Chelsea Hospital

“ A pensioner belonging to Chelsea Hospital, a man of colour, was passing along at the time with a can of soup and a small loaf of bread, which he had just previously received as his dinner allowance, some of the men being allowed to have private lodgings. The pensioner gazed for a moment at the wretched object of misery, and then, with a heart full of sympathy, gave him some of the soup and bread. Such an act of benevolence excited the attention of a very young man, who, whenever he met the kind-hearted black pensioner, always felt a feeling of respect for him. ”

“ Nothing could have been more judicious than to enclose some of the grounds of Chelsea Hospital for the holding of that excellent exhibition known as "The Sodgeries." The inhabitants of South Belgravia, Old Chelsea, Pimlico, and Battersea must bless the Authorities for their kindness in selecting a site so close to their doors. That the Exhibition may be properly appreciated, it may be worth while to glance hurriedly at its contents. A difficult matter to hurry when one comes to the Ambulance Department. ”

“ The most noticeable thing, however, is Chelsea Hospital, which, like that of Greenwich, was founded, I believe, by Charles II. (whose bronze statue, in the guise of an old Roman, stands in the centre of the quadrangle) , and appropriated as a home for aged and infirm soldiers of the British army. The edifices are of three stories, with windows in the high roofs, and are built of dark, sombre brick, with stone edgings and facings. The effect is by no means that of grandeur (which is somewhat disagreeably an attribute of Greenwich Hospital) , but a quiet and venerable neatness. ”

“ Chelsea Hospital is generally considered to be a fine specimen of Sir Christopher Wren’s professional abilities. It possesses a superior air of grandeur, more spacious arrangement of the principal parts, greater attention to the central points, for grace and effect, and a higher degree of chastity maintained in the whole structure than any public design entered into by Sir Christopher Wren, or his immediate successors.
At the grand entrance, from the King’s Road, are four detached stone piers, with breaks, with an entablature, on which are military trophies. ”

“ Whatever may be the subjects to which we are indifferent, most people—or they must be very miserable dogs indeed—care about the duration of human life. Now if the records of Chelsea Hospital are true, here the true temple of longevity is to be found. What think you of the following dates, which Mr. Timbs obtained from careful inspection of the Hospital burial-ground:—
The ages of the pensioners seem to vary from sixty to ninety, and in 1850 there were said to be two old fellows in the Hospital who had attained the age of 104. ”

“ It is within the reach of every inhabitant of London, and now as our country friends have the benefit of frequent railway excursions, almost every person in the country, may at any time give this home of England’s worn out and gallant defenders a personal inspection. Still it is necessary that a general sketch of the building and grounds should be given. I have therefore extracted most of the following particulars from Mr. Gleig’s admirable work.
Chelsea Hospital occupies, with the buildings, courts, gardens, and offices attached, an area of something more than 54 square acres. ”

“ Cheyne Walk and the old church, with its red-brick tower, and the new Embankment, are all so close that they seem part and parcel of the King's Road. The great Hospital is within five minutes' walk, and sometimes the honest veterans themselves may be seen wandering in the road. The air is heavy with associations and memories. You can actually smell the fragrance of the new-made Chelsea buns, fresh from the oven, just as you would a hundred years ago. ”

“ Examples of the original Chelsea ware (see Ceramics) are of great value.
Of buildings and institutions the most notable is Chelsea Royal Hospital for invalid soldiers, initiated by Charles II. (according to tradition on the suggestion of Nell Gwynne) , and opened in 1694. The hospital itself accommodates upwards of 500 men, but a system of out-pensioning was found necessary from the outset, and now relieves large numbers throughout the empire. The picturesque building by Wren stands in extensive grounds, which include the former Ranelagh Gardens. ”

“ Chelsea Hospital, a noble edifice erected for the invalids in the land servive. The original building on this spot was a college founded by Dr. Sutkliff, Dean of Exeter, in the reign of King James I. for the study of Polemic divinity, and was endowed in order to support a Provost and Fellows, for the instruction of youth in that branch of learning. The King, who laid the first stone, gave many of the materials, and promoted the work by a large sum of money, and the clergy were very liberal upon the same occasion; but the sum settled upon the foundation by Dr. ”

“ The chief fact about the hospital is that it is absolutely free. The disease itself is the passport of admittance. In this respect there is only one other hospital in London like it, and that is the Royal Free Hospital in Gray’s Inn Road, which was founded by the same benefactor. 63 The small chapel attached, in which there is daily service, was built about ten years ago, and consecrated by the Bishop of London. There is almost an acre of garden. ”

“ He remained a governor till his death, on March 17th, 1774. p. 182Another staunch supporter was the celebrated anatomist, Cheselden, the friend of Pope and other literary men. Some of his greatest operations were performed here. He was also surgeon to Chelsea Hospital, and in its graveyard lies buried.
The hospital gradually increased in wealth and usefulness, till in 1784 the governors issued advertisements asking for increased aid to prevent its decay. ”

“ If by any chance [Pg 83] they cannot go to school, or the carriage does not come, they cry bitterly. There are other schools begun now like this one, so perhaps in time all the children who are invalids can go to school.
Of course, there are some cases where a child is too ill to attend any school, and then it must go to a hospital. There is one of these hospitals in Chelsea, and it looks out over the great gray river Thames. It is a large red-brick house, and boys and girls who can never get well can be taken in here and made comfortable, and saved as much pain as possible. ”

“ Overlooking the burial-ground is the Hospital for Women founded in 1871. It is a red-brick building with ornate stone facing. 59 Beyond it is the Consumption Hospital, which is only an off-shoot of the main building over the road in the borough of Kensington. Arthur Street (formerly Charles Street) , a few yards further on, leads us into the South Parade, which forms the northern side of Trafalgar Square. The square is wide, with a garden in the centre. At the south-western corner it is adjacent to Carlyle Square, which faces the King’s Road. ”

“ The life led by the old men is peculiar, partaking as it does somewhat of a military character. The side-wings of the Hospital, built of red brick faced with stone, and darkened by age, are 360 feet in length and four stories in height. Each story contains one ward, which runs the whole length of the wing. The wide, shallow old staircase, the high doors, the wainscot, are all of oak coloured by age. The younger men and the least infirm occupy the highest wards, which look out upon the quadrangles by means of windows on the roof. ”

“ The establishment is without any endowment, and is entirely dependent on voluntary subscriptions. From time to time the building has been added to and adapted, so that there is little left to tell that it was once an old house. Only the thickness of the walls between the wards and the old-fashioned contrivances of some of the windows betray the fact that the building is not modern. Children are received at any age up to sixteen; some are mere babies. Across Tite Street, exactly opposite, is a building containing six beds for paying patients in connection with the Victoria Hospital. ”

“ At twenty-one you might possibly be admitted to the Chelsea Infirmary, or to one or two of the children’s hospitals. You should address your application to “The Matron, —— Hospital.” An infirmary is to be recommended in cases where girls are not able to pay to be trained, but require to earn something from the first. It may be worth while to add that a large infirmary is being erected in connection with the Bethnal Green Union, and there will be openings in it for a certain number of probationers. ”

“ The hospital is an unspeakable boon to the poor of the district; it has seventy beds, and a very extensive out-patients’ department, as well as a convalescent home at Broadstairs. Visitors can visit it daily between 2 and 4 p.m., and all parents must owe it their gratitude for its devotion to the cause of all children in illness.
The Physick Garden entrance faces Swan Walk, and a ring at the resounding bell in the wall will bring an answering gardener, who will admit the inquiring visitor ”

“ The buildings at each place are more like palaces than hospitals, and great care is taken to render the objects of the institution comfortable in their situations. The hospital at Chelsea, with its appendages, covers above forty acres of ground. There are three hundred and thirty-six in-door pensioners, and an unlimited number of out-door pensioners, who receive an annual allowance of seven pounds twelve shillings and sixpence each. ”

“ At different times the names of many artists have been associated with this street, which is still a favourite one with men of the brush. The great block of studios—the Tower House—rises up to an immense height on the right, almost opposite to the Victoria Hospital for Children. The nucleus of this hospital is ancient Gough House, one of the few old houses still remaining in Chelsea. John Vaughan, third and last Earl of Carbery, built it in the beginning of the eighteenth century. ”

“ Wickham Flower, and had been previously carried on a few doors lower down in Cheyne Walk. Voluntary subscriptions and donations form a large part of the income, and besides this a small payment is required from the parents and friends of the little patients. The hospital inside is bright and airy. The great wide windows run down to the ground, and over one of the cots hangs a large print of Holman Hunt’s “Light of the World,” a gift from the artist himself, who formerly lived in a house on this site and in it painted the original. ”

“ On Hamilton’s map (corrected to 1717) we find marked “Mr. Franklin’s House,” not on the site of the present Row, but opposite the north-western corner of Burton’s Court, at the corner of the present St. Leonard’s Terrace and Smith Street. The name Franklin has been long connected with Chelsea, for in 1790 we find John Franklin and Mary Franklin bequeathing money to the poor of Chelsea. At the south end is an old public-house, with overhanging story and red-tiled roof; it is called the Royal Hospital, and contrasts quaintly with its towering modern red-brick neighbours. ”

“ The scene it represents is enacted every Sunday in the Hospital at Chelsea. Twenty thousand men have ended their days peacefully in the semi-military life which in their long service has become second nature to them, and 500,000 have passed through the list of out-pensioners. ”

“ Thomas' Hospitals, now in process of construction at the Surrey Side of the Thames, in Lambeth, opposite the Houses of Parliament, will combine a number of hospitals for Special Diseases, and will accommodate about 2,000 patients, with as many beds, and will have an income of £50,000 a year, or more.
It is impossible to think of any disease, complaint, deformity, or injury to any member or organ of the body, which has not its special hospital or institution for relief or cure, in the English metropolis. ”

“ Our hospitals in London are always crowded, the waiting-lists mount up till it seems hopeless to attack them, and all the time it is because we have no base hospital down in the country to which our patients might be sent to recover. I wonder how long it will be before each of the great London hospitals has its own base down in the country, with its own motor ambulances and its own ambulance coaches to carry its patients in comfort by rail to surroundings where they could recover as can never be possible in the middle of the London slums? ”

“ He was of opinion that in such cases a hospital should be required to terminate its own cases and not dump them off on other institutions and stated that at the Speedway Hospital there is no hesitation about reporting such cases as they are found, and if officers who transfer patients would give specific reasons as to why patients need hospital treatment, there will not be so many men coming into hospitals who do not require treatment anywhere. ”

“ The current system of large hospitals is abandoned, as being equivalent to 'warehousing diseases on the largest possible scale;' while special hospitals are deemed unnecessary—'as if the different organs could walk out of the body and present themselves for separate treatment.' Each hospital has an ambulance ready to be sent out to bring any injured persons to the institution; the ambulance drives straight into the hospital, where a bed of the same height on silent wheels receives the patient, and conveys him or her to a ward. ”