Leeds General Infirmary

The Leeds General Infirmary was established in 1767, from a meeting of a group who saw a need for a hospital in the city. The meeting was at the New Inn on 10 June 1767, and many those attending became some of the first staff members at the Infirmary.

The hospital was originally opened at a private house in Kirkgate in October of the same year, before a purpose-built home could be erected. This new building was near to City Square and opened in 1771. It became known as the ‘Old Infirmary’. The demand for beds kept increasing, and with that a number of extensions to the site were made between 1782-1821.

By 1860, space was a pressing issue again, and the Board began to look into options for expanding the Infirmary. A site was found at Great George Street and the new Infirmary building, designed by the architect Sir George Gilbert Scott (1811-1878), opened on 22 May 1869. By 1888 more extensions were required, and additions continued to be made to the building well into the 20th century, notably the Brotherton Wing in 1940 and the Wellcome Wing in 1961.

With the creation of the NHS in 1948, voluntary and municipal hospitals were to be transferred to state ownership and administered by Regional Hospital Boards. Thus, the Leeds General Infirmary became part of the United Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, with the Women’s Hospital, the Leeds Maternity Hospital, the Dental Hospital and the Ida and Robert Arthington Hospital. In 1998, this group then merged with the St James’s & Seacroft University Hospitals NHS Trust to form the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

The Leeds General Infirmary has been a teaching hospital since the opening of the Leeds School of Medicine in 1831, and continues to train medical students from the University of Leeds to this day.