Lodge Moor Hospital

Lodge Moor Hospital is a former isolation hospital on Redmires Road in the Lodge Moor area of the City of Sheffield, England. The hospital which opened in 1888 and closed in 1994 initially treated Smallpox but soon broadened its treatment to other infectious diseases and in its latter years expanded to provide more general nursing, notably spinal injuries and chest medicine.

Lodge Moor hospital was erected as a result of the Sheffield smallpox epidemic of 1887-1888. Despite the increasing number of vaccinations, the disease remained virulent and the one way of keeping it in check was to isolate those with the disease from the healthy members of society. With this in mind Sheffield Corporation sought permission of the Local Government Board to borrow £12,000 to build an isolation hospital. The Board granted the request and the Council appointed the building contractors W. Bissett & Sons to build the hospital on an area of rough moorland called Lodge Moor on the western outskirts of the city. The hospital was built at the high altitude of 280 metres (919 feet) above sea level as it was thought that this would give the necessary fresh air to patients.

The smallpox epidemic stressed the importance of building the hospital quickly and a working party of 300 men were set to work around the clock, within two months twelve wards had been erected to house 156 patients. Each of these wards were made from wood and were viewed as just temporary structures, they could accommodate ten patients and had a composting toilet, storeroom and a bedroom for a nurse. In 1892 the first stone wards were built although it would be 1935 before the temporary wooden huts would be demolished. By the turn of the century the diminishing number of smallpox patients due to widespread vaccination made it possible for Lodge Moor to admit patients suffering from other contagious diseases such as scarlet fever, diphtheria and typhoid fever. Further expansion to the hospital completed in 1905 saw the addition of the six South wards, the main lodge, waiting room and the square tower which is a conspicuous landmark in the surrounding area.

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