Italian Hospital And Attached Wall And Railings

The Italian Hospital, built on a corner site in 1898-9 by T.W. Cutler, with a circa 1910 extension along Boswell Street designed by J.D. Slater, stands as an example of English Baroque architecture. The lower level is constructed from channelled Portland stone, while the upper floors are of red brick with stone dressings.

The building is four storeys high with a basement, featuring six windows facing Queen Square and a nineteen-window range along Boswell Street. A prominent, centrally projecting canted portico with concave returns is topped by a broken pediment displaying an intricately carved coat of arms of the Italian Royal Family. The round-arched entrance is framed by cast and wrought iron gates incorporating cross motifs and Art Nouveau influences. Plain four-pane sash windows are present on the ground floor. A plain horizontal band sits above the ground floor, followed by a wide band forming a podium for giant Corinthian pilasters that run up through the first and second floors, supporting an entablature with a projecting modillion cornice. The frieze is inscribed with "The Italian Hospital." Pilasters flank the corners of the building. The first and second floor windows are architraved with four panes, having segmental pediments on the first floor and scrolled architraves with scrolled pediments bearing swags and keystones on the second. An attic storey is articulated with pilaster strips and a blocking course. A cartouche on the corner of the building reads "John Ortelli / founded / 1884 / Rebuilt / 1898 / this / hospital." A projecting circular brick stair tower rises from the building, flanked by recessed bays, and features a fourth-storey of stone with pilasters framing round-arched windows within recessed arches topped with keystones; this houses the Chapel. The tower is capped by a ribbed lead dome surmounted by a stone lantern with a ball and cross. The Boswell Street façade is primarily brick, with a blue brick base, gauged red brick flat arches over recessed sashes, a first-floor sill band, a moulded brick cornice, and a late 20th-century slate mansard roof with flush windows. The extension to Boswell Street is in a similar style but has a yellow brick ground floor with a dentil cornice at the first-floor level.

The interior has largely been altered, though the chapel remains relatively plain. The building is surrounded by attached stone walls and features sweeping iron railings.

Established in 1884 by Giovanni Ortelli, initially operating from converted rooms at No. 41 Queen Square, the Italian Hospital served the Italian community of London, most notably those residing in Clerkenwell and Holborn. The hospital, managed by the Sisters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul, ceased operations in 1990.