| Royal Cornwall Infirmary | |
| Org/Group: | Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust |
| Location: | Truro |
| Region: | Cornwall |
| State: | England |
| Country: | UK |
| Healthcare: | Public NHS |
| Type: | Teaching |
| Founded: | 1799 |
| Closed: | 1999 |
| Map Type: | Cornwall |
| Coordinates: | 50.2562°N -5.0549°W |
Royal Cornwall Infirmary was a hospital in the south of the centre of Truro, Cornwall, England.
The Royal Cornwall Infirmary was designed by William Wood,[1] and paid for by public subscription.[1] It had just 20 beds when it opened on 12 August 1799.[2] [1] It was the first of its kind in Cornwall and was designed to service the mining community.[3]
During the First World War it provided 50 beds to the War Office for serious medical cases from the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry.[1] After expanding to provide 180 beds in 1939,[4] it was badly damaged by 500kg bombs and by machine gun fire on 6 August 1942 during the Second World War.[2] [5] It joined the National Health Service in 1947.[1]
Services were transferred from the Infirmary to the Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske in the mid-1990s. The infirmary closed down in 1999, and has since been redeveloped with housing.[1]