Faith and loss: masterpieces from the Middlesex Hospital

Hospitals originated as religious institutions. In both the Islamic and Christian worlds, they were built alongside places of worship and made no distinction between physical and spiritual healing. Many of the world’s great hospitals still bear evidence of this, and some still have beautiful ancient chapels within their precincts. Although medicine and nursing gradually became secularised in Europe from the Renaissance onwards, religious faith and regular attendance at services remained the norm, and hospitals continued to provide for these until well into the 20th century. One of the last traditional hospital chapels to be completed in England was also one of the most spectacular. In 1891, the governors of the Middlesex Hospital, close to the centre of London, decided to erect a new chapel. It was built in memory of a former hospital chairman, Major Alexander Henry Ross.1 He was a Conservative member of parliament, and an...
Source: Postgraduate Medical Journal - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: On reflection Source Type: research