The Manchester Royal Infirmary (known as the MRI) is located on Oxford Road across from the Whitworth Art Gallery.  The hospital was founded in 1752 by Charles White, a Manchester doctor and the local merchant Joseph Bancroft.  White' studied medicine in London and Edinburgh.  His speciality was obstetrics, where his modern practices earned him an international reputation. His work resulted in a massive drop in the rate of infant mortality.  The original 12 bed hospital building was in a house on Garden Street in Shudehill.  Four years later the hospital moved to larger premises in Piccadilly.  The substantial new building sat where today's Piccadilly Gardens are located and is seen on the left of the postcard above.

In 1908, in partnership with the Victoria University of Manchester, the MRI relocated to its present site on Oxford Road and the building in Piccadilly was demolished. 


Today it is a teaching hospital of the University of Manchester's School of Medicine and part of the Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospitals NHS Trust.  The hospital is now the city’s largest general hospital, with around 800 beds. It describes its function as follows:  "Our accident and emergency department, the busiest in the region, sees over 100,000 patients a year. MRI is a teaching hospital for Manchester University’s Medical School, and a specialist regional centre for kidney and pancreas transplants, haematology and sickle cell disease. Our Heart Centre is a major provider of cardiac services in the region, specialising in cardiothoracic surgery and cardiology."