Acland Hospital
Encyclopedia
The Acland Hospital was a private nursing home
and hospital
in central North Oxford
, England
, located in a prominent position at the southern end of the Banbury Road
.
and was supervised by Mrs. Rutherford Smith. The new buildings for the Sarah Acland Home were opened on May 12, 1879 by then-Prince of Wales
and later King of the United Kingdom, George V
. In her 1893 autobiography
Recollections of Life and Work, Louisa Twining noted that the facility provided "a most urgent need in the city". The 1984 book The History of the University of Oxford lists the official foundation of the Acland Nursing Home as 1882, and describes it as a "leading institution" of Oxford, which had close ties to Oxford University. A new wing of the hospital was opened in October 1906 which contained operating rooms and sterilization equipment, and the Queen
sent a congratulatory letter to the Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford, Dr. Osler.
Sir Henry Acland retired from his Regius Professorship at Oxford in 1894, and he apportioned a large percentage of a GPB3,000 testimonial to the Home for Nurses for expansion. In 1895 the hospital functioned as "an institution that provides district nurses and medical appliances for the poor, and maintains private nurses and a medical and surgical home to which patients unable to afford the ordinary fees are admitted on a reduced scale of charge." Writing in Sir Henry Wentworth Acland, Bart., K.C.B., F.R.S., Regius Professor of Medicine in the University of Oxford
: A Memoir which was published after Sir Henry Acland's death, co-author James Beresford Atlay commented that Acland would have been pleased with the way the institution had flourished from 1879 to 1903: "Dr. Acland … had had daily evidence of the misery suffered by the rich and poor alike in the absence of trained nursing. The memorial to his wife could have assumed no form more acceptable to him." Atlay wrote in the 1903 work: "The 'Sarah Acland Home' is now one of the most flourishing and valued institutions in Oxford
. So great is its usefulness, so indispensable do its nurses seem, that one marvels how the town or the University had existed without it."
worked at the hospital in 1943. Poet John Betjeman
had a cyst removed at the Acland in August 1945. Author C. S. Lewis
entered the Acland on 15 July 1963 and suffered a heart attack there. J. R. R. Tolkien
visited him there when he was convalescing.
According to The Victoria History of Oxford, the Acland Nursing Home was the "only hospital in Oxford which did not join the National Health Service in 1948". The Acland Home was renamed as the Acland Hospital in 1964.
In a 2003 review of Oxford hospitals in The Sunday Times
, the reviewer commented: "The hospital misses out narrowly on more of our quality awards for its diagnostic services and physiotherapy." In 2004, The Sunday Times reported that the Acland Hospital had 36 beds, and consultants in 44 specialties. In 2004 the Banbury Road site was sold to Keble College
, who are using the former hospital as graduate accommodation with plans for further development. The hospital moved to Headington
on a site adjoining the John Radcliffe Hospital
, a suburb in east Oxford
, when it was renamed The Manor Hospital. The Manor Hospital site was formerly the grounds of the Oxford United Football Club (OUFC). The Manor Hospital has 71 rooms, an intensive care unit
with seven beds, six operating theatres, and CT
and MRI scanners.
(1811–1881), librarian of the Bodleian
, was leased from Lincoln College for 99 years. A new wing for paying patients was added 1895-96, designed by a leading architect of the time, Sir Thomas Graham Jackson
in conjunction with Douglas Strutt Galton
(1822–1899), a great authority on government hospitals and cousin of Sir Francis Galton
(1822–1911). When it opened it was said to be the first Nursing Home or 'Home Hospital' for paying patients to be built especially for the purpose, all the earlier nursing homes being merely adapted houses. A second extension by Robert Langton Cole was built between 1905 and 1906, and opened on 13 October 1906, the bulk of the funds having been raised by Sarah Angelina Acland. In his 1899 work The Cathedral Church of Oxford, Percy Dearmer
described the building as a "medallion in statuary marble, set in giallo antico". In 1937, a neo-Georgian frontage was added by R. Fielding Dodd.
To the south is another building by Jackson, originally the location of the Oxford High School for Girls and later an annexe of the Oxford University Department of Metallurgy
(now the Department of Materials). These are two of the few buildings in North Oxford designed by Jackson. His other notable buildings in Oxford include Hertford College
(including the Bridge of Sighs
) amongst other college buildings, the Radcliffe Science Library
, the Examination Schools
and the cricket pavilion
in the University Parks
. To the north are two Queen Anne style
houses, designed by J. J. Stevenson in 1880–1.
