A photograph of the Board Room at Glasgow Royal Infirmary at the end of the 19th century. The list of names on the wall to the right appears to include subscribers or donors. Next to each name is the amount which they contributed to the infirmary's funds.
The Royal was a "voluntary" hospital (financed by voluntary contributions from subscribers and donors) from its opening in 1794 until 2 July 1948, when it was placed under the control of the National Health Service's Western Regional Hospital Board. Under its Charter of Incorporation of 1791, the infirmary was managed by a board of twenty-five managers or directors, eight of whom were elected by public bodies and ten by the general court of major contributors.
Initially, those who paid a lump sum of £10 or an annual subscription of 1 guinea (£1.10p) were entitled to recommend one patient each year to be admitted to the Royal for treatment. Higher donations entitled the subscriber to recommend up to four individuals. Subscribers ranged from local merchants and industrialists to church congregations and members of the landed gentry.
Reference: RCPSG 28/36
Reproduced with the permission of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow
Keywords:
board rooms, donors, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, hospitals, philanthropists, subscribers, voluntary hospitals
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