Founded as part of the Augustinian Priory of St Mary Overie it became the Hospital Chapel of St Mary and St Thomas. This happened following the canonisation of Thomas a Becket in 1173.
Let’s step back to the 12th century. Imagine London’s oldest hospitals providing shelter to the sick and needy. This chapel’s story is interwoven with St Thomas’ Hospital.
St Thomas’ was initially near Southwark Cathedral. A fire in 1212 prompted a move to Borough High Street. The hospital served up to 40 people. It primarily cared for the sick, poor, needy, and travelers. The Hospital of St Thomas remained there for nearly 650 years.
Southwark had a reputation for vice. Dick Whittington established a refuge for unmarried mothers at the Hospital of St Thomas. Thomas Cromwell visited in 1535. He called it the bawdy hospital of Southwark. This was perhaps due to the care of patients with venereal disease.
Henry VIII closed St Thomas’ during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540. Beckett was decanonised. Edward VI granted the buildings to the Lord Mayor and citizens of London in 1551. It was renamed the Hospital of St Thomas the Apostle.
The General Court of Governors oversaw the hospital. They decided which patients were admitted. Patients attended daily chapel services. They went without food if they did not. Punishments were given for gambling, swearing, and drunkenness.
Between 1693 and 1709, the hospital was rebuilt. It became a classical structure around three courtyards. President Robert Clayton largely funded this. The rebuilt St Thomas’ could accommodate over 400 patients. It had nineteen wards including four “foule” wards for venereal patients. The rebuilding replaced the medieval church with the church that now houses the museum.
Thomas Guy founded Guy’s Hospital. It admitted St Thomas’ “incurables”: patients with infectious diseases and “lunatics”.
New rules came in 1752. No patient was admitted more than once with the same disease. Suspicious talk and entering wards of the opposite sex were banned. Only one patient was allowed per bed.
Initially, St Thomas’ admitted “deserving” cases free. By the 18th century, most patients paid fees. They also made a deposit for burial costs if they died. Governors could waive fees for the poorest. Many patients sought financial support from their parish or private patrons.
Operating theatres were introduced in the 18th century. They were on the top floor for maximum daylight. The male theatre was built in 1751. The female theatre followed in 1821. Operations were swift. Anaesthetics weren’t used until 1847. Antiseptic surgery wasn’t introduced until the 1860s.
Florence Nightingale opened her nursing school at St Thomas’ in 1859. She emphasized dedication, discipline, and a strict moral code.
The Charring Cross Railway acquired the hospital site in 1859. Parliament decided to extend the London Bridge railway line across the Thames.
St Thomas’ left Southwark in 1862. Most buildings were demolished. The hospital moved to Surrey Gardens in Lambeth. The giraffe house became a cholera ward. The elephant house became the dissecting room.
A permanent site was found in Lambeth near Westminster Bridge. Work began in 1865. Queen Victoria opened the new hospital six years later. Specialist departments opened for dentistry, eye surgery, and electrical therapy. In 1896, St Thomas’ hosted the first demonstration of x-rays in a London hospital.
Today, St Thomas’ Hospital stands here. It offers high-quality healthcare. It specializes in liver, kidney, and incompatible organ transplants.
The chapel was named after Sir Thomas Beckett in 1173. Henry VIII dissolved the hospital in 1548. Edward VI reopened it in 1552. The premises moved to Lambeth in 1862. Construction finished in 1871. Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone in 1868.
Florence Nightingale established her nursing school at St Thomas’ in 1859. The first blood transfusion using human blood occurred here in 1818.
J E Putney & Sons restored the lime plastering in the central chapel. They repaired damaged masonry walls using three-coat haired lime plaster. This chapel, one of the oldest parts of the hospital, connects us to centuries of care. It reminds us of the dedication and innovation within these walls.