Records of Nottingham Hospital for Women, 1875-1981

The records relate to three hospitals: Castle Gate Hospital, the Samaritan Hospital and Peel Street. The amalgamated hospital took over the administrative records of the Castle Gate hospital. Records from the Samaritan Hospital are very few in number.

Minute books form one of the most comprehensive series. There are minutes from Castle Gate Hospital for Women and Nottingham Hospital for Women (1879-1972). Minutes from the Samaritan Hospital exist only from 1885-1907. There are printed annual reports from Castle Gate Hospital for Women and the Nottingham Hospital for Women (1875-1901, 1915, 1921-1929, and 1931 to 1968). Architects' plans of the new Peel Street building are also present (1927-1954).

From the amalgamated hospital there are accounts (1930-1968) including wages and salaries books (1930-1949), an Inventory (1941), and Visiting Panel Reports (1968-74). Some patient statistics (1933-1935), records of operations (1955-1974) and theatre reports (1975-1981) are also present. The only patient registers are registers of births at St Mary's Nursing Home (1964-1969) and at the Central Labour Suite (1976-1977).

Nottingham Hospital for Women in Peel Street had its origins in two earlier women's hospitals: Castle Gate Hospital for Women which opened in September 1875, and the Samaritan Hospital in Raleigh Street which opened in March 1885. This duplication of effort was a direct consequence of a conflict of opinion in the 1880s about the best way to conduct a women's hospital.

Up to 1914 both institutions ran completely separately, but by then it was clear that this diluted the available resources. Informal negotiations led to amalgamation in 1923 and the construction of a purpose-built hospital in Peel Street. The new building was formally opened on 5 November 1929 and received its first patients in January 1930 when the hospitals in Castle Gate and Raleigh Street were closed down. The Peel Street accommodation offered four large wards to accommodate 44 patients and smaller wards for private patients, as well as out-patient accommodation, operating theatres and staffing facilities.

In 1945 Adbolton Hall was opened as an annexe for post-operative cases. In 1947 St Mary's Nursing Home was taken over as a Maternity Home for private patients. St Mary's closed in 1972, and Adbolton Hall in 1980.

Peel Street was finally closed down in November 1981 when the remaining obstetric and gynaecological units were transferred to the Queen's Medical Centre. The Peel Street building was converted into flats.

The papers are listed chronologically within series arranged by form: accounts, minutes, reports, patient registers etc.

Parts of the collection are accessible to all registered readers but all unpublished records are closed to general access for a minimum of thirty years. All patient and clinical records are closed to general access for a period of 100 years from date of creation. Please contact the department for further advice.

Copyright in all Finding Aids belongs to the University of Nottingham.

In the Reading Room, King's Meadow Campus:

Typescript Catalogue, 26 pp

At the National Register of Archives, London:

Typescript Catalogue, 11 pp [Please note that the catalogue at King's Meadow Campus, and the online version on the Manuscripts Online Catalogue, is more up to date]

On the World Wide Web:

Catalogue available through the website of Manuscripts and Special Collections, Manuscripts Online Catalogue. This catalogue includes more recent accruals than the typescript catalogue.

Photocopies and photographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only, depending on access status and the condition of the documents.

Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk).

The records were transferred to the University in September 1981, prior to the final closure of the Peel Street premises in November 1981. Further accruals were received at various times up to 1992. An accrual of hospital registers was received in 2008.

Other Nottingham hospital collections held at The University of Nottingham; Manuscripts and Special Collections: Uh, Nh, Uhc, Uhe, Uhf, Uhg, Uhh, Uhne, Uht.