Royal Hospital Linen League

The Royal Hospital Linen League was inaugurated by Miss Jane Read and a few friends in 1911. Between 1911 and 1948, when the Royal Portsmouth Hospital became part of the NHS, gifts of money and linen worth more than £10,000 were contributed to the care of patients.

The Matron addressing the annual meeting in 1948 gave the following tribute, ‘You have done a grand job. It has not been an easy task to undertake the work of supplying a hospital like the Royal with its linen and you have done well. You cannot realise how much it has meant to a Ward Sister to know that she could go to the Linen Cupboard and get just what she wanted for her patients’ needs.’

St James Hospital

This hospital was opened in 1879 as a lunatic asylum. Its very extensive grounds were cultivated until 1965 by patients who were thus allowed to contribute to their keep. It was one of the largest institutions of it type in the south of England and remains the only one still in use for its original purpose. The many changes in name through the decades reflect society’s view of mental illness: The Borough of Portsmouth Lunatic Asylum; Portsmouth Borough Mental Hospital; St James’ Hospital for Nervous and Mental Diseases and St James’ Psychiatric Hospital. Portsmouth City Records Office hold an extensive archival collection for this and the other hospitals in Portsmouth.