The original caption may contain language which is historic and which may no longer be considered appropriate. It has been retained in the record in the interest of historical accuracy.
The caption on the reverse of the photograph reads: “Royal Infirmary, Liverpool. Picture shows the bust of Florence Nightingale, which stands in the library.”
The Liverpool Infirmary was founded in 1743, and was replaced by the Liverpool Royal Infirmary in the mid-19th century. William Rathbone, noted for his philanthropic work, campaigned for a system of direct nursing to allow economically-disadvantaged people to have access to nursing care in Liverpool and helped to establish a training school for nurses at the Liverpool Royal Infirmary in 1868. In 1890 a new Infirmary building by Alfred Waterhouse was opened. The designs of this new building are thought to have been influenced by Florence Nightingale, who made suggestions about the spacing between beds and the height of the wards to maximise light and fresh air. A bust of Florence Nightingale was given to the Nurses’ Training School by Nightingale herself and was placed in the Nurses’ Home in 1902. The bust records “the invaluable aid she rendered to William Rathbone and the Committee of the Royal Infirmary in the work of first organizing District Nursing in Liverpool and in preparing the plans for the erection and arrangement of the Home and Training School”. The Waterhouse Building was closed in 1978 and replaced by the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. In 1994 the Waterhouse Building was restored as part of the University of Liverpool. See also MED01/01/1838 and MED01/01/1840-1849. High-resolution copies of this image are available for free for non-commercial use. Please Enquire to place an order.
This is part of the Series: MED01/01 Series of prints; within the Collection: MED01 Topical Press Agency Medical Collection
Source: Historic England Archive
Photographer: Topical Press Agency Limited
Photographer: Harrison, Norman Kingsley
Hospital, Commemorative Monument, Library, Women's History, Health And Welfare
Our website works best with the latest version of the browsers below, unfortunately your browser is not supported. Using an old browser means that some parts of our website might not work correctly.
