Liverpool Infirmary

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Building information
Liverpool Infirmary
Town	Liverpool
Country	England
Construction start date	1743
Completion date	1749
Date demolished	1842
Cost	£2,600

Liverpool Infirmary was founded in 1743, took 6 years to build, and was opened by the Earl of Derby on March 25, 1749. The first Infirmary stood on the site of the present day St George's Hall, and cost £2,600 to build. It was expanded in 1771.

The Infirmary was brought about due, in part, to the unsanitary conditions of the town at the time. In 1700 the population was about 5000, by 1749 it had quadrupled to 20,000. With the population growing fast the people were housed in ill drained streets. The unsanitary conditions led to widespread illness and it was decided to open the Infirmary.

The Infirmary was built of brick and faced with stone. It was three storeys high. On the ground floor there were two exam rooms, a lodging room, an apothecary, and the Hospice Chapel. The second floor held four wards, an operating room and two bedrooms for nurses. The kitchen, wash-house, laundry and laboratory were situated in the cellar.

In 1823 a new hospital and lunatic asylum was built on Brownlow Street and renamed the Liverpool Royal Infirmary in 1851. This old Infirmary was closed in 1826 and eventually demolished in 1842 to make way for St George's Hall.

In 1890 a new Infirmary building by Alfred Waterhouse was constructed on the Brownlow Street site. The building is an impressive example of Victorian design, in red brick. In 1978 the building closed and was replaced by the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. In 1994 it was bought by Liverpool University and was restored after being left empty since its closure.