| AdminHistory | St. Andrew's was built as the Poplar and Stepney Sick Asylum c.1869-1871. The Poor Law Act (1867) gave the Poor Law Board the authority to combine unions and parishes in providing asylums for the sick poor (1).
Poor law establishments were forerunners of the fledgling NHS. The Poplar Scandal proved to be a cause-celebre for the Poplar Union. The issue was excessive charges and fraudulent tenders for services provided (2). The Local Government Board investigated, and legal proceedings ensued against several Guardians and ex-Guardians (3). At the trial in December 1908, six Guardians were convicted of conspiracy to defraud (4).
The Asylum was renamed St. Andrew's Hospital in 1921. It was administered by the Metropolitan Asylums Board between 1925-1933. In 1933, the London County Council took on this responsibility. Most recently the Newham Health Authority was responsible for running it. The new A&E Department opened in the early 1980s at the Devas Street end of the site (5). A Receiving Room retained for referral purposes closed in 1999.
The hospital finally closed in 2006. The freehold of the site had been acquired in 2004 by the LDA from Newham Primary Care Trust for £17.5 million. At that point the estimated value of the land was £21 million (6). The site was eventually bought by Barratt Homes. LBTH granted Barratt planning permission to develop the three-hectare site for 800 dwellings. The Greater London Authority and the London Development Agency were/are party to the development (7).
In 2012, the new St. Andrew's Health Centre became part of the Barratt Homes housing complex. It occupies the site of the old hospital and replaces the previous surgery and walk-in centre in Devas Street. Currently the site also holds over 900 'sustainable new homes', and parks and gardens. (8)
Sources of Information:
1. RLHSA 1873-2004 Records of St. Andrew's Hospital, Devons Road, Bromley-by-Bow, E.3 3NT : Barts Health NHS Trust Archive (Royal London Hospital)
2. 'The Poplar Union Scandal and Inquiry ' in workhouses.org
3. 'The Poplar Scandal: Local Government Board's Scathing Report': p.8 in The East London Observer, Saturday, November 10th, 1906.
4. 'The Poplar Scandal: The Sentences': p.5 in The East London Observer, Saturday 12th December 1908.
(References 3-4: British Newspaper Archive)
5. 'St. Andrew's Hospital' in Lost Hospitals of London.
6. 14th October 2009: Letter from the LDA to S. Magnitsky, in response to the latter's Request for Information under the FOI Act 2000 (whatdotheyknow.com)
7. St. Andrew's Hospital, Devas Street (PA/08/1161): Meeting of Strategic Development Committee LBTH, Thursday, 9th October 2008.
8. New Health Centre open daily in Tower Hamlets': 15th August 2012 in eastlondonlines.com
PSSAD Poplar and Stepney Sick Asylum District 1868-1926 (London Metropolitan Archives) |
| CustodialHistory | Originally stocked as L. 8426 (class 621.22) in Local History Library |