Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1887-1972 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
2 linear metres
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
The North-Western Fever Hospital, Lawn Road, Hampstead, was founded in 1870 as the Hampstead Smallpox Hospital. However, owing to pressure from local residents smallpox patients were removed from metropolitan areas shortly afterwards, and the hospital became the North-Western Fever Hospital, managed by the Metropolitan Asylums Board. The main buildings of the hospital were built in 1892, set in large grounds.
The hospital was in great demand during the frequent outbreaks of diseases such as polio in the first half of the twentieth century, and one ward was used by patients in iron lungs. In 1944, when the Goodenough Report set guidelines for the optimal number of beds that should be available to provide a proper training for medical students, the Dean of the London School of Medicine for Women, Katharine Lloyd-Williams, approached the London County Council about the possibility of allowing students access to North-Western Fever Hospital beds to augment the number of cases already available to them at the Royal Free Hospital in Gray's Inn Road.
The Hospital joined Royal Free Hospital Group on the inception of the National Health Service in 1948, and was renamed the Lawn Road or North-Western Branch of the Royal Free Hospital. As fever cases declined in Britain, the remaining infectious disease beds were transferred to Coppetts Wood Hospital in 1963, and the Lawn Road branch of the RFH became used for general cases. Throughout the 1960s the branch achieved worldwide recognition as the place where the first kidney transplants were performed, and also the hospital which pioneered home dialysis. When the Royal Free was rebuilt in Hampstead, the land on which the North-Western Fever Hospital had stood was used, and the remaining parts of the old building were demolished in 1973. The 'new' Royal Free still has a 'Lawn Road' Division, dealing with surgery, communicable diseases, renal services, and therapy services.
Repository
Archival history
The records in this collection come from diverse sources, most with provenance unrecorded. However, it is clear that some administrative records were transferred to the Archive at the time the buildings were demolished in 1974, and many of the patient records were transferred to Coppetts Wood when that hospital took over responsibility for fever cases in the 1960s. The records were transferred along with the rest of the Royal Free Hospital and associated collections from the Royal Free Hospital Archives Centre to London Metropolitan Archives in 2013.
GB 0074 H71/NWF 1887-1972 Sub fonds 2 linear metres North-Western Fever Hospital
Royal Free Hospital, Lawn Road Branch
The North-Western Fever Hospital, Lawn Road, Hampstead, was founded in 1870 as the Hampstead Smallpox Hospital. However, owing to pressure from local residents smallpox patients were removed from metropolitan areas shortly afterwards, and the hospital became the North-Western Fever Hospital, managed by the Metropolitan Asylums Board. The main buildings of the hospital were built in 1892, set in large grounds.
The hospital was in great demand during the frequent outbreaks of diseases such as polio in the first half of the twentieth century, and one ward was used by patients in iron lungs. In 1944, when the Goodenough Report set guidelines for the optimal number of beds that should be available to provide a proper training for medical students, the Dean of the London School of Medicine for Women, Katharine Lloyd-Williams, approached the London County Council about the possibility of allowing students access to North-Western Fever Hospital beds to augment the number of cases already available to them at the Royal Free Hospital in Gray's Inn Road.
The Hospital joined Royal Free Hospital Group on the inception of the National Health Service in 1948, and was renamed the Lawn Road or North-Western Branch of the Royal Free Hospital. As fever cases declined in Britain, the remaining infectious disease beds were transferred to Coppetts Wood Hospital in 1963, and the Lawn Road branch of the RFH became used for general cases. Throughout the 1960s the branch achieved worldwide recognition as the place where the first kidney transplants were performed, and also the hospital which pioneered home dialysis. When the Royal Free was rebuilt in Hampstead, the land on which the North-Western Fever Hospital had stood was used, and the remaining parts of the old building were demolished in 1973. The 'new' Royal Free still has a 'Lawn Road' Division, dealing with surgery, communicable diseases, renal services, and therapy services.
