LHB7  Royal Edinburgh Hospital

Collection Summary

Reference Code: GB239 LHB7
Title: Royal Edinburgh Hospital
Dates of Creation of Material: 1791-2003
Level of Description: Fonds
Extent and Medium of the Unit of Description: 212.3 shelf metres: bound volumes, papers, photographic material


Name of creator(s): Royal Edinburgh Hospital
Administrative History: First appeal launched in 1792 by Andrew Duncan Snr. A government grant in 1806 funded the purchase of land in the Morningside area. The foundation stone of the Edinburgh Lunatic Asylum, designed by Robert Reid, was laid in 1809 and its first patients - all fee paying - were admitted four years later. In 1842, a new William Burn building opened for pauper patients and others who could not afford the higher rates of board. This was known as "West House" in contrast to the original "East House". A succession of influential keepers and medical superintendents (W Mackinnon, D Skae, T S Clouston ensured an international reputation for the Asylum. A further building, Craig House, was added in 1894. Renamed the Royal Edinburgh Hospital for Mental and Nervous Disorders in 1922, the Jordanburn Nerve Hospital was added seven years later for the treatment of informal patients. A children's clinic began in 1931. In 1948, the hospital became part of the Royal Edinburgh and Associated Hospitals. The Andrew Duncan Clinic opened in 1965; the Young People's Unit in 1968, the Alcohol Problems Unit in the same year and the Jardine Clinic in 1982. In 1994, it became the Edinburgh Healthcare NHS Trust Hospital, and in 1999 the Lothian Primary Care NHS Trust.
Archival History: Records held within the National Health Service prior to transfer
Immediate Source of Acquisition or Transfer: Royal Edinburgh Hospital February 1983


Scope and Content: Management 1792-1948; administration 1807-2003; finance 1841-1971; history and publications 1845-2003; staff 1846-1987; patients (bound records) 1817-1994; patients (unbound records) 1900s-1960s; photographs c1900-c1980
Accruals: Further accessions are expected
System of Arrangement: Chronological within record class


Conditions Governing Access: Public access to these records is governed by UK data protection legislation, the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, and the current Scottish Government Records Management: NHS Code of Practice (Scotland).
Conditions Governing Reproduction: Reproduction is subject to closure periods and physical condition
Language/Scripts of Material: English

Existence and Location of Copies: Microfilm copies of LHB7/50

Related Units of Description:
Birrell, Jill, clinical psychologist (GD1/60)
Catford, Edwin Francis, hospital historian (GD12)
Duguid, Margaret, nurse (GD1/34)
Edinburgh Healthcare NHS Trust (LHB49)
Physician Superintendents of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital (GD16)
Royal Edinburgh and Associated Hospitals Board of Management (LHB14)
Royal Edinburgh Asylum Medical Library (GD17)
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh Samaritan Society (GD2)
Royal Medico-Psychological Association, Scottish Division (GD15)

Archivists' Notes: Compiled by Mike Barfoot and Jenny McDermott using existing handlists
Rules or Conventions: Description based on ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description International Council on Archives (2nd edition), 2000
Date(s) of Description: May 2000; updated August 2009, January 2011