page_title: Leith Hospital
section_title: Origins
hierarchical_section_title: Leith Hospital / History / Origins
caption_attribution_description: English: Gateway view of Leith Hospital at Mill Lane
context_page_description: Leith Hospital was situated on Mill Lane in Leith, Edinburgh, and was a general hospital with adult medical and surgical wards, paediatric medical and surgical wards, a casualty department and a wide range of out-patient services. It closed in 1987.
context_section_description: The King James Hospital, in the Kirkgate, which was named after King James VI, who awarded a charter to the hospital, was founded in 1614. The hospital was demolished in 1822, although part of the wall can still be seen today, forming the boundary between the Kirkgate and south Leith Kirkyard.
  In the late 18th century the Human Society, which promotes lifesaving intervention, established a presence in Leith, at first in Burgess Close and Bernard Street and then in Broad Wynd. In 1816, a dispensary was opened, also in Broad Wynd, at number 17, a few doors along from the Humane Society room. Founded by Dr. Andrew Duncan (1744–1828), the dispensary consisted of a consulting room, a small laboratory and a single bed. In 1825, the Humane Society and the dispensary combined, to form the Leith Dispensary and Humane Society. In 1837, the Leith Dispensary and Humane Society extended their activities by moving to a large house in Quality Street, now (Maritime Street), in what effectively became a Casualty Hospital.
  By the 1840s, Leith was an independent burgh of some 40,000 people and pressure increased to establish and fund a new hospital. A public meeting in 1846 was called, it was agreed that the new institution would be called "The Leith Hospital"; a committee was formed and £115 was collected in subscriptions. Donations made towards the hospital included £1,000 from the estate of John Stewart of Laverockbank, but it was several years before agreement could be reached about the best site and for work to start. In 1850, the year before the opening of the new hospital, the Dispensary had dealt with 2,699 patients, the Casualty Hospital had treated 245 patients and the Humane Society seven patients.
  The new building was planned by a committee which included the provost, baillies, local ministers, businessmen and doctors. A plot of land was purchased at the upper end of Sheriff Brae in 1849. The new hospital was built facing Mill Lane and was a two-storey building, with fever patients housed on the upper floor and the Humane Society, dispensary and casualty on the ground floor. The hospital opened to patients in 1851.
caption: Medical block, Leith Hospital, Mill Lane
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