The bronze plaque shows, at the top, the years
that the hospital was built and demolished, 1869 to 1976. Below that, in relief,
is a picture of the hospital with the wording "The Evelina Hospital / for sick
children / in Southwark". Four busts are show in relief, two on each side of the
hospital picture:
Top left is Baroness Evelina de Rothschild
Bottom left is Lady Superintendent Alice Cross
Top right is Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild
Bottom right is Dr Arthur Farre MD FRCP FRS.
The plaque reads:
"This plaque celebrates the founding of the
Evelina Children's Hospital, which was built on this site in 1869. It
commemorates the work of the founder, planners, doctors, nurses and staff and
all the generous benefactors and supporters during the hospital's first 107
years.
The hospital was founded by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild in memory of the early
deaths of his wife Evelina, and their baby son. The hospital was planned by Dr
Arthur Farre, obstetrician to Evelina and the Royal Family.
The chosen site, Southsea Court in Southwark, was in one of the poorest
districts of London where children were stricken with disease, serious
infections and undernourishment leading to many deaths. This new model hospital
uplifted the spirit of the people , bringing to a deprived district the hope of
fighting the ravages of childhood diseases.
In 1976 the Evelina moved to Guy's Tower, Southwark, to unite with Guy's
Hospital Children's Department. The old Evelina building was demolished and the
area was converted into Mint Street Park."
The Old Operating Theatre website (visit
link) tells us:
"The Evelina Children's Hospital was founded
by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild.
Baron Rothschild was originally from Vienna but settled in London and went to
Cambridge University together with Edward, Prince of Wales. In 1865, the Baron
married his cousin, Evelina, the daughter of his mother's brother. In 1866,
Baroness Evelina went into premature labour, following a railway accident. Dr
Arthur Farre, her Physician Obstetrician, was present but, tragically, Evelina
died and the child was stillborn. Baron Ferdinand founded the Evelina Hospital
for Sick Children in their memory. Dr Farre was asked to advise him on the
planning of the hospital, in consultation with the architect, Mr Marsh Nelson,
and the first patients were admitted in 1869. The Baron generously defrayed the
cost of the hospital site and made provision to meet the expense of maintaining
the initial 30 beds. As President of the Committee of Management, until his
death in 1898, Baron Ferdinand always took the closest interest in the welfare
of the hospital. He was fondly remembered by the Committee as 'an ever-ready
helper and friend on whose judgement, sympathy and advice they could always
rely.'
Recording the opening of the Evelina Hospital for Sick Children in June 1869,
the Lancet described the building in detail, indicating the degree to which the
hospital encompassed the very latest design concepts : '... As it was only
possible to secure a small and irregularly-shaped piece of ground, it was found
necessary to design the building to take advantage of the limited site. The
hospital consists of four stories (a fifth was added in 1903) : two of these are
devoted to the reception of patients, the ground-floor being for the
accommodation of the house-surgeon, matron, and certain ladies who have
undertaken the management of the nursing. In this part of the building also are
situated the board room, medical officers' room &c. On the attic storey are
sleeping rooms for the nurses and servants, and a quarantine ward for doubtful
cases. Below the ground floor there is an extensive basement storey, which
contains a range of kitchens and offices; and on the same level there is an open
court, containing various outbuildings - wash-house, disinfecting oven,
post-mortem room, &c. There are separate kitchens for Jews and Christians.
Leading from the ground-floor is a detached wing, in which are the dispensary
and an extensive out-patients' department, comprising large waiting-room, with
separate rooms for physicians, surgeons, and dressers. The two stories devoted
to patients are arranged on the same plan. Along the length of the building runs
a single very handsome ward, 100 ft. by 24 ft., and 14 ft. high. External to
this is a corridor, with a double row of windows, opening on the one side into
the ward, and on the other into the open air. In the ward itself are nine large
windows. All these windows are arranged in three swing compartments, so that
they can one or all be partially or completely opened or shut in a moment.
Abundant provision is thus afforded for the most perfect ventilation. In the
ward are four fireplaces, so that it can at any time be divided into four
smaller rooms, if this be deemed advisable. At one end is a handsome ward, which
will be set apart for Jewish children, the rest of the hospital being for
Christians. At the other extremity is a playroom, and beyond this two large and
cheerful rooms, one of which will be for cases of whooping-cough and its
complications - a novel feature in children's hospitals, - and the other
probably for infants under a year old. The storey above is precisely similar in
its arrangements to that already described. There is abundant provision for
closets, lavatories, bathrooms, and quarantine wards; and, indeed, no expense
has been spared to make this a model hospital.'
The Evelina was designed to provide Southwark with the most up-to-date child
care facilities. Some of these were practically unique to all hospitals,
including the early use of antiseptic technique. Guy's was the first hospital in
London to adopt Lister's antiseptic methods. These had been introduced by Dr H.
G. Howse when he was appointed Assistant Surgeon in 1870, and were practised by
the Evelina when he joined its staff in the following year.
In the early years of the Evelina, the battle was on to combat the fatal
diseases that reflected the appalling living conditions of the area. These were
mainly infections (notably whooping cough), brain, nerve and lung disorders
(particularly convulsions, pneumonia and bronchitis), and tuberculosis - all of
which particularly affected the very youngest. In the year 1876-77, the total
number of deaths in the parish was 1206, of which more than half were of
children under the age of 5. Despite the availability of only 30 beds during the
initial period, more than 300 children were admitted in the first year. By 1890,
the number of beds and the rate of admission had both doubled. In that year, of
675 admissions, 158 died. The persistently high death rate was mainly due to the
large numbers of moribund babies, many of whom died shortly after admission. By
the end of the century, however, the number of annual admissions had reached
more than 1000 and and the death rate was falling."