The hospital has its origins in a small house in Guinea Street where it was established with 20 beds in 1832, primarily with support of Quakers.

[1][2] Construction of purpose-built facility, at a site previously occupied by Bathurst Ironworks and designed by William Bruce Gingell, was undertaken between 1852 and 1856.

[2] The nurses accommodation, designed by Henry Crisp and Sir George Oatley, was completed in 1895 and extended in 1907.

[2] The King Edward VII Wing, a substantial additional clinical facility, followed in 1914, just before the start of the First World War.

[3] In 2008, the hospital was used as the filming location for the BBC Three drama series Being Human, which was broadcast in early 2009.