National Heart and Lung Institute

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0098 National Heart and Lung Institute
Held at	: Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/recordsandarchives ›
Full title	: National Heart and Lung Institute
Date(s)	: 1877-1972
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: 6 volumes; 81 portraits; approx 750 letters (Marcus Paterson collection); 1 file (Frederick Rufenacht Walters papers).
Name of creator(s)	: National Heart and Lung Institute

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

The National Heart and the Institute can trace its history back to the emergence of three major London hospitals; the Royal Brompton (1841), The London Chest (1848) and the National Heart (1857). The research arms which developed from these hospitals formally merged in 1973 and became the National Heart and Lung Institute in 1988.
The Brompton Hospital was established as the Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest in 1841 by Philip Rose, a London Solicitor, and emphasized training and research in the field. From 1843 students visited the wards, and by 1851 lectures were held by the first visiting physician, Theophilus Thompson. In the 1870s regular teaching was undertaken through lectures and demonstrations. This was expanded in 1894, and the hospital recognised by the Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons.
The Brompton Hospital Medical School was founded in 1843, and became known as the Institute for Diseases of the Chest in 1947. In 1972 the Institute for the Diseases of the Chest and the Institute of Cardiology merged to form the Cardiothoracic Institute, and became known as the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI) in 1988. Situated next to the Royal Brompton Hospital, the Institute became part of Imperial College in 1995, and part of Imperial College School of Medicine in 1997. The main objective of the Institute is to carry out research, development and education in heart and lung medicine.
The Brompton Hospital Sanatorium was established in 1904 at Frimley in Surrey to treat tuberculosis patients. Dr Marcus Sinclair Paterson (1870-1932) was its first medical superintendant, developing a system of treatment called 'graduated labour', which involved the patients in various levels of physical activity. The treatment caused much interest at the time, and Paterson was contacted by many doctors and health authorities. The sanatorium closed in 1985.
James Edward Pollock (1819-1910) was physician to the Brompton Hospital, 1861-1882, and consulting physician, 1882-1910.
Frederick Rufenacht Walters (1857-1946) was a specialist in tuberculosis, and opened a sanatorium near Farnham in Surrey.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Records of the National Heart and Lung Institute, 1877-1972, incorporating records of the Brompton Hospital, comprising catalogue of pathological specimens at Brompton Hospital, 1877; Dr Pollock's register of females admitted to the Brompton Hospital, 1878-1881; food supervisor's report book, 1924-1933; matron's report book, 1941-1954; illustrations of physicians and scientists, [1905-1913]; resident medical officer's report books, 1937-1947, 1967-1972;
correspondence to Dr Marcus Paterson as medical superintendant of Brompton Hospital Sanatorium, comprising letters from physicians, medical officers of health, former patients and their relatives and employers, trade correspondence relating to the sanatorium and treatment of tuberculosis, [1905-1912];
papers relating to Frederick Rufenacht Walters, [1882-1932], including notebooks concerning his publications, reprints, press cuttings, memoranda and some letters.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

The records are unsorted.

Conditions governing access:

Researchers wishing to consult the Archives should first contact the College Archivist, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, for an appointment.

Conditions governing reproduction:

A photocopying service is available at the discretion of the Archivist. Photocopies are supplied for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Archivist.

Finding aids:

A preliminary list is available at the College Archives.

Archival Information

Archival history:

The letters of Dr Marcus Paterson were presented to the library of the Institute of Diseases of the Chest by Dr A F Foster-Carter (the medical superintendant at Frimley).

Immediate source of acquisition:

The records were transferred to the College Archives from the library of the National Heart and Lung Institute in 1999.

Allied Materials

Related material:

National Register of Archives: Click here to view NRA record

Publication note:

The Marcus Paterson letters are described in the journal Tubercle, 1967 vol 48 pp 63-74.

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Compiled by Julie Tancell as part of the RSLP AIM25 project.

Rules or conventions:
General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal Place and Corporate Names 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
January 2001