45 Lauriston Place/2a Chalmers Street, EH3 9HQ
In 1836, George Chalmers, a plumber and burgess of Edinburgh, passed away, leaving the residue of his estate “for the express purpose of founding a New Infirmary or Sick and Hurt Hospital, or by whatever name it may be Designed.” Unfortunately, Chalmers did not leave enough funds to build a hospital, so the total value of his estate was invested in government stock. By 1860 the stocks had increased in value enough to pay for the conversion of Lauriston House into a hospital. Architect J. Dick Peddle designed the hospital to have four separate wards with 48 beds. The first two of these wards opened in February 1864 for free patient care, and in 1872 the second two wards were opened for paying patients. In 1939 the hospital was requisitioned by the government for the care of civilian casualties during WWII. Chalmers Hospital became part of the NHS in 1948 and with it turned its two private patient wards into wards for free hospital care. In 2009 the hospital was redesigned, incorporating the original building with a glass annexe to accommodate a sexual health centre.
