But today little is left of the iconic Jessop Hospital building, once a sprawling site on land now occupied by Sheffield University buildings such as The Diamond.
Up until 2001, the hospital site, divided from the road by a high red brick wall was a familiar site from the top deck of the buses going along Brook Hill, and to any new mum in the city, who would use the site in its role as the city’s main maternity hospital.
But the story of the Jessop goes back to 1863, when a meeting chaired by Thomas Jessop, who was the Mayor and Master Cutler, agreed the importance of setting up a hospital for women in the city.
Initially, a Sheffield Hospital for Women opened on Figtree Lane in 1864, ‘to attend cases of midwifery and the diseases peculiar to women’.
But it was seen as being too small, with just six beds – and 10 years later, 1874 Mr Jessop personally stumped up most of the money for an entirely new building which was to be named after him, which in today’s money would be over £4 million.
The building on Gell Street and Leavygreave Road was completed four years later, and named the Jessop Hospital for Women, with space for 57 in-patients and also helping out-patients. Extensions were made in 1902 and 1918.
Buildings were damaged in an air raid in 1940 and new ones were completed in 1943. By 1948 there were 211 beds. Of those, 47 were at a linked site in Norton, which closed in 1972.
The Jessop Hospital, which by then was located in what was part of the city’s red light area, finally closed in January 2001, five years later than it was originally due to shut. It had been decided it should be replaced by a more modern site better suited to medical care in the 21st century. It was replaced by The Jessop Wing, about half a mile away near the Royal Hallamshire, and also close to Sheffield Children’s Hospital.
Who was the Jessop Hospital and Jessop Wing name after?
Thomas Jessop had worked for the steel firm Mitchell, Raikes & Jessop, where his father was a steel smelter and a partner in the firm. He worked his way up through the family business and when his brother died in 1872, he became the owner. The Jessop works at Brightside became one of the biggest steelworks in the country, making a fortune exporting to America, and in 1875, the firm was worth £400,000 – nearly £55 million in today’s money. He is said to have contributed considerably to the £30,000 building costs of the hospital, which in today's money would be in the region of £4 million, based Office for Office for National Statistics inflation records. Reports of his funeral in 1887 made reference to the public awareness of his contributions to the hospital that carried his name.
What is left of the Jessop Hospital?
Although most of the building was demolished when the facility closed in 2001, a small portion was saved for posterity.
The main entrance on Leavygreave Road still remains and is now a part of the University of Sheffield’s Music Department.
1. Victorian landmark
For 123 years it was the Victorian landmark which saw the birth of generations of sons and daughters of Sheffield. But today little is left of the iconic Jessop Hospital building, once a sprawling site on land now occupied by Sheffield University buildings such as The Diamond. Photo: Submitted
2. Jessop Hospital
Pictured is the preserved section of the old Jessop Hospital building, now part of Sheffield University's music department. Photo: David Kessen
