Roof top theatres
Salisbury General Infirmary and top floor theatres
You may have already read ‘How do you light an operating theatre?’ Here we explained that when Salisbury General Infirmary was first built the operating theatres were in the rooftops of the building, so they could be lit by natural sky light. Below are some photographs from our archive some 100 years later, in the early 1990s, which show that the theatres continued to function on the Infirmary’s top floor right up until its closure.
The first image below is of the front facade of Salisbury General Infirmary. The central section is from the original hospital building. You can just about read the faded inscription ‘General Infirmary supported by voluntary contributions 1767’. Immediately above that are the 2 long horizontal windows of the operating theatres. Either side of these are the scrub up and sterilizing areas.
Various other images show views from the theatres across the Salisbury city centre skyline, the Infirmary’s rooftop terrace and the roofs of surrounding hospital buildings, as well as inside the theatres.
