Monument record 10323 - Chester Infirmary

The Royal Infirmary was opened in 1761 in the purpose-built block at the south-western corner of the site (1). It was founded after the physician William Stratford left an endowment in 1753 for a county infirmary, intended for those too poor to pay for medical care at home (3). The original building was brick and formed a quadrangle round a courtyard; it was of two principal storeys with basements and attics (3).

In 1868 a free standing Fever Wing (CHER 10323/2) was built which later part of the Nurses home (no longer extant) the south-eastern part of the site, to accommodate small pox patients (1). A considerable expansion was carried out in the period 1912 to 1917; new wings were built to the north of the main block, onto the Fever Wing and along Bedward Row (1). The final major extension, an out-patient and accident wing was opened in 1963. This infilled a large part of the northern half of the site. In addition, over the years numerous small buildings and extensions have been added to the complex. As a result, the present plan of the buildings forms a complicated network of ranges with much open ground between them.

The infirmary was brought into the NHS in 1948 and continued to operate until its closure in 1994 (3). Deposits relating to the construction of the Fever Wing were identified during excavations carried out in 1992 (4).

During excavations at the site of the Royal Infirmary in 1992, part of the boundary wall for the Infirmary was identified (1). In Trench XV, north-west of the original infirmary building, an east-west aligned wall, with one course of brick surviving and set onto a foundation of four courses of sandstone blocks was recorded (1). This brick wall was probably the northern boundary wall of the original eighteenth century Infirmary. It was built on the soil deposit that had accumulated in the preceding period of cultivation (1).

<1> Chester Archaeology, 1992, An Archaeological Evaluation on the Site of a Proposed Extension to the Queen's School, Chester, March 1992, R2096 (Client Report). SCH4104.

<2> Chester City Council Archaeology Service, 1998, The Past Uncovered (Newsletter). SCH6019.

<3> Boulton H.E, 1960, The Chester Infirmary (Article in Journal). SCH5864.

<4> English Heritage, 2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, 470171 (Digital Archive). SCH4666.