Italian Hospital And Attached Wall And Railings

CAMDEN

TQ3081NW QUEEN SQUARE 798-1/100/1366 (South side) 14/01/92 Italian Hospital and attached wall and railings

GV II

Hospital on a corner site. 1898-9 by TW Cutler with c1910 Boswell Street extension by JD Slater. Channelled Portland stone ground floor; upper floors red brick with stone dressings. STYLE: English Baroque. EXTERIOR: 4 storeys and basement. 6 windows to Queen Square; left return to Boswell Street, 19 window range. Central projecting canted portico with concave returns, each with a narrow light; Tuscan pilasters support a broken pediment with elaborately foliated coat of arms of the Italian Royal Family above the round-arched entrance having cast and wrought-iron gates with cross motifs and Art Nouveau influenced overthrow. Plain 4-pane sashes to ground floor. Plain band at 1st floor level above which a wide band forming the podium for giant Corinthian pilasters articulating the bays and rising through 1st and 2nd floors to support an entablature with projecting modillion cornice, the frieze inscribed "The Italian Hospital"; clasping pilasters at angles. Architraved 1st and 2nd floor 4-pane sashes with rectangular light above; 1st floor has segmental pediments, 2nd floor with scrolled architraves and scrolled pediments with swags and keystones. Attic storey articulated by pilaster strips supporting a blocking course, broken forward above pilasters; lugged architraves to 4-pane sashes. Left hand angle has cartouche inscribed "John Ortelli/ founded/ 1884/ Rebuilt/ 1898/ this/ hospital". 3 return bays similar, then a projecting circular brick stair tower (flanked by single recessed bays) the 4th storey of stone with pilasters flanking round-arched windows in round-arched recesses with keystones: this denotes the Chapel. Ribbed lead dome surmounted by a stone lantern with ball and cross. Remainder of Boswell Street facade in red brick with blue brick base. Gauged red brick flat arches to recessed sashes. Plain band at 1st floor, continuous 1st floor sill band and moulded brick cornice. Late C20 slate mansard roof with flush windows. Extension in similar style but ground floor yellow brick with dentil cornice at 1st floor level. INTERIOR: mostly altered; plain chapel. SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: attached stone walls to areas and sweeping in to portico; cast-iron railings.

HISTORICAL NOTE: the Italian Hospital was founded in 1884 by Giovanni Ortelli, originally in converted back-rooms of No.41 Queen Square. It was run by the Sisters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul for the Italian community in London, most of whom were concentrated in the Clerkenwell and Holborn areas. The hospital closed in 1990.

Listing NGR: TQ3042481887