Central London Throat Nose and Ear Hospital

The Central London Throat Nose and Ear Hospital was founded in 1874 by Lennox Browne (who had previously served as assistant to Dr Morell Mackenzie at the Hospital for Diseases of the Throat in Golden Square), Llewellyn Thomas (a physician who had worked with Lennox Browne at Golden Square), Captain Alfred Hutton (a friend of Lennox Browne), George Wallis (a dentist), and Ernest Turner (architect of the hospital).

The hospital initially opened as a dispensary in Manchester Street (now Argyle Street), but demand for its services was such that in 1875 it moved across the road to its current location on Gray's Inn Road. The very poor were treated free of charge; however, other patients were expected to contribute towards the cost of their treatment. The hospital was also financed by subscriptions, grants from the King's Fund, and fundraising events supported by the actors and singers who benefited from the expertise of its staff.

The Central London Throat Nose and Ear Hospital published its first Annual Report in 1876, in order to publicise its work and encourage new subscribers. The report included a report of the ceremony to lay the foundation stone of the hospital (reprinted from The Times 17th September 1875) and an article describing the work of the hospital which had appeared in All The Year Round (25th July 1874).

By 1885, it was clear that the hospital needed to expand its premises, and in 1893 the Committee were able to purchase some adjoining land. Building work began in 1895. In 1904, the King's Fund put forward a proposal to merge the five ENT hospitals in London: the Central London Throat Nose and Ear Hospital in Gray's Inn Road, the Hospital for Diseases of the Throat in Golden Square, the Royal Ear Hospital in Huntley Street, the London Throat Hospital in Portland Street, and the Metropolitan Ear Nose and Throat Hospital in Fitzroy Square. The Central London Hospital did not support the proposal, partly because it would have resulted in the sacking of Richard Kershaw, and in 1905 its grant from the King's Fund was removed. Negotiations were opened with the Royal Ear Hospital and the London Throat Hospital, but by 1913 these had broken down, and the latter had agreed to merge instead with the Golden Square Hospital. Further plans for expansion had been drawn up in 1902, and the Central London Hospital decided to proceed in the hope that the increased numbers of patients which would result from larger premises would secure the future of the Gray's Inn Road site.

Despite losing many of its staff to active service during the First World War, the Central London managed to continue its work. In 1916 a 20 bed annexe was opened to treat soldiers suffering the effects of shellshock and deafness caused by explosions. At the end of the war the annexe remained, increasing the number of in-patient beds to 43. The hospital expanded further in 1929, when the new Princess Louise wing opened, containing an out-patients department, operating theatre, dispensary, pathology laboratory and rooms for the students. The hospital had been hiring St Jude's church hall for over 20 years, and when the church closed in 1935, the Central London Hospital put forward a proposal to acquire the site. Nos. 57-67 Wicklow Street had been purchased for the Central London Hospital in 1903, with a view to providing accommodation or nurses. A house in Coram Street was also purchased for this purpose after the First World War, and furnished with the assistance of the Ladies' Association (the Association's President Lady Riddell provided a piano).

The General Nursing Council was established in 1919, and soon afterwards it recognised the Central London Hospital as a Preliminary Training School for nurses. Probationers spent 2 years at the hospital, before moving down the road to the Royal Free to complete their training. The School of Nursing was established in 1930, and offered 12 month courses and 6 month courses (to train as an SRN and SEN respectively).

Referring doctors had always been encouraged to attend the hospital, and observe the operations performed on their patients, and it was perhaps inevitable that this tradition should develop into more formal postgraduate teaching. From 1885 Lennox Browne and his Dundas Grant were giving lectures on otology, rhinology and laryngology to doctors and medical students (many of whom offered their services to the hospital in return for practical instruction). By the mid-1890s, a more systematic syllabus of lectures had been arranged, with Dr Wyatt Wingrave (formerly the hospital's pathologist) providing teaching in anatomy, physiology and pathology. Although Dundas Grant retired in 1913, the Central London continued to provide teaching throughout the First World War, and found space for a lecture theatre and classrooms. When the Royal College of Surgeons instituted a Diploma in Laryngology and Otology in 1919, the Central London Hospital was the only institution to provide the specialist practical instruction necessary to qualify for it, drawing students from Guys Hospital and elsewhere.

The hospital benefited from the long service of several men: Lennox Browne who worked as surgeon to the hospital until 1900 (and consulting surgeon until his death in 1902), Alfred Hutton, who served as Chairman of the Committee 1874-1905 and Treasurer 1874-1904, and Richard Kershaw, who served as Secretary 1877-1927 (and also Dispenser/Almoner for several years).

From its early days, the Central London Throat Nose and Ear Hospital also had a Royal Patron, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. His sister Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll also showed great interest in the hospital, and became President in 1909. In 1928, she laid the foundation stone of the new wing to be named in her honour. She also opened a convalescent home at Ealing (in a house left to the hospital by its Vice President, Col. Sir John Young) in 1933, and laid the foundation stone for the new nurses' home in Swinton Street in 1939.

In 1939, the decision was taken to amalgamate with Golden Square, with the approval of the King's Fund. The outbreak of war delayed the merger in practical terms, but a joint Committee of Management was formed immediately. The Gray's Inn Road site was fortunate not to be damaged during the war, and provided a temporary home for the Hospital for Nervous Diseases, whose premises had been badly damaged.