Central London Ophthalmic Hospital

The Central London Ophthalmic Hospital began its life in eighteen forty-three as a small, modest institution in a house near Brunswick Square. Founded by the eye surgeon Alfred Smee, it sought to provide medical care to the city’s poorest residents who were suffering from eye injuries or diseases. Smee was a true polymath who also served as the official surgeon to the Bank of England and spent his spare time as a pioneer in the field of early artificial intelligence. Within just six months of opening its doors, the hospital had already treated over seven hundred patients. This overwhelming demand forced the institution to relocate multiple times as it outgrew its space, eventually settling into a purpose-built facility on Judd Street in nineteen thirteen. The move was so meticulously planned that the hospital closed at its old location on a Saturday and reopened in its new home just two days later. During the first world war, the hospital pivoted its mission to serve injured servicemen, opening its beds to those in need of urgent ophthalmic care. Following its later amalgamation into a larger network of eye hospitals, the Judd Street building was transformed into the Institute of Ophthalmology, where it remained a vital hub for vision research for many decades.