The Exeter Dispensary

Founded in 1818 by Dr Henry Blackall to provide relief for the poor suffering from fevers and contagious diseases, and for children who were unfit to be admitted by the Devon and Exeter Hospital. Premises were rented for £31 per annum on Frienhay Street, and it opened for business in March. Six physicians, six surgeons and three consultant surgeons offered their services for free. It was funded by subscription, with a guinea making the donor a governor of the institution.

Many infectious cases, that would not be be admitted to the Devon and Exeter, were dealt with in the first 9 months of operation. Whooping cough, small pox, dysentery, scarlatina and general coughs and stomach complaints were treated. Patients were admitted at 12 noon each day, on rotation, or visited in their homes. In 1828 9,665 cases were dealt with, and its physicians attended many of the cholera cases in the 1832 epidemic. Dr Hennis who was killed in a duel in 1833, working from the dispensary, laboured tirelessly during the outbreak. Dr Shapter, who chronicled the epidemic in 1848, inaugurated the Devon and Exeter Pathological Society at the dispensary, in the same year.

After several years of searching for a site to build a purpose designed dispensary, land on the corner of Northernhay Street and Queen Street, opposite the City Prison, now the Rougemont Hotel, was acquired from the City Council. The foundation stone was laid on 12th August 1840 by Sir John Buller MP. The building, designed by Mr Greig, was opened in 1843 and cost £2,300.

In 1896, the hospital was altered to allow accommodation for one nurse. Most cases were treated as outpatients as accommodation was very limited. The rather attractive building became offices for the NHS towards the end of the 20th Century, before the University of Plymouth occupied the building at the start of the 21st century.