Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Children
Detailed history
1881–1947
1948–98
1999 – present
The whole of the estate is Grade II listed, and we are also in a conservation area, which dictates many rules about what can and can’t happen here, for instance bollards which cast light downwards because of bats! Grade 2 listing also includes the perimeter wall around the car park, which used to house the kitchen garden.
The freehold is managed by Simarc on behalf of two freeholders.
The freehold of the grounds belongs to Banstead Wood Management Ltd, and that of the drive up to the start of the buildings still belongs to Try Homes, but is maintained by the estate.
The phone mast down the track on the bend in the drive, pays a rental to use our grounds.
There are limited public footpaths crossing our land, for instance, the path across the zebra crossing halfway down the drive, but the public have no access to the majority of our grounds. On the lawn side, the grounds extend right down to the first footpath in Banstead Woods.
We now have electric vehicle charge points, in the main car park, added and operable since 2023, for which we paid no installation fee; users pay a slight premium on the electricity unit costs which goes to the installation company Zest Eco Ltd. (ironically this unit cost is now less than many of the public charge points!)
There is a refurbishment plan, for which every release holder contributes towards the reserves, and every 5 to 8 years the buildings are decorated inside and out, sometimes more frequently.
For any questions please email [email protected] which goes to one of the directors. Or contact our property managing agents, see contact page.
1881–1947
- In 1881 a 28-acre (11 ha) site on Holly Lane, Banstead, was offered for sale. The land was bought by Francis Baring, a merchant banker.
- In 1884 Baring built a large country mansion, Banstead Wood House. The mansion was designed by the architect Norman Shaw (1831–1912), who also designed New Scotland Yard, 1890.
- In 1893 a local businessman, C. H. Garton, bought the estate and lived there until his death in 1934, whereupon the house was gifted to a hospital trust.
- On 8 May 1902, the hospital in Bethnal Green was declared open by Princess Beatrice.[1]
- On July 23rd 1936 the foundation stone for the new Princess Elizabeth Hospital for Children in Shadwell was laid by Elizabeth, Duchess of York.
- In 1936 the building suffered extensive fire damage and was almost entirely destroyed.
- It was subsequently rebuilt to a design by Goodhart-Rendel (1887–1959).
- The original mansion was extended and other buildings were added.
- 1939–45: in wartime the mansion became an Emergency Military Hospital. The grounds of the Hospital were used by the War Office and as a military camp, later the Banstead Prisoner-of-War Camp.
1948–98
- The Banstead Wood hospital was finally officially opened in July 1948 by Princess Elizabeth (afterwards Queen Elizabeth II) as the Hospital for Children in London, it was believed that the healthy rural environment would be beneficial to deprived children.
- In 1973 it became a hospital for people with learning disabilities.
- The hospital was closed in 1998.
1999 – present
- In 2000, the grade II listed building became derelict.
- In 2005 the site was sold to Try Homes, who converted the existing buildings into a gated housing estate called Banstead Wood Estate. This comprises 109 one-to-three bedroom apartments. The original mansion is now Shaw House, the nurses' home is Elizabeth House, including a new front wing added by Try Homes; the mortuary is Goodhart House, and the hospital is now Rendel House, and includes an extra section on the far left added by Try Homes. You can see photographs in the photo gallery, of what Rendel house used to look like, when the balcony flats were used as hospital wards.
The whole of the estate is Grade II listed, and we are also in a conservation area, which dictates many rules about what can and can’t happen here, for instance bollards which cast light downwards because of bats! Grade 2 listing also includes the perimeter wall around the car park, which used to house the kitchen garden.
The freehold is managed by Simarc on behalf of two freeholders.
The freehold of the grounds belongs to Banstead Wood Management Ltd, and that of the drive up to the start of the buildings still belongs to Try Homes, but is maintained by the estate.
The phone mast down the track on the bend in the drive, pays a rental to use our grounds.
There are limited public footpaths crossing our land, for instance, the path across the zebra crossing halfway down the drive, but the public have no access to the majority of our grounds. On the lawn side, the grounds extend right down to the first footpath in Banstead Woods.
We now have electric vehicle charge points, in the main car park, added and operable since 2023, for which we paid no installation fee; users pay a slight premium on the electricity unit costs which goes to the installation company Zest Eco Ltd. (ironically this unit cost is now less than many of the public charge points!)
There is a refurbishment plan, for which every release holder contributes towards the reserves, and every 5 to 8 years the buildings are decorated inside and out, sometimes more frequently.
For any questions please email [email protected] which goes to one of the directors. Or contact our property managing agents, see contact page.
Royal Links
