"Now gentlemen, I want to found a hospital for the treatment of cancer, and for the study of the disease, for at the present time we know absolutely nothing about it."
Dr William Marsden - 1851
The Royal Marsden was the first hospital in the world dedicated to the study and treatment of cancer. It was founded as the Free Cancer Hospital in 1851 by Dr William Marsden at 1 Cannon Row, Westminster.
Marsden, deeply affected by the death of his wife Elizabeth Ann from cancer, resolved to classify tumours, research the causes and find new treatments.
Early days
The hospital at first consisted solely of a dispensary and the drugs prescribed were palliative and aimed at treating symptoms, but it allowed William Marsden the opportunity to study and research the disease.
The hospital quickly outgrew its original premises as it became apparent that some patients required inpatient care. It moved locations several times during the 1850s until its benefactors decided to find a permanent solution. Funds were raised to build a dedicated new building on Fulham Road, Chelsea and the hospital moved to its new site in 1862.
Royal Charter of Incorporation
The hospital was granted its Royal Charter of Incorporation by King George V in 1910 and became known as The Cancer Hospital (Free). This was subsequently changed by King Edward VIII to include the word ‘Royal’ and in 1954 the hospital was renamed The Royal Marsden Hospital in recognition of the vision and commitment of its founder.
Creation of the NHS
When the NHS was formed in 1948 The Royal Marsden became a postgraduate teaching hospital. In response to the need to expand to treat more patients and train more doctors, a second hospital in Sutton, Surrey, was opened in 1962.
Our achievements
The Royal Marsden is proud of its record of achievement.
In 1991 it became the first NHS hospital to be awarded the Queen’s Award for Technology for its work on drug development.
The hospital achieved the international quality standard ISO 9001 for radiotherapy in 1996 and for chemotherapy in 2003.
It was recognised as one of six centres of excellence in the Government’s NHS Plan.
It has achieved five national Charter Mark / Customer Service Excellence awards for all its services, most recently in December 2008.
In April 2004, the hospital became one of the country’s first NHS Foundation Trusts. This new status has provided the financial freedom and greater flexibility to focus on allowing more patients to access our expertise.
In 2008, The Royal Marsden was awarded the highest score of ‘excellent’ by the Healthcare Commission for both quality of services and use of resources for the third year running – the only NHS trust to do this. This follows four successive years of being awarded the highest rating of three stars in the NHS performance indicators.
Today, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, in association with The Institute of Cancer Research, has an unrivalled worldwide reputation for its patient care, research and education.
In November 2006, The Royal Marsden, together with its academic partner The Institute of Cancer Research, was designated the UK’s only Biomedical Research Centre for Cancer by The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). This involved a £10 million annual research grant and £6 million capital investment to build a state-of-the-art Translational Research Centre.
