St Mary's Hospital, Luton

St Mary's Hospital was created from a workhouse situated on Dunstable Road in Luton. Several of the original buildings still exist today. Following the introduction of the National Health Service in 1948 the site became St Mary's Hospital and the central block of the main building is now a care home for elderly people. It is a Grade II listed building.[1]

St Mary's Hospital
St Mary's Hospital
St Mary's Hospital, Luton is located in Bedfordshire
St Mary's Hospital, Luton
Location within Bedfordshire
Geography
LocationDunstable Road, Luton, Bedfordshire, England
Coordinates51°52′52″N 0°25′23″W / 51.881°N 0.423°W / 51.881; -0.423
Organisation
TypeCare Home for the Elderly
Links
ListsHospitals in England

History edit

 
The Union workhouse can be seen on the left hand side of this map dating from 1888

The facility's origins lie in the Luton Union Workhouse which was built on land donated by the Marquis of Bute.[2][a] The central block was designed by John Williams and opened in 1836.[4]

An infirmary block was built to the west of the central block in the 1870s and was replaced by a new infirmary building to the north of the central block in 1912.[2]

After the medical facilities had absorbed the central block itself, the whole site became St Mary's Hospital in 1930 and it joined the National Health Service in 1948.[5]

The main block was subsequently acquired by Bupa, refurbished and then converted into a care home for elderly residents.[6]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Luton itself had a workhouse from 1722 which was the subject of a report in "An Account of Several Workhouses" dated 17 September 1724.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ Historic England. "Central Block of St Mary's Hospital (1114617)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Luton". Workhouses. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  3. ^ "An Account of Several Workhouses". Workhouses. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  4. ^ "Luton Workhouse". Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 6 August 2008. Luton Workhouse
  5. ^ "St Mary's Hospital, Luton". National Archives. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  6. ^ "St Mary's Care Home". Your care home. Retrieved 10 November 2018.