The Spaces of the Hospital

Book excerpt: The Spaces of the Hospital examines how hospitals operated as a complex category of social, urban and architectural space in London from 1680 to 1820. This period witnessed the transformation of the city into a modern metropolis. The hospital was very much part of this process and its spaces, both interior and exterior, help us to understand these changes in terms of spatiality and spatial practices. Exploring the hospital through a series of thematic case studies, Dana Arnold presents a theoretically refined reading of how these institutions both functioned as internal discrete locations and interacted with the metropolis. Examples range from the grand royal military hospital, those concerned with the destitute and the insane and the new cultural phenomenon of the voluntary hospital. This engaging book makes an important contribution to our understanding of urban space and of London, uniquely examining how different theoretical paradigms reveal parallel readings of these remarkable hospital buildings.