Photographs Of Newcastle: Royal Victoria Infirmary

Founded as the Newcastle Infirmary in 1751, the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI), in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, was opened on 11 July 1906 by Edward VII on 10 acres (4 hectares) of Town Moor given by the Corporation and Freemen. The fully furnished and equipped hospital, containing seventeen wards, a nurses' home, chapel and five operating theatres, cost over £300,000.

The statue of Queen Victoria was the gift of Riley Lord, who was knighted for his efforts in getting the Infirmary built.

Overcrowding was a problem, with waiting lists of over 5,000 in the 1930s and until joining the National Health Service, money had to be raised for extensions and new equipment - always difficult especially in the depression years.

The Royal Victoria Infirmary has always had close links with the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Newcastle University as a major teaching hospital. The RVI forms the hub of one of the four "clinical base units" for medical students at the university, where students spend the entire 3rd and 5th years of their medical degree.

The New Victoria Wing, including a state-of-the-art accident and emergency department, replacing that of the Newcastle General Hospital, opened in 2010.

The Great North Children's Hospital on the site was opened in 2010, bringing together paediatric services from across Newcastle. The Hospital has strong links with University of Newcastle upon Tyne which had the first academic unit of child health in England.

Description courtesy of Wikipedia.

18th September 2024

The Sir James Spence Institute of Child Health.

St Luke's Chapel.

Hospital chapel. 1900-05. Designed by Newcombe and Adams. Brick with stone dressings. Exterior now very largely hidden by later buildings. Single storey. Greek cross plan.

Source: Historic England.

12th May 2024

Crawford House.

17th August 2022

Royal Victoria Infirmary, Peacock Hall (admin).

Hospital offices. Foundation stone 1900 by Prince of Wales; building 1901-1906. By W. L. Newcombe and Percy Adams, after consultation with Sir A. Waterhouse.

Sandstone ashlar ground floor, central pavilion, and central sections of end pavilions; remainder bright red brick with ashlar dressings. Roof of graduated Lakeland slate. 3 storeys and attics; 17 bays in all, with 3-bay centre and end pavilions.

Central porte-cochere. Pilasters to pavilions with central top pediments, segmental over entrance bay. End pavilions have ground-floor central canted bay windows. All windows stone mullioned and transomed with leaded lights.

3 flat- headed dormers to each outer section; central attic in stone surround continuous with linking coped parapet. High roof, hipped over pavilions, with central lantern and high ashlar-corniced brick chimneys.

Interior shows groined inner porch with 4 bronze commemorative plaques, recording gifts from Lord and Lady Armstrong and others;. Entrance hall and gallery panelled with inlay, in Baroque style; much flower decoration in stucco frieze and ceiling.

Grade 2 Listed. Source: Sitelines.

Queen Victoria Road, statue of Queen Victoria.

Statue. Dated 1906, signed GEO FRAMPTON R.A. Sandstone terrace and walls; white marble statue. Paved square terrace with indented corners has steps on sides opposite hospital entrance and flanking dwarf walls with wide sloped coping.

High square pedestal has 4 low square buttresses at corners, and side panels with curved heads, bearing inscriptions VICTORIA OF ENGLAND/1837-1901/; UNVEILED BY KING EDWARD VII/JULY 11, 1906/; THE GIFT OF SIR RILEY LORD/1906. Over-life-size statue of young Queen standing in robes with orb, sceptre and crown.

Grade 2 Listed. Source: Sitelines.