Harriet Wheelock / Thursday 3 February 2011 New Acquisition – the papers of the Newcastle Sanatorium, co. Wicklow At the end of last year the Archive received a donation of the papers of the Newcastle Sanatorium in County Wicklow. The Royal National Hospital for Consumption (Newcastle Sanatorium) was established in 1893 by public subscription. It was one of the first hospitals in Ireland devoted to the treatment of what was then one of the most prevalent diseases in the country. Many Members and Fellows of the College were involved with the sanatorium, providing either the medical skills or financial support, including Thomas Wrigley Grimshaw (President 1895) who was heavily involved in the founding of the sanatorium. The records donated to archive include minute books and patient registers covering the whole period of the hospital’s existence from 1893 to its closure in 1963, as well as other papers including financial records and architectural plans. The papers complement many of the collections already held in the College’s archive including the papers of the National Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis and those of Saint Ultan’s Hospital. Saint Ultan’s Hospital was the first hospital in the British Isles to make use of the BCG Vaccination and was the home of the National BCG Committee. The founding of the Sanatorium was surrounded in controversy. In 1891 Miss Florence Wynne had written to the press suggesting that a national sanatorium for the treating of TB should be founded, and then went on to establish a provisional committee to which she acted as secretary. In July 1892 the Committee had two sites to choose from: one at Ballycorus, near Shankill, and the other at Newcastle. Although the medical committee favoured Ballycorus, Lady Zetland (the wife of the Lord Lieutenant) threatened to withdraw her influence if the Newcastle site was not chosen. Her influence held sway, the site at Newcastle was selected and Miss Wynne resigned. The hospital opened in March 1896 with 24 beds, the number of beds rising to 125 by the outbreak of the First World War. X-ray facilities were added in 1935 and a modern operating block in 1936. Relations between the medical staff and the board were difficult in the early years of the hospital, with the medical staff feeling that the board interfered unnecessarily in the methods of treatment. Matters came to a head in 1912 when Dr Crofton was appointed a visiting physician causing the rest of the medical staff to resign. The College of Physicians held a meeting in support of the medical staff and the records can be found in the College archive (RCPI/2/3/3/12). When Crofton left in 1927, the former medical staff returned on condition they were given representation on the Board, which greatly improved the running of the hospital. In the 1960s, as the treatment for TB changed, fewer beds were needed in sanatoriums and Newcastle closed in 1963. The papers of the Newcastle Sanatorium will be catalogued as part of the current cataloguing project. Until they are catalogued readers can still access the records, although some of the patient registers will be closed under our access guidelines, which can be found here.