The records in this collection come from diverse sources, most with provenance unrecorded. However, it is clear that some administrative records were transferred to the Archive at the time the buildings were demolished in 1974, and many of the patient records were transferred to Coppetts Wood when that hospital took over responsibility for fever cases in the 1960s. The records were transferred along with the rest of the Royal Free Hospital and associated collections from the Royal Free Hospital Archives Centre to London Metropolitan Archives in 2013.
Deposited in December 2013.
Records of the North-Western Fever Hospital (NWFH), (later the Lawn Road or North-Western Branch of the Royal Free Hospital), 1887-1972, comprising: Nursing Staff Registers, containing service records for nurses and ward orderlies, 1887-1951; Nurse training records, for probationer and student nurses trained at NWFH, 1937-1946; Domestic Staff Registers, containing service records for domestic staff, including housekeeping, laundry and catering staff, 1887-1923.
Royal Free Hospital, Lawn Road (or North Western) Branch: In-patient Registers, 1965-1972; Patients Property Register, 1944-1962; Joint Consultative Staff Committee minutes, 1951-1954.
Records are arranged according to originating department or committee.
These records are available for public inspection, although records containing personal information are subject to access restrictions under the UK Data Protection Act, 1998.
Copyright is held by the depositor.
English
Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm
The majority of records in this collection are nursing records. Most administrative and patient records dating from before the Hospital became part of the Royal Free Group in 1948, can be found under reference H35/NW. Administrative records relating to Lawn Road are integrated into the Royal Free Hospital archive collection under reference H71/RF. There are also some patient case notes, and photographs, from the Lawn Road renal unit in the Royal Free Hospital collection.
An Illustrated History of the Royal Free Hospital by Lynne A Amidon, published by the Special Trustees of the Royal Free Hospital, London, 1996.
Compiled Jan 2001, revised by Alan Kucia as part of the RSLP AIM 25 Project. Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), 2nd edition, 1999 and National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997. Created 15 Mar 2001, revised Nov 2001 and May 2014. England Europe Hampstead Health services Hospitals London Medical institutions Medical personnel Medical profession Medical sciences Medical treatment North-Western Fever Hospital Nursing Paramedical personnel Paramedical personnel training Patients Personnel Royal Free Hospital, Lawn Road Branch Social sciences Social welfare Surgery Therapy UK Vocational training subjects Western Europe People by occupation People Camden
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Deposited in December 2013.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Records of the North-Western Fever Hospital (NWFH), (later the Lawn Road or North-Western Branch of the Royal Free Hospital), 1887-1972, comprising: Nursing Staff Registers, containing service records for nurses and ward orderlies, 1887-1951; Nurse training records, for probationer and student nurses trained at NWFH, 1937-1946; Domestic Staff Registers, containing service records for domestic staff, including housekeeping, laundry and catering staff, 1887-1923.
Royal Free Hospital, Lawn Road (or North Western) Branch: In-patient Registers, 1965-1972; Patients Property Register, 1944-1962; Joint Consultative Staff Committee minutes, 1951-1954.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Records are arranged according to originating department or committee.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
These records are available for public inspection, although records containing personal information are subject to access restrictions under the UK Data Protection Act, 1998.
Conditions governing reproduction
Copyright is held by the depositor.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
English
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
The majority of records in this collection are nursing records. Most administrative and patient records dating from before the Hospital became part of the Royal Free Group in 1948, can be found under reference H35/NW. Administrative records relating to Lawn Road are integrated into the Royal Free Hospital archive collection under reference H71/RF. There are also some patient case notes, and photographs, from the Lawn Road renal unit in the Royal Free Hospital collection.
Finding aids
Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Publication note
Notes area
Note
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
- Health services
- Health services » Hospitals
- Medical profession » Medical personnel
- Medical profession
- Medical sciences
- Therapy » Medical treatment
- Medical sciences » Nursing
- Medical profession » Medical personnel » Paramedical personnel
- Health services » Patients
- Personnel
- Social sciences
- Social welfare
- Medical sciences » Surgery
- Therapy
- Vocational training subjects
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), 2nd edition, 1999 and National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
- English