Victorian origins Situated in Tipton Road,
Dudley the buildings were originally constructed as
almshouses in 1849 by the
William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley to accommodate workers who had become blind in the
limestone pits. They were taken over by Joseph Guest, an
English chainmaker who developed his industry in the
Black Country of
Central England during the
Industrial Revolution of the 19th century. Guest provided the finance to convert the almshouses for hospital use. The new hospital was officially opened by
Georgina Ward, Countess of Dudley on 25 October 1871.
20th century hospital In 1908,
Tipton pawnbroker Hugh Lewis left a significant sum to the hospital. Most of the hospital was rebuilt between 1929 and 1939, on the far side not visible from Tipton Road, though part of these new buildings were visible from Birmingham New Road which opened in 1927 and allowed for a second vehicular access point (which was closed in the 1990s). A new pre-fabricated timber/plaster board annex was added in the 1960s, and survived until the hospital's closure. The hospital's accident and emergency department closed in the spring of 1984 and was relocated to the new
Russells Hall Hospital. Around this time, there were concerns in the local area that Guest Hospital was on the verge of closure, but the opening of a new hydrotherapy pool and physiotherapy department in 1986 appeared to ease those concerns. However,
National Health Service officials announced in July 1990 that they were considering closing the hospital (along with nearby
Burton Road Hospital, which ultimately closed in December 1993) and expanding Russells Hall to accommodate replacement facilities, but the hospital survived another 17 years. The former nurse's home at the hospital was demolished in 1996.
Redevelopment A major programme of renovation work to convert the main hospital building into 29 apartments began in November 2015. The new owners of the apartments were able to take possession of their properties in "Bourne Hall" in December 2018. ==Gallery==