St Mary Abbot's Hospital

The hospital, which was designed by Alfred Williams as a workhouse infirmary and built by John T. Chappell,[1] was completed in 1871.[2] It included a chapel dedicated to St Elizabeth: the foundation stone was laid on 17 April 1875, by Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll. [3] The hospital became the Kensington Infirmary in 1912 and St Mary Abbot's Hospital in 1923.[2]

The hospital was badly damaged during the London Blitz in 1940; four people were killed and one of the blocks was destroyed, leaving an open bomb site within the hospital grounds. In 1944, a V-1 flying bomb directly hit the hospital; the south end of the main block (established in 1847), Stone Hall, and the infirmary (which dated back to 1871) were destroyed. Five nurses, six children and seven adult patients died, while 33 additional casualties were transferred to St George's Hospital on Hyde Park Corner, with all remaining patients evacuated. The hospital gradually recovered, and structural repairs were still being carried out when it was incorporated into the National Health Service in 1948.[2] The Metropolitan Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital move to the site in 1953.[2]

American musician Jimi Hendrix was pronounced dead at the hospital on 18 September 1970.[4] Its remaining services were moved to the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in Fulham Road in 1992.[2] Although the hospital has since been demolished, the hospital's original gate posts, railings and gatehouse survive at the entrance to a private residential complex known as St Mary Close.[2]

• List of hospitals in England

• Moskowitz, David (2010). The Words and Music of Jimi Hendrix. Praeger. ISBN 978-0-313-37592-7.