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Somerset Hospital - First Cape Town, Western Cape

Date: 1819 Type: Hospital Status: Demolished 1930s

The first hospital for civilians was founded by Dr Bailey, a naval surgeon who had been present at the Battle of Trafalgar. Opened in 1819, the Old Somerset Hospital was a single-storeyed structure surrounding a quadrangle, and was only demolished during the 1930s. By the mid-19th century this old building had become totally inadequate and a new hospital was planned in a healthy position overlooking the sea. (Picton-Seymour 1989:29) See the New Hospital completed in 1862. References: Malan, Antonia, Halkett, D J & Hart, Timothy James Graham . 2017. Grave encounters : archaeology of the burial grounds, Green Point, South Africa. Cape Town: ACO Associates cc. pg 11, 29-30, 33-34, 45 Picton-Seymour, Désirée. 1989. Historical Buildings in South Africa. Cape Town: Struikhof Publishers. pg 29