Main doorway to the original Victorian wingThe Edwardian wing just before demolition in 2013
Following a large donation by Thomas Jessop, a wealthy steelworks owner, a new building was commissioned to replace the old Sheffield Hospital for Women at Figtree Lane, which had only six beds.[1]
The new facility was designed by John Dodsley Webster in the Gothic Revival style.[2] The building cost £26,000 – equivalent to approximately £2.1m in 2021 – all paid for by Jessop. It opened as the Jessop Hospital for Women in 1878.[1] An extension, known as the Edwardian wing, was completed in 1902.[1] Between 1927 and 1972 the hospital had a 45-bed annexe at Norton Hall known as the Firth Auxiliary Hospital.[1]
Operation of the hospital was transferred from the Sheffield Health Authority (dissolved on 1 April 1992) to the Central Sheffield University Hospitals NHS Trust on 1 November 1991, who continued to operate the hospital until its closure.[3]
The hospital was in the news in 1998 when Diane Blood gave birth to a baby boy, having been inseminated using her husband's sperm, which had been taken from his body while he was unconscious on life support, shortly before his death. A prolonged legal case gave her the right to do this, despite not having the written consent of her husband.[4]
In 2007 the majority of the 1970s wing was demolished by the University of Sheffield as part of their Jessop West development.[6] The Victorian Wing of the original hospital was converted to house the Department of Music, who occupied it in 2009.[7]
Despite being a Grade II listed building, demolition of the Edwardian wing started on 30 July 2013.[8] Demolition was pursued in favour of renovation as it provided the University of Sheffield with a greater floor area for new development at a lower cost.[9] The demolition was opposed by the Victorian Society and the Hallamshire Historic Buildings Society (HHBS).[8]
