Elsie Inglis Hospice

 History of Public Health  1 Response »
Nov 252020
 

219 High Street, EH1 1PE

Elsie Inglis Hospice
Elsie Inglis Hospice

The Elsie Inglis Hospice was a maternity hospital originally named simply, “The Hospice.” It was created in 1904 by Dr Elsie Inglis (1864-1917) with the help of fellow medical student Dr Jessie McLaren MacGregor (1863-1906). The two women were among the first female students to attend the newly founded Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women and were both taught by its founder Dr Sophia Jex-Blake (1840-1912). Child mortality was a major public health concern and maternity wards were scarce. The hospice was run by an all-female staff, served the poorest women in Edinburgh’s Old Town, and was the forerunner of the Elsie Inglis Memorial Maternity hospital in Morningside.

Women of Achievement plaque for Elsie Inglis
Women of Achievement plaque for Elsie Inglis
The Hospice in the High Street (from Elsie Inglis by Eva Shaw McLaren, 1920)
The Hospice in the High Street (from Elsie Inglis by Eva Shaw McLaren, 1920) Image from LHSA
Portrait of Dr Elsie Inglis (Wellcome Collection)
Portrait of Dr Elsie Inglis
(Wellcome Collection)

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Bruntsfield Hospital

 History of Edinburgh Hospitals  Comments Off on Bruntsfield Hospital
Aug 102020
 

92 Whitehouse Loan, EH9 1BD

Portrait of Dr Sophia Jex-Blake.

This is the site of the Bruntsfield Hospital. Dr Sophia Jex-Blake, one of the first women to be enrolled at a British university and the founder of the Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women, lived and practised here in Bruntsfield Lodge with her partner Dr Margaret Todd. When Jex-Blake retired in 1899, the Edinburgh Hospital and Dispensary for Women and Children established Bruntsfield Hospital on the site. The hospital was closely linked to Elsie Inglis’ hospital “The Hospice” and, when the two merged in 1910, The Hospice was dedicated to obstetric and infant care and Bruntsfield hospital was responsible for all medical, surgical, and gynaecological work. The hospital closed 90 years after its initial move to Bruntsfield Lodge in 1989 and has since been converted into residential units.

The exterior of Bruntsfield Hospital.

Minto House

 India (Old Town)  Comments Off on Minto House
Apr 242018
 

Minto House.Minto House, The University of Edinburgh, 20-22 Chambers St, Edinburgh EH1 1JZ

Here lived (1725-1878) the Elliots of Minto, important East India Company shareholders. The first Earl was Governor-General of India (1807-13), one brother was assistant to Warren Hastings, another was Governor of Madras. The 4th Earl became Viceroy (1905-10). After their house was demolished in 1878, the present building was erected. Elsie Inglis’ Women’s Medical College (1889-1908) was based here: Of 185 women it trained, at least 20 were born in India, and 46 worked there, including Hilla Furloonji Batliwala (nee Banajee); Kadambini Ganguly; Khorshed Sorabji Kanga; and Meher Ardeshir Dadabhai Naoroji (niece of Dadbhai Naoroji, the UK’s first Indian MP).

Shadow of Medical School sign on the pediment.

Shadow of Medical School sign on the pediment.

Portrait of George Eliot, 1st Earl of Minto, by James Atkinson.

Portrait of Gilbert, 1st Earl of Minto, 1820s.

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