Charing Cross Hospital Medical School (CXHMS) was the oldest of the constituent medical schools of Imperial College School of Medicine.

Charing Cross remains a hospital on the forefront of medicine; in recent times pioneering the clinical use of CT scanning, reflective of its position as one of the most important neuroscience centres in London; and advances in oncology and chemotherapy. Students of the medical school have benefited from this expertise, with many taking a research interest in these areas during their training.

History

Charing Cross Hospital and Medical School in 1881, in Charing Cross

It was founded in 1818, as part of the Charing Cross Hospital, by Dr Benjamin Golding, to meet the needs of the poor who flocked to the cities in search of work in the new factories.[1] This was a revolutionary notion at a time when London doctors mainly practised privately. The hospital was well patronised, and soon had to move to larger premises in Agar Street (near Villiers Street, off the Strand), where it first became known as Charing Cross in 1834.

Buildings on this site were expanded several times, but by the late 1950s it became clear that no further expansion would be possible in the area, and the hospital would have to move. Two sites were identified – a rebuild of the Fulham Hospital in west London, and a new-build site at Northwick Park in Harrow, north London. Whilst many staff supported the idea of moving to the northern suburbs, the Fulham site was selected and building began in the late 1960s. Northwick Park Hospital was built as well, but to a reduced budget.

The modern hospital tower in Fulham

The new hospital opened in 1973, still known as Charing Cross Hospital. To avoid confusion, for the first ten years, correspondence was referred to "Charing Cross Hospital at Fulham".

From the opening of the new hospital in 1973, the medical school was contained entirely within the hospital tower (in the east wing laboratory block), but in 1976 the medical school's own building (the Reynolds Building) was completed. Housing the CXHMS students’ union (now part of Imperial College School of Medicine Students' Union, it saw the start of many ongoing traditions, including the annual "Invasion of London", in which garishly-dressed students persuade commuters and other city folk to donate to charity.[2] A large brass Maltese cross was brought from the old (Strand) site to the bar to serve as the students' emblem, and newly qualified doctors traditionally "Sign the Cross" on graduation.

Merger

In 1984, CXHMS merged with local rivals Westminster Hospital Medical School to form Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School (CXWMS). This merger took place against the background of a series of mergers between London medical schools in the early 1980s, which foreshadowed the second, larger round of mergers in the late 1990s. During this round, CXWMS merged with Imperial College, London (whose medical department was at St Mary's Hospital Medical School), the National Heart and Lung Institute at the Royal Brompton Hospital, and the Royal Postgraduate Medical School to form Imperial College School of Medicine.

Alumni

List of deans

Dean Degrees Took office Left office
Benjamin GoldingMD18211856
Henry HancockFRCS18561867
W Hyde SalterMD FRCP FRS18671868
Julius PollockMD FRCP18681874
Francis HirdFRCS18741883
J Mitchell BruceMA MD FRCP18831890
Stanley BoydMBBS FRCS18901895
Hubert Montague MurrayMD FRCP18951901
HF WaterhouseMD CM FRCS19011906
Christopher AddisonMD FRCS19061907
FC WallisMBBS FRCS19071910
CF Myers WardLRCP MRCS19101911
William HunterMD CM FRCS FRS(Ed)19111917
William J FentonMD FRCP19171927
FH YoungOBE MD FRCP19271930
Eric A CrookMA MCh FRCS19301940
RA HicklingBA MD FRCP19401944
HWC VinesMA MD19441950
Edwin C WarnerBSc MD FRCP19501956
William J HamiltonDSc MD FRCOG FRS(Ed)19561962
Seymour JR ReynoldsMA MBBChir DMRE19621976
Tony W GlenisterCBE TD MBBS PhD DSc19761989
John EH PendowerMBBS FRCS Barrister-at-Law19891993
Roger M GreenhalghMA MD MChir FRCS19931997
M WhitehouseMA MD FRCP FRCP(Edin) FRCR1997

See also

References

  1. ↑ Brown, Kevin (19 October 2018). "A Personal Fiefdom: Benjamin Golding and the establishment of Charing Cross Hospital". ICSM Gazette. Imperial College of Medicine. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  2. ↑ The Reynolds Bar – ICSMSU

Video clips

51°29′14″N 0°13′13″W / 51.4872°N 0.2202°W / 51.4872; -0.2202

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