This in from IW NHS, in their own words. Ed
The Victorian Hospital at Ventnor was a pioneer in the treatment of TB in the UK introducing both the ‘sanatorium’ regime and innovative architectural and hospital environmental design. The hospital is the subject of a new exhibition at St. Mary’s Hospital.
The exhibition is running at the Full Circle Exhibition Space, St. Mary’s Hospital, Isle of Wight between November 2015 and January 2016 from 9.00am to 9.00pm daily. Entrance is free.
What’s included
The exhibition is a visual display of photographs, engravings and watercolours from the heritage collections of individuals and public collections on the Island, with explanatory text panels, about the founding of the “Royal National Hospital for Diseases of the Chest” at Ventnor giving a picture of what life was like for patients at the hospital and the treatment they received.
The pharmacist Gordon Chubb has decoded the homeopathic treatments patients received and the local historian Robin McInnes has allowed display of his collection of 19th and early 20th century photographs taken of patients and hospital life.
Read history of the hospital
Isle of Wight NHS Trust’s Healing Arts Director Guy Eades has compiled a short history of the hospital which can be read online. Permission to display images and assistance has also come from the Isle of Wight Council’s heritage collection and Archive office, and Carisbrooke Castle Museum.
Guy says:
“The Royal Hospital at Ventnor was built at the height of the Island’s reputation, and Ventnor’s in particular, as the centre for fashionable society to live or visit. It was also a time when medicine and the sciences were making huge advances in both knowledge and practice. Combined, the 96 year history and exhibition of Ventnor’s Royal Hospital make a fascinating and absorbing story.”
Image: © Robin McInnes
