Monkwearmouth Hospital

The Monkwearmouth Hospital was constructed at the site off Newcastle Road between 1930 and 1932. A series of architectural plans from the 1920s for the new Monkwearmouth Hospital were produced by W & T R Milburn, Architects, Sunderland show the proposed drainage plan for the Monkwearmouth and Southwick Hospital. The original Monkwearmouth Hospital (Monkwearmouth and Southwick Dispensary) was constructed c.1870 and was located at the Workmen’s Hall situated on Whitburn Street. The new Monkwearmouth Hospital is typical of early 20th century municipal architecture. It is constructed from red brick, stone banding, cills and lintels and it has a slate roof. The hospital was constructed with large Georgian style sash windows on the ground and first floor and had smaller windows elsewhere. The entrance was designed with a central portico. The building was opened on the 27 July 1932 by Priestman. Edward VIII, the Prince of Wales, aided the construction of the hospital by calling for more community facilities and improvements in Sunderland. There are two commemorative stones at the front of the hospital, the first commemorates Sir John Priestman and the opening of the hospital, and the second is a foundation stone which was laid in 1930 by Edward VIII. Historic maps show the hospitals expansion to the southern part of the site between 1950-1990. Adjacent to the boundary wall, along Newcastle Road, a memorial crest of Joseph Lowes Thompson was recently identified Joseph Lowes Thompson was the shipbuilder who previously inherited the land and built Ashville House. The building has been heavily modernised over the years and rooms converted into modern offices and stores.