St Gerard's Hospital
| St Gerard's Hospital | |
|---|---|
| Opened | 1913 |
| Closed | 1988 |
| Current Status | Closed |
| Building Style | Single Building |
| Architect(s) | Henry Sandy |
| Location | Coleshill |
| Alternate Names |
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History[edit]
St Gerrards Hospital was built shortly after the home for boys was established, when it was realised many of the children in the home were suffering with poor health. The hospital was designed on pavilion lines, a design type developed in the mid-19th century with separated wards, nurses stations, etc.
The hospital was clearly influenced by the ‘fresh air’ movement then current in hospital design. The patients would have spent much of their time outside the main wards – their beds being wheeled through the double doors onto the veranda on the open side and an uncovered hard-standing on the other. Even if the beds were kept within the building, the idea was that the doorways were generally left open. Obviously, this would rely on the weather. The central section between the two wards may have been the nurses’ station with possible communal facilities for the patients as well. The hospital was used in the First World War as a VAD hospital for wounded soldiers. After the war it specialised in TB and orthopaedic services and became the Warwickshire Orthopedic Hospital until it’s closure in 1998. [1]
