LHB3/3A Edinburgh Royal Maternity Hospital and Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion

Collection Summary

Reference Code: GB239 LHB3, LHB3A
Title: Edinburgh Royal Maternity Hospital and Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion
Dates of Creation of Material: 1768-2000
Level of Description: Fonds
Extent and Medium of the Unit of Description: 85.55 shelf metres: bound volumes and papers


Name of creator(s): Edinburgh Royal Maternity Hospital; Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion
Administrative History: The Maternity Hospital opened in 1879 as Edinburgh's first planned maternity hospital building, and was preceded by the General Lying in Hospital (1793) and its variously named successors. It was funded by a collection to commemorate Sir James Young Simpson's contribution to obstetrics. The first ante-natal clinic in Britain began there in 1915; and a post-natal clinic followed in 1926, the same year it amalgamated with the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion opened in 1939. From 1939 the "Simpson" was directly managed by the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh as one of its grouped hospitals and became part of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh National Health Service Trust in 1994. As a result of hospital re-organisation in 1999, it was placed in the Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Archival History: Records held within the National Health Service prior to transfer
Immediate Source of Acquisition or Transfer: Mrs Sutherland, Records Officer, SMMP October 1983; LHB3A Monica Thompson, Professional Development Office, SMMP, July 1997

Scope and Content: LHB3: Management 1856-1958; finance 1876-1974; administration 1859-1988; staff 1892-1991; Queen Mary Nursing Home 1913-1970; patients (bound records) 1844-1993; patients (unbound records) 1933-1954; LHB3A: nursing 1768-1994

Accruals: Further accessions are expected
System of Arrangement: Chronological within record class


Conditions Governing Access: Access is subject to the terms of the NHS Records Management Code of Practice 2010, the UK Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
Conditions Governing Reproduction: Reproduction is subject to closure periods and physical condition
Language/Scripts of Material: English

Related Units of Description:
Anderson, Mary Leslie, nurse (GD1/16)
Cuthbert, Jessie, nurse (GD1/13)
Edinburgh Lying-in Institute (GD1/76)
Hospital for Diseases of Women Edinburgh (LHB31)
Johnstone, Robert William, medical practitioner (GD11)
Martin, Irene Susan, nurse (GD1/78)
Reid, Winifred, nurse (GD1/15)
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (LHB1)
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and Associated Hospitals Board of Management (LHB2)
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh Samaritan Society (GD2)
South Lothian District, Lothian Health Board (LHB28)
Todd, Jane, nurse (GD1/35)

Willowbrae House Maternity Home, 1938


Publication Note:
Catford, E. F. The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh 1929-1979 Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press, 1984


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; revised August 2002, June 2007, August 2009, January 2011