Our hospitals have a rich history of breaking the barriers of modern medicine and providing compassionate care for our community.
The old Addenbrooke's Hospital site based on Trumpington Street, Cambridge
Our hospitals' story
Addenbrooke’s and The Rosie hospitals have been helping people and improving medicine for many years. Here’s a simple look at their history:
- 1719: John Addenbrooke left money to start a hospital in Cambridge.
- 1766: Addenbrooke’s Hospital opened with 20 beds. Ann Perry was the first matron.
- 1838: The Cambridge Union Workhouse was built, later becoming Mill Road Maternity Hospital in 1948.
- 1846: Addenbrooke’s used the first general anaesthetic.
- 1864-65: The hospital was expanded.
- 1877: The first student nurses trained at Addenbrooke’s.
- 1899: The House of Recovery opened in Hunstanton.
- 1905: Nurses were paid for their training.
- 1919: Cambridge University started the first medical radiology diploma in Britain.
- 1948: Mill Road Maternity Hospital opened. Addenbrooke’s became a teaching hospital.
- 1962: The Queen opened the first part of the new Addenbrooke’s Hospital.
- 1975: The hospital did its first open-heart surgery.
- 1983: The Rosie Maternity Unit opened.
- 1992: Addenbrooke’s became an NHS Trust.
- 2004: Addenbrooke’s became a Foundation Hospital.
- 2005: New units opened at Addenbrooke’s and The Rosie.
- 2007: The Queen opened the Cancer Research Centre.
- 2008: The Institute of Metabolic Science opened.
- 2013: The Queen opened the new Rosie Hospital, and a new centre for haemophilia and thrombophilia was launched.
These are just some of the key moments in the long history of Addenbrooke’s and The Rosie, continuing to provide great care to the community.