[1] The architectural historian John Newman[2] calls this the "one substantial eighteenth century house" in St James Street, though it is surrounded by later attractive façades.

The dispensary is one of 24 buildings on the Monmouth Heritage Trail, marked by a ceramic blue plaque on the wall.

Sir James Paget (Surgeon Extraordinary to Queen Victoria), who inspected the premises in 1873, said it was one of "the most convenient and best ventilated and arranged Institutions he had ever seen".

The annual cost of each bed in 1868 was about £40; this was raised by donations made at Monmouth's banks or directly at the Dispensary.

The Dispensary's catchment area extended to about eight miles outside Monmouth, including part of the Forest of Dean.