The Edinburgh Royal Maternity and Simpson Memorial Pavilion was a maternity hospital in Lauriston, Edinburgh, Scotland.[1][2] Its services have now been incorporated into the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh at Little France.
| Edinburgh Royal Maternity Hospital and Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion | |
|---|---|
| NHS Lothian | |
 The original hospital building, at 79 Lauriston Place, has been converted into a hotel | |
  Shown in Edinburgh | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Coordinates | 55°56′40″N 3°12′12″W / 55.9444°N 3.2032°W |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | NHS Scotland |
| Type | Specialist |
| Affiliated university | University of Edinburgh Medical School |
| Services | |
| Emergency department | No |
| Speciality | Maternity |
| History | |
| Opened | 1791 or 1793 |
| Closed | 2002 |
| Links | |
| Lists | Hospitals in Scotland |
History
editMidwifery in Edinburgh, as a part of the medical curriculum, began in 1756 with Thomas Young, professor of midwifery.[3] Early provisions for midwifery consisted of four maternity beds at Edinburgh's Royal Infirmary in 1756.[4] Young's predecessor, Alexander Hamilton, was responsible for establishing the independent Edinburgh General Lying-in Hospital which afforded students the opportunity for practical experience. ("Lying-in" is an archaic term for childbirth, referring to the long bedrest prescribed for new mothers in their postpartum confinement.) It was based at Park Place[5] and opened in either 1791[6] or 1793.[4] It became known as the Edinburgh Royal Maternity Hospital in 1846.[7]
In 1879, using funds collected to commemorate Sir James Young Simpson's contribution to obstetrics, a purpose-built maternity hospital was opened in Edinburgh, to provide a facility where the poor could access medical supervision for childbirth.[4] It was named the Edinburgh Royal Maternity and Simpson Memorial Hospital.[7] The Married Women's Pavilion, which was located in the west wing under the original plans by architects MacGibbon and Ross, had to be postponed in 1879 due to insufficient funds.[8] It was eventually opened by Lady Candida Louise Hay, 10th Marchioness of Tweeddale in 1895.[8]
By 1910, the capacity of the facility was under strain, and following the First World War, the hospital expanded into several flats in nearby Lauriston Park and Graham Street to cope with increased demand.[9] Britain's first ante-natal clinic began at this site in 1915, to be followed, in 1926, by a post-natal clinic when the facility amalgamated with the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.[10]
The new Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion, which was designed by Thomas W. Turnbull in the classical style, opened in 1939.[11] The initial provisions of the hospital consisted of two lying–in wards, a labour ward, a dispensary, kitchens and administrative quarters, as well as quarters for the matron, two house surgeons and seven or eight nurses.[12]
The facility was directly managed by the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, within a grouping of hospitals that would become the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh National Health Service Trust in 1994.[10] After services transferred to the Simpson Centre for Reproductive Health at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh's new site in Little France, the Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion closed in March 2002.[13]
Notable births
edit- Actor Sean Connery - 25 August 1930.[14]
- The Beatles' original bassist Stuart Sutcliffe - 23 June 1940.[15]
- Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson - 10 November 1978.[16]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ LHSA. "Edinburgh Royal Maternity Hospital and Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion collection summary" (PDF). lhsa.lib.ed.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
- ^ "EH3 9HZ - Check My Postcode". checkmypostcode.uk. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
- ^ "University of Edinburgh Archive and Manuscript Collections | Special Collections | Lecture notes on Midwifery (Professor Thomas Young, 1726-1783), taken down by person unknown". archives.collections.ed.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
- ^ a b c LHSA. "Edinburgh Royal Maternity Hospital and Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion collection summary". lhsa.lib.ed.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
- ^ "Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion". Historic Hospitals. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- ^ Blackden, Stephanie (1981). A Tradition of Excellence: A Brief History of Medicine in Edinburgh. Britain: Duncan, Flockhart & Co. Ltd. p. 14.
- ^ a b "Edinburgh Royal Maternity Hospital and Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion". National Archives. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
- ^ a b LHSA. "Edinburgh Royal Maternity Hospital and Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion history". lhsa.lib.ed.ac.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
- ^ "Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh History". nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
- ^ a b LHSA. "Edinburgh Royal Maternity Hospital and Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion collection summary". lhsa.lib.ed.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
- ^ "Former Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, now Quartermile". Historic Hospitals. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- ^ "LHB3/3A Edinburgh Royal Maternity Hospital and Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion, 1768-2000" (PDF). Lothian Health Services Archive. Lothian Health Services Archive. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
- ^ "Births mark end of an era and a new start". The Scotsman. 4 March 2002. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- ^ Pendreigh, Brian (1 November 2020). "Obituary: The Sean Connery I knew". The Scotsman. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
- ^ "The Beatles Bible - Stuart Sutcliffe is born". Beatles Bible. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- ^ "Scots Conservative leader Ruth Davidson to contest Lothians seat". STV. 6 August 2015. Archived from the original on 16 August 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.