Hospital records

Many hospital records relating to nursing have unfortunately not survived to the present day, but those that do can often provide training and employment records containing genealogy information. Possible places are listed below by region/country.

Central records

The online National Archives hospital records database can provide information on UK hospitals and the location of their records. If the records are not at the local record office, they may still be with the hospital.

In England and Wales, possible locations include the county record office in the area where the hospital was located.

London records

London records may be found in the following places.

The London Metropolitan Archives

40 Northampton Road
London EC1R 0HB

Telephone: 020 7332 3820
Fax: 020 7833 9136
Email: ask.lma@corporationoflondon.gov.uk
Website: www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/lma

London Metropolis archives

These also hold a handbook of London County Council (LCC) staff published annually from 1909 to 1939.

England hospital archives

University College London hospitals

University College London hospitals include: The Middlesex Hospital; The Hospital for Women, Soho; St Peter's Group; The Eastman Dental Hospital; The Hospital for Tropical Diseases and The National Temperance Hospital.

Annie Lindsay, trust archivist
University College London Hospitals NHS Trust
IM&T
3rd Floor Maples House
149 Tottenham Court Road
London W1P 9LL

Telephone: 0845 155 5000 ext 3717
Email: annie.lindsay@uclh.nhs.uk
Website: University College London Hospitals NHS Trust.

Royal Free Hospital Archives Centre

Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust
The Hoo, 17 Lyndhurst Gardens
Hampstead
London NW3 5NU

Telephone: 020 7794 0692
Email: archive.enquiries@nhs.net
Website: Royal Free Hospital Archives Centre

Barts and the London

Barts and the London have a combined museum and archive service.

Royal London Hospital Archives and Museum
Royal London Hospital
Whitechapel
London E1 1BB

Telephone: 020 7377 7608
Fax: 020 7377 7413
Email: rlharchives@bartsandthelondon.nhs.uk

St Bartholomew’s hospital archives

Barts archives include the following hospitals: The Alexandra Hospital for Children with Hip Disease; The Eastern and the Homerton Hospital; The German Hospital; The Hackney Hospital; The Metropolitan Hospital; The Mothers' Hospital; St Leonard's Hospital and St Marks Hospital.

Telephone: 020 3465 5798

Addenbrookes NHS trust archives

Cambridge University Hospitals
NHS Foundation Trust
Hills Road
Cambridge CB2 2QQ

Telephone: 01223 586737
Fax: 01223 257143

Email: archives@addenbrookes.nhs.net
Go to the Addenbrookes NHS Trust Archives website.

Archivist: Mrs Elizabeth Boardman
Oxfordshire Health Archives
The Warneford Hospital
Warneford Lane
Headington
Oxford OX3 7JX

Telephone: 01865 738 661
Email: omht.archives@obmh.nhs.uk
Go to the Oxfordshire Health Archives website.

Scotland health boards

In Scotland, the hospital records were the responsibility of health boards (or services) in each area. These were often absorbed into the archives of the universities when they took over the role of training nurses, but some are still held by large hospitals.