Community, Cholera, Chapel and Children: The History of Chester Royal Infirmary’s Surviving Stained-glass Windows

Abstract

The installation of two sets of stained-glass windows at Chester Royal Infirmary in the early twentieth century represent one of the ways in which Florence Nightingale’s suggested improvements to the lives of patients could be achieved through attractive and colourful objects in the hospital environment. Generations of patients were thus able to benefit from these artefacts until the closure of the hospital in 1994 and the removal of the windows from the original building. Four of these windows were installed at the University of Chester’s Wheeler Building (formerly County Hall) as a community project in 2023. Background research was undertaken to piece together the stories behind these windows and the many people involved, who themselves contributed to the hospital, city and beyond in many different ways. Therefore, this article explores the history behind the windows and their time as popular features of this key medical institution, which provided care for Chester’s patients for over 230 years.