Nursing home
A nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...
and hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
in central North Oxford
North Oxford
North Oxford is a suburban part of the city of Oxford in England. It was owned for many centuries largely by St John's College, Oxford and many of the area's Victorian houses were initially sold on leasehold by the College....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, located in a prominent position at the southern end of the Banbury Road
Banbury Road
Banbury Road is a major arterial road in Oxford, England, running from St Giles' at the south end, north towards Banbury through the leafy suburb of North Oxford and Summertown, with its local shopping centre. Parallel and to the west is the Woodstock Road, which it meets at the junction with St...
.
1878-1903
It was founded in memory of Sarah Acland (wife of the Oxford academic and physician Sir Henry Acland) who died on 25 October 1878, as the Sarah Acland Home for Nurses. After Sarah Acland's death her friends decided that an institution for nurses would be an appropriate way to memorialize her, and they solicited donations and collected GBP4,000 from members of the community. Work began quickly and a district nurse associated with the new institution was out working in the field a few weeks after the project began. In 1879 a meeting was held announcing the "Sarah Acland Institution for Nurses", which was initially situated at 37 Wellington Square, OxfordWellington Square, Oxford
Wellington Square is a garden square in central Oxford, England, a continuation northwards of St John Street. In the centre of the square is a small park, Wellington Square Gardens, owned by the University of Oxford...
and was supervised by Mrs. Rutherford Smith. The new buildings for the Sarah Acland Home were opened on May 12, 1879 by then-Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
and later King of the United Kingdom, George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
. In her 1893 autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
Recollections of Life and Work, Louisa Twining noted that the facility provided "a most urgent need in the city". The 1984 book The History of the University of Oxford lists the official foundation of the Acland Nursing Home as 1882, and describes it as a "leading institution" of Oxford, which had close ties to Oxford University. A new wing of the hospital was opened in October 1906 which contained operating rooms and sterilization equipment, and the Queen
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
sent a congratulatory letter to the Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford, Dr. Osler.
Sir Henry Acland retired from his Regius Professorship at Oxford in 1894, and he apportioned a large percentage of a GPB3,000 testimonial to the Home for Nurses for expansion. In 1895 the hospital functioned as "an institution that provides district nurses and medical appliances for the poor, and maintains private nurses and a medical and surgical home to which patients unable to afford the ordinary fees are admitted on a reduced scale of charge." Writing in Sir Henry Wentworth Acland, Bart., K.C.B., F.R.S., Regius Professor of Medicine in the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
: A Memoir which was published after Sir Henry Acland's death, co-author James Beresford Atlay commented that Acland would have been pleased with the way the institution had flourished from 1879 to 1903: "Dr. Acland … had had daily evidence of the misery suffered by the rich and poor alike in the absence of trained nursing. The memorial to his wife could have assumed no form more acceptable to him." Atlay wrote in the 1903 work: "The 'Sarah Acland Home' is now one of the most flourishing and valued institutions in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
. So great is its usefulness, so indispensable do its nurses seem, that one marvels how the town or the University had existed without it."
1903-2004
Writer Mary RenaultMary Renault
Mary Renault born Eileen Mary Challans, was an English writer best known for her historical novels set in Ancient Greece...
worked at the hospital in 1943. Poet John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
had a cyst removed at the Acland in August 1945. Author C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
entered the Acland on 15 July 1963 and suffered a heart attack there. J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
visited him there when he was convalescing.
According to The Victoria History of Oxford, the Acland Nursing Home was the "only hospital in Oxford which did not join the National Health Service in 1948". The Acland Home was renamed as the Acland Hospital in 1964.
In a 2003 review of Oxford hospitals in The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
, the reviewer commented: "The hospital misses out narrowly on more of our quality awards for its diagnostic services and physiotherapy." In 2004, The Sunday Times reported that the Acland Hospital had 36 beds, and consultants in 44 specialties. In 2004 the Banbury Road site was sold to Keble College
Keble College, Oxford
Keble College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to the south by Museum Road, and to the west by Blackhall...
, who are using the former hospital as graduate accommodation with plans for further development. The hospital moved to Headington
Headington
Headington is a suburb of Oxford, England. It is at the top of Headington Hill overlooking the city in the Thames Valley below. The life of the large residential area is centred upon London Road, the main road between London and Oxford.-History:...
on a site adjoining the John Radcliffe Hospital
John Radcliffe Hospital
The John Radcliffe Hospital is a large tertiary teaching hospital in Oxford, England.It is the main teaching hospital for Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University. As such, it is a well-developed centre of medical research. It also incorporates the Medical School of the University of Oxford....
