Big thanks to the guys who found this, and Obscurity and Wevsky for some help. We origenally intended to do this last week, but alas it wasn't to be. One week later, and with a bit of lateral thinking we were inside. 
This hospital has been known by several different names in its time,
Folkestone Dispensary (1846-1863)
Folkestone Dispensary and Infirmary (1863-1890)
Victoria Hospital (1890-1910)
Royal Victoria Hospital (1910-present)
In the post war era it was operated as an NHS hospital offering most of the common NHS services at the time.
In 1973 the maternity unit was transferred to Willesborough Hospital and following the opening of the William Harvey Hospital at Ashford in 1979, this hospital was transformed into a centre for geriatric, stroke rehabilitation, eye surgery and general practitioner patients.
In June 2005 it was announced that 2 wards were to close at the hospital, The Fitton and Edinburgh wards. They duely closed later that year.
In December 2006 it was announced that the old victorian building at Royal Victoria was to be put up for sale by it's owners, the East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust. Within a week an action group was setup, Save OUR Royal Victoria, with aims to draw attention to the hospital and the potential re-location of key services to other hospitals.
In June 2007 the East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust confirmed the building would be sold, but did pledge to re-locate some of the services into adjacent hospital buildings which were remaining open.
In September 2008 the East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust committed to retaining all services at the current hospital site with a £3.6 million investment in upgrading and modernising the remaining buildings. There was also a deal struck to retain the main building facade of the origenal victorian building when the land is developed.
There appears to be some development happening on site as we recced the place the week before, unfortunitely not gaining access that time so we returned this week with a plan and also found some scaffolding has sprung up at the front. There's also some inside the building on the top floor.
There is a published history of the hospital: Martin Easdown, A Grand Old Lady: The History of the Royal Victoria Hospital Folkestone, 1846-1996 (1996)
Visited with Frosty.
Firstly, an old photo of the outside - this one was taken in 1910.
Secondly an apology that most of my photos are portrait, it seemed to suit the building better, but it has made this post seem quite long!
Good to see the NHS taking such good care of medical records :roll:
Thanks for looking!
Maniac.
This hospital has been known by several different names in its time,
Folkestone Dispensary (1846-1863)
Folkestone Dispensary and Infirmary (1863-1890)
Victoria Hospital (1890-1910)
Royal Victoria Hospital (1910-present)
In the post war era it was operated as an NHS hospital offering most of the common NHS services at the time.
In 1973 the maternity unit was transferred to Willesborough Hospital and following the opening of the William Harvey Hospital at Ashford in 1979, this hospital was transformed into a centre for geriatric, stroke rehabilitation, eye surgery and general practitioner patients.
In June 2005 it was announced that 2 wards were to close at the hospital, The Fitton and Edinburgh wards. They duely closed later that year.
In December 2006 it was announced that the old victorian building at Royal Victoria was to be put up for sale by it's owners, the East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust. Within a week an action group was setup, Save OUR Royal Victoria, with aims to draw attention to the hospital and the potential re-location of key services to other hospitals.
In June 2007 the East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust confirmed the building would be sold, but did pledge to re-locate some of the services into adjacent hospital buildings which were remaining open.
In September 2008 the East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust committed to retaining all services at the current hospital site with a £3.6 million investment in upgrading and modernising the remaining buildings. There was also a deal struck to retain the main building facade of the origenal victorian building when the land is developed.
There appears to be some development happening on site as we recced the place the week before, unfortunitely not gaining access that time so we returned this week with a plan and also found some scaffolding has sprung up at the front. There's also some inside the building on the top floor.
There is a published history of the hospital: Martin Easdown, A Grand Old Lady: The History of the Royal Victoria Hospital Folkestone, 1846-1996 (1996)
Visited with Frosty.
Firstly, an old photo of the outside - this one was taken in 1910.
Secondly an apology that most of my photos are portrait, it seemed to suit the building better, but it has made this post seem quite long!
Good to see the NHS taking such good care of medical records :roll:
Thanks for looking!
Maniac.
