St Thomas' Hospital according to Christopher Hibbert dates from 1106, and was named after St Thomas after 1173. It has a long history of fire, rebuilding, re opening, and re-naming. Dick Whittington, of the old story, added a chamber to it, and noted that it was for young women who had done amiss. For a time, the hospital had a bawdy reputation. It did not have a physician until 1556. The founder of its sister hospital Guy's, Thomas Guy, also part-funded St Thomas' for a time.
In 1859, the site was acquired by the Charing Cross Railway Company for London Bridge Station. A new site for the hospital was found next to Westminister Bridge and the new buildings opened in 1871. Florence Nightingale approved the plans and established there the Nightingale School of Nursing.
The Florence Nightingale Museum opened in 1989 and features in a small space an impressive exhibition of photographs, letters, and exhibits which bring to life exactly what Nightingale accomplished.
Some of the old grand towered hospital buildings were bombed in World War II. Others remain, walled off from the riverside walk. A new, airy, building stands just south of the Bridge, with a pleasant modern fountain, which is sometimes switched on. It may not have a bawdy reputation, but personal experience suggests that a lot of romance still took place within living memory in the nurses' quarters.
An justly award-winning example of new media exists in the consultants' clinic dealing with rheumatism and other bone diseases. An information kiosk, designed to look like a livingroom TV, gently and with immense tact helps people understand the implications of their diagnosis. Designed by Dr Julia Schofield in association with a hospital consultant.
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