Origins
Image courtesy of Sheffield Archives, ref: s07337
In 1792 a group of concerned individuals called a public meeting at Sheffield Cutlers Hall to gather support for a charity to provide health care for the poor. It took five years for the supporters to acquire land and build the Sheffield General Infirmary Voluntary Hospital. The official opening took place on 4th October, 1797, following a Grand Procession and Service at the parish church.
The hospital was later renamed the Sheffield Royal Infirmary and continued to provide health services to the local population until 1978, when patients and services were moved to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital.
Understanding the data
The data lists 3,980 occasions when supporters contributed a gift to the charity, either financially or by service, between 1792 and 1842. The data was originally collected as a by-product of research into financial support for the hospital charity. Information was recorded in notes and on index cards which remain with the researcher. Thanks to J.E. Ashley, M.A. (member 5276) who has donated this unique collection to the Society as a database to support family history research.
Each entry lists Name and Year, Contribution, with perhaps an Address or Occupation. The most popular gift was an annual subscription paid at Midsummer. The New Subscriptions were carefully recorded in ledgers and were essential to the functioning of the charity. Money was collected in amounts of guineas (21 shillings) with a few exceptions in pounds (20 shillings).
Yet, circumstances could change, and those who ‘Declined’ to meet an annual payment were also listed, with occasional reasons given. Strict rules stated how supporters could bestow charity, carefully allocated in proportion to the gift. For example, the 1 guinea subscription allowed for one out-patient recommendation to the hospital each year, the 2 guinea subscription allowed for one in-patient and two out-patients within the year. The prospective patient should be of good behaviour and must produce a letter of recommendation from their supporter.
Searching the records
The data has been divided to make searching easier. The links below will open on new pages.
Original sources
Sheffield Archives hold the primary source manuscripts and subscription ledgers which are now part of the collection NHS17/3/… (financial) in the on-line catalogue. This replaces the earlier Sheffield Record Office (SRO) 333/H5/… reference series listed in the database. Archives staff are best placed to help with queries about access to hospital records.