Middlesex Hospital

The Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital in Fitzrovia, central London. It began in 1745 as the Middlesex Infirmary on Windmill Street with just fifteen beds for the poor. By 1747 it had added the first lying-in beds in England for maternity care. Wards were later named after governors and staff such as Percy and Clayton. A new building on Mortimer Street opened in 1757 and was rebuilt again between 1928 and 1935 after the Duke of York laid the foundation stone in 1928. The hospital became known for specialist services including the Bernhard Baron children’s ward with colourful nursery-rhyme tiles. In 1987 the Broderip Ward opened as the UK’s first dedicated HIV/AIDS unit, opened by Diana, Princess of Wales. The medical school, founded in 1746, merged with UCL in 1987 to form the University College and Middlesex School of Medicine. The Courtauld Institute of Biochemistry opened in 1928 with support from Samuel Courtauld. The only surviving building is the Fitzrovia Chapel, built between 1891 and 1892 in Italian Gothic and Romanesque styles. The chapel was restored in 2024 and used for the King’s Christmas message. The site now forms part of Fitzroy Place, a mixed-use development with homes and offices.