Our history

In 1828 a young surgeon, William Marsden, found a woman dying on the steps of a church and couldn’t find a hospital which would admit her. Shocked, he gathered a group of philanthropists and founded what became the Royal Free Hospital, now one of three hospitals comprising the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (Royal Free London).

Now, as then, charitable donations and legacies are a linchpin of support for the hospitals as we contribute to all areas of the Royal Free London’s work. The value of philanthropy and of broad civic engagement with healthcare was brought into sharper-than-ever focus with the NHS during the most challenging time in its history, navigating through the COVID-19 crisis and beyond, with resources stretched and a workforce strained.

As the Royal Free London approaches its 200th anniversary, we’re committed to harnessing the extraordinary generosity of our supporters in order to make an impactful and meaningful contribution to the work of the trust.

We’re in a unique position to accelerate improvements in patient care, staff experience and medical research locally, nationally and globally.

Together, we can do things the NHS can’t do alone.