The history & traditions of the Moorfields Eye Hospital : $b One hundred years of ophthalmic discovery & development

"The history & traditions of the Moorfields Eye Hospital" by E. Treacher Collins is a historical account written in the early 20th century. It charts the first century of Moorfields Eye Hospital, weaving its institutional traditions with advances in ophthalmology and portraits of the surgeons who shaped both. Readers can expect a chronologically told story of founding, growth, clinical innovation, teaching, and influence at home and abroad. The opening of the book sets out its purpose: to record Moorfields’ traditions alongside the major discoveries in eye care, told as a continuous narrative and grounded in hospital minutes, biographies, and professional journals. It then recounts how John Cunningham Saunders, with John Richard Farre and Richard Battley and under the encouragement of Astley Cooper, founded a dispensary for diseases of the eye and ear in response to a nationwide surge of ophthalmia and the paucity of competent care. After contrasting reputable surgery with itinerant “oculists,” the narrative traces the proposal, committee support, opening in Charterhouse Square, and an early rivalry with a West End infirmary. The next section profiles Saunders’ work: quickly rising patient numbers, a decisive refocus on eye diseases, improved management of iritis with belladonna, and pioneering needling techniques for congenital cataract—publicly showcased, then published posthumously by Farre amid debates over priority. It sketches the careers of Saunders’ pupils, William Adams and John Stevenson, whose claims and institutions stirred controversy and royal patronage, and notes the memorials to Saunders. The story then turns to the succession: Astley Cooper’s interim help, Benjamin Travers’s appointment and opening of the practice to students, the spread of Moorfields’ model to New York and India, and William Lawrence’s arrival and influential teaching and writings. Brief portraits of fund-raising customs, strict antiphlogistic treatment (bleeding, leeches, diet), and resident duties convey early hospital life, while a generous bequest strengthens its finances. Finally, the narrative begins the move to Moorfields itself, describing the building fund, City negotiations, Robert Smirke’s appointment as architect, and preparations to lay the foundation stone.