, a suburb in east Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, when it was renamed The Manor Hospital. The Manor Hospital site was formerly the grounds of the Oxford United Football Club (OUFC). The Manor Hospital has 71 rooms, an intensive care unit
Intensive Care Unit
thumb|220px|ICU roomAn intensive-care unit , critical-care unit , intensive-therapy unit/intensive-treatment unit is a specialized department in a hospital that provides intensive-care medicine...
with seven beds, six operating theatres, and CT
Computed tomography
X-ray computed tomography or Computer tomography , is a medical imaging method employing tomography created by computer processing...
and MRI scanners.
Architecture
The Acland Home originally occupied houses in Wellington Square. In 1895 Northgate House, the former home of Henry Octavius CoxeHenry Octavius Coxe
Henry Octavius Coxe was an English librarian and scholar.The eighth son of Rev. Richard Coxe & Susan Smith, he was educated at Westminster School and Worcester College, Oxford...
(1811–1881), librarian of the Bodleian
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
, was leased from Lincoln College for 99 years. A new wing for paying patients was added 1895-96, designed by a leading architect of the time, Sir Thomas Graham Jackson
Thomas Graham Jackson
Sir Thomas Graham Jackson, 1st Baronet RA was one of the most distinguished English architects of his generation...
in conjunction with Douglas Strutt Galton
Douglas Strutt Galton
Sir Douglas Strutt Galton KCB, GCB, F.R.S., MStJ, Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur, DCL, LLD was a British engineer.-Education and early life:...
(1822–1899), a great authority on government hospitals and cousin of Sir Francis Galton
Francis Galton
Sir Francis Galton /ˈfrɑːnsɪs ˈgɔːltn̩/ FRS , cousin of Douglas Strutt Galton, half-cousin of Charles Darwin, was an English Victorian polymath: anthropologist, eugenicist, tropical explorer, geographer, inventor, meteorologist, proto-geneticist, psychometrician, and statistician...
(1822–1911). When it opened it was said to be the first Nursing Home or 'Home Hospital' for paying patients to be built especially for the purpose, all the earlier nursing homes being merely adapted houses. A second extension by Robert Langton Cole was built between 1905 and 1906, and opened on 13 October 1906, the bulk of the funds having been raised by Sarah Angelina Acland. In his 1899 work The Cathedral Church of Oxford, Percy Dearmer
Percy Dearmer
Percy Dearmer, was an English priest and liturgist best known as the author of The Parson's Handbook, a liturgical manual for Anglican clergy. A lifelong socialist, he was an early advocate of the public ministry of women and concerned with social justice...
described the building as a "medallion in statuary marble, set in giallo antico". In 1937, a neo-Georgian frontage was added by R. Fielding Dodd.
To the south is another building by Jackson, originally the location of the Oxford High School for Girls and later an annexe of the Oxford University Department of Metallurgy
Department of Materials, University of Oxford
The Department of Materials at the University of Oxford, England was founded in the 1950s as the Department of Metallurgy, by William Hume-Rothery, who was a reader in Oxford's Department of Inorganic Chemistry....
(now the Department of Materials). These are two of the few buildings in North Oxford designed by Jackson. His other notable buildings in Oxford include Hertford College
Hertford College, Oxford
Hertford College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is located in Catte Street, directly opposite the main entrance of the original Bodleian Library. As of 2006, the college had a financial endowment of £52m. There are 612 students , plus various visiting...
(including the Bridge of Sighs
Bridge of Sighs (Oxford)
Hertford Bridge, popularly known as the Bridge of Sighs, is a skyway over New College Lane in Oxford, England.- Misnomer and myth :The bridge is often referred to as the Bridge of Sighs because of its supposed similarity to the famous Bridge of Sighs in Venice...
) amongst other college buildings, the Radcliffe Science Library
Radcliffe Science Library
The Radcliffe Science Library is the main teaching and research science library at the University of Oxford, England.Being officially part of the Bodleian Library, although with a completely separate building, the library holds the Legal Deposit material for the sciences and is thus entitled to...
, the Examination Schools
Examination Schools
The Examination Schools of the University of Oxford are located at 75–81 High Street, Oxford, England.The building was designed by Sir Thomas Jackson , who also designed the cricket pavilion in the University Parks...
and the cricket pavilion
Cricket pavilion
A cricket pavilion is a pavilion at a cricket ground. It is the main building within which the players usually change in dressing rooms and which is the main location for watching the cricket match for members and others...
in the University Parks
University Parks
The Oxford University Parks, more normally the University Parks, or just The Parks to members of the local community, is one large parkland area slightly northeast of the Oxford city centre in England...
. To the north are two Queen Anne style
Queen Anne Style architecture
The Queen Anne Style in Britain means either the English Baroque architectural style roughly of the reign of Queen Anne , or a revived form that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century...
houses, designed by J. J. Stevenson in 1880–1.