Open House Festival

Royal College of Nursing

institution/profession, historical house

Sir Edwin Cooper, 1922

20 Cavendish Square, W1G 0RN

A cleverly integrated mixture of architectural styles and periods, incorporating a late 1720s house (later home to Herbert Henry Asquith) and the purpose-built College of Nursing (1926). Access to main building via guided tour only.

Getting there

Tube

Oxford Circus, Bond Street

Bus

12, 55, 73

Access

Facilities

About

Introduction

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) was founded in 1916, when Dame Sarah Swift approached MP Sir Arthur Stanley to support her in founding a College to help regulate the nursing profession and pursue educational goals. Swift was an early supporter of state registration for nurses and said that her wartime work had opened her eyes to the chaotic state of nurses’ training and the urgent need to protect the interests of nurses. Today, the RCN is both a professional organisation and a trade union, representing over half a million nursing staff, promoting excellence in practice and shaping health policies.

Background of the Buildings

RCN headquarters incorporates an eighteenth century townhouse (20 Cavendish Square) and the purpose-built College of Nursing on Henrietta Place, designed by Sir Edwin Cooper (1922-6). Cooper was later commissioned to integrate the two buildings with 21 Cavendish Square, and a new façade was created. The RCN as it appears from the street today was completed in 1934.

Further interior renovations were carried out by EPA Architects in 2000-01 and Bisset Adams Architects in 2012-13. The former integrated the buildings internally, with the imaginative addition of a five-storey glass walkway at the rear of the College, while the latter refurbishment included the development of a modern Library and Heritage Centre.

Library and Heritage Centre

The Library and Heritage Centre opened to the public in 2013. It houses two public exhibitions on the history of nursing: "Who Cares? A History of Emotions and Nursing" (opened 2020) and "Unmasked: Real Stories of Nursing in COVID-19" (opened 2023).

Online presence

www.rcn.org.uk

twitter.com/thercn

Nearby

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