Who are they?
Maud Forrester-Brown and Caleb Hillier Parry
We've often wondered about the people who inspired our ward names. So, we took the 70th birthday of the NHS as an opportunity to find out a bit more.
Pulteney ward
The Rt. Hon William Pulteney, Earl of Bath, laid the foundation stone for the General Hospital in Upper Borough Walls on July 6 1738. This is what we now know as the Min.
Violet Prince ward
With her father, MP Sidney Robinson, Violet Prince donated a large sum of money towards the Min being rebuilt on a new larger site by the river. However, war broke out eight days before the foundation stone was due to be laid in 1939, halting building work.
Forbes Fraser Pharmacy
Forbes Fraser was a surgeon, and previously gave his name to the Forbes Fraser Hospital – a private hospital opened at Combe Park in 1924. He died around the time it opened as a result of a cut received while operating, causing septicaemia.
Forrester Brown ward
Maud F. Forrester-Brown was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the Bath and Wessex Orthopaedic Hospital in the early 1900s, and the first female orthopaedic surgeon in Britain. She was also known for riding her horse to work, tethering it outside the theatre while she operated.
Cheselden ward
William Cheselden was the foremost surgeon of his time. He frequently visited Bath and died in the city in 1752, supposedly from consuming a combination of hot buns and ale.
Parry ward
The Parrys were a well-known medical family in Bath. Caleb Hillier Parry was a physician at the Min. He had four sons of which one, Charles, also became a physician, and the youngest, William, achieved fame as an arctic explorer.
Waterhouse ward
Rupert Waterhouse was Resident Medical Officer at the Min and went on to be a well-known specialist in the early 1900s.
Philip Yeoman ward
Philip Yeoman was a consultant at the Min and the Bath Orthopaedic Hospital from 1964, specialising in the surgical rehabilitation of patients with ankylosing spondylitis.
Mary ward
The ward was named for Queen Mary, the wife of George V.
Charlotte ward
The ward was named for Charlotte of Micklenburg-Strelitz, Queen to George III.
William Budd ward
William Budd was a physician in the 1800s, with a particular interest in typhoid, cholera and tuberculosis.
Helena ward
Named for Queen Victoria's third daughter, HRH Princess Helena Augusta Victoria.
Princess Anne Wing
Named for HRH Princess Anne, who officially opened the unit in 1981.
Bernard Ireland House
Originally built as accommodation for additional staff needed for the new Princess Anne Wing, the building was named after the last chairman of the Bath Hospital Management Committee before its dissolution.
If you have information about any of our other ward names, we'd love to share it. Please contact the Communications team on ruh-tr.communicationteam@nhs.net.
Sources include The Royal United Hospital by Kate Clarke, The Royal United Hospital – a Short History by Jack Lloyd, The Hospital of the Nation by Roger Rolls and The Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases Bath by George Durant Kersley.