It was funded by a bequest from the will of surgeon Henry Fryer, designed by John Peter Gandy and opened in 1828.

[1] Between 1876 and 1879 the hospital was expanded with the addition of three fever ward blocks, under architect Edward Browning with input from surgeon William Newman.

The fever wards are Grade II listed and show how voluntary hospitals dealt with 19th-century epidemics of contagious disease.

[4] The hospital provides a minor injuries unit, large scale outpatient services and day-case surgery, with the largest pain management centre in the region.

[4] The trust's largest hospital, Peterborough City Hospital, provides the majority of emergency and inpatient services in the area; the two together thus provide a comprehensive suite of services in a predominantly "hot" and "cold" split.