The Hospital Club

h Club London (formerly The Hospital Club) was a members' club for people in the creative industries. It housed a television studio, screening room, live performance space, restaurant, lounges and gallery over seven floors. The club was located at 24 Endell Street, Covent Garden, London on the site of an 18th-century hospital.

The Hospital Club, main entrance

Description
Reception
Cinema

h Club London was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen through his investment company Vulcan Inc. and musician David A. Stewart (formerly of the band Eurythmics), producer and Founder of Weapons of Mass Entertainment.[1]

History of the building

As its name suggests, for many years the building was home to St Paul's Hospital, first established in 1749.

  • 1749 — British Lying-In Hospital opened at 24 Endell Street[2]
  • 1913 — British Lying-In Hospital closed[2]
  • 1923 — St Paul's Hospital moves from Red Lion Square to 24 Endell Street[3]
  • 1992 — St Paul's Hospital closed[3]
  • 1996 — Building purchased by Paul Allen, planning submitted. Local objections to development mