Jessop Hospital, Sheffield

The Jessop Hospital for Women is a former medical institution that is now closed, since 2001. The hospital opened in 1878. Its construction was made possible with a large donation by Thomas Jessop, a wealthy steelworks owner, who sought to replace the old Sheffield Hospital for Women, at Figtree Lane, which had only six beds.

The new facility, featuring the classic Gothic Revival style, was designed by John Dodsley Webster. The building had fifty-seven beds and cost £26,000 – equivalent to approximately £2.1m in today's money – all paid for by Jessop.

An extension, known as the Edwardian wing, was completed in 1902. Between 1927 and 1972, another 45-bed annex, at Norton Hall, known as the Firth Auxiliary Hospital, was added.

The Jessop Hospital was made famous worldwide in 1998 when its patient, Diane Blood, gave birth to a baby boy, having been inseminated with her husband's sperm, which had been taken from his body while he was unconscious on life support, shortly before his death. A prolonged legal case gave her the right to do this, despite not having the written consent of her husband.

In 2007, the majority of the 1970s wing was demolished by the University of Sheffield, as part of their Jessop West development. The Victorian Wing of the original hospital was converted to house the Department of Music, which occupied it in 2009.

As for the Edwardian wing, despite its listed status and strong objection from the Victorian Society, it was put in for demolition in 2013. The latter was meant to provide the University of Sheffield with a greater floor area for a new development at a lower cost. The new building, Jessop West (seven stories high), is now home to the English, History and Modern Languages departments of the University.