-rooms, and behind the kitchen are sculleries and servants' hall. On the first floor in the rear are bedrooms for servants, and attached are bathrooms, &c.In the front is the chapel, accommodating 200, and off the main corridor, from this floor, storerooms and tanks in towers are reached.

The basement or lower ground floor of the ward blocks (for, owing to the fall of the land, the back portion is above ground) is chiefly occupied by coal stores, but on the west side are steward's office, meat and milk stores, cellars, &c. Under the main corridor is a subway containing the steam, hot and cold-water pipes, hydrants, electric cables, &c, and the boiler-house is connected to the administrative block by means of a tunnel.

Each ward consists of a small central or administrative ward block, containing stairs, lifts, nurses' lavatories, &c., and from the main corridor at each floor level access to the large wards is gained by disconnecting lobbies or bridges. On entering one finds a dayroom, two isolation wards, a nurses' duty-room, and a linen store. In the tower annexes are the bathrooms and lavatories.

The nurses' home contains separate rooms for seventy-two nurses, superintendent's bed and sitting-rooms, whilst on the ground floor are recreation-rooms, for nurses and probationers, and these two rooms can be thrown into one, when required, for entertainments, &c.

Leyton & Leytonstone

Historical Society