Basic Site Details

Name: Leith Hospital
Town, district or village: Leith
City or county: Edinburgh
Country: Scotland
Parish:  
Status:  
Grid ref:
Notes: 1899 Diamond Jubilee Extensions
LEITH.—The Hospital is to be extended in commemoration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The extension will take the form of an addition to the King-street pavilion, whereby the wards in the south end will be incorporated into the new building, and the present ward of six beds on each flat will be made wards of twenty beds. Day rooms baths, lavatories, and lifts will be provided at the ends of the wards. The present north wards will be utilised for the administrative offices, doctors' and nurses' rooms, kitchen, etc, of the new wards. The extension will allow of an increase of 27 beds in the King-street pavilion, and on completion the hospital will contain in all 102 beds, besides three isolation rooms. The accepted elevation shows a frontage to King-street on the lines of the existing work, but treated in a less severe style, and terminates with a gable and oriel window, with balustrading. Ground on the other side of King- street, opposite the hospital, will be occupied by a new kitchen, laundry, and nurses' home. Plant for steam power will he put down for the kitchen and laundry, and it is intended to provide an installation of the electric light and motive power for lifts, etc. The nurses' home will accommodate thirty nurses. The buildings will be connected with the hospital by a subway under King-street. The total cost of the new buildings, including machinery and plant, is estimated at between £17,000 and £20,000. The plans have been prepared by Mr. W. N. Thomson, architect, Leith. [Building News 27 January 1899 p127]

The home contains separate bedrooms for 33 nurses, dining halls for nurses and servants, a sitting room and a reading room and in the rear of it new offices - a kitchen, laundry, boiler house, engine house and disinfector - have been erected. [British Architect 29 May 1903 Page 397]

Building Type Classification

The building is classified under the following categories:
 ClassificationOriginal classification?Notes
Item 1 of 1Hospital  

Street Addresses

The following street addresses are associated with this building:
 AddressMain entrance?Notes
Item 1 of 3King StreetYes 
Item 2 of 38, Mill LaneYesEarliest Part
Item 3 of 3Taylor GardensYes 

Events

The following date-based events are associated with this building:
 FromToEvent typeNotes
Item 1 of 71850  Original building
Item 2 of 718731875 Northeast extension
Item 3 of 71894  Mill Lane block heightened (architect not known)
Item 4 of 718981903 Large Renaissance-style nurses' home to south, built to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee
Item 5 of 71926  Alterations; new nurses' home; new outpatients' department; new casualty department
Item 6 of 7c. 1934  Reconstruction; new paying patients' and eye wards; additional nurses' home and maids' home
Item 7 of 71984 SurveyFire precaution survey

People

Design and Construction

The following individuals or organisations have carried out design/construction work. Where architects or practices worked together, matching letters appear beside their names in the Partnership Group column.
 NameRolePartnership GroupFromToNotes
Item 1 of 9Peter Hamilton  1850 Original building - Mill Lane block
Item 2 of 9James Simpson  18731875Northeast extension
Item 3 of 9William Nicholas Thomson  18981903Large Renaissance-style nurses' home to south, and ward extensions, built to commemorate Victoria's Diamond Jubilee
Item 4 of 9George Simpson  19231927New wing in Taylor gardens replacing Peddie's poorhouse (see separate entry for the latter) - Taylor Gardens Memorial block
Item 5 of 9James Stewart Johnston B1926 New outpatients' department and new nurses' home - supervised, as assistant to Joseph Marr Johnston
Item 6 of 9Joseph Marr Johnston B1926 Alterations; new nurses' home; new outpatients' department; new casualty department
Item 7 of 9James Stewart Johnston Cc. 1934 Reconstruction; new paying patients' and eye wards; additional nurses' home and maids' home - as Honorary Architect to Leith Hospital
Item 8 of 9Peter Burnett Caird D1984 Fire precaution survey - partner in charge
Item 9 of 9Reiach & Hall D1984 Fire precaution survey

Related Buildings, Structures and Designs

Child Structures

This structure or site has the following component or child structures (click on an item to view details):
 Building NameNotes
Item 1 of 1Leith Hospital, King Edward VII MemorialColonnade and new entrance

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this building:
 Author(s)DateTitlePartPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 4Gifford, John, McWilliam, Colin and Walker, David M1984Edinburgh (The Buildings of Scotland) Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltdp464
Item 2 of 4Hoy, Christine1988A Beacon in Our Town Edinburgh 
Item 3 of 4Kenna and Mooney1983People's Palaces  p133
Item 4 of 4Richardson, HarrietN.D.Scottish Hospitals Survey Unpublished typescript (copy in DMW Archive) 

Periodical References

The following periodicals contain references to this building:
 Periodical NameDateEditionPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 2British Architect29 May 1903  p397
Item 2 of 2Building News27 January 1899  p127 - Diamond Jubilee works

Archive References

The following archives hold material relating to this building:
 SourceArchive nameSource catalogue no.Notes
Item 1 of 4Courtesy of Peter B CairdInformation sent to DSA Sent March 2011
Item 2 of 4Historic Environment ScotlandListed Buildings Register27822 
Item 3 of 4National Monuments Record of Scotland/NMRS, RCAHMSW N Thomson & Co handlists of practice records  
Item 4 of 4RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert MuseumRIBA Nomination Papers Joseph Marr Johnston: F no2400 (box 6); James Stewart Johnston: L no4394 (combined box 11) & F no2400 (box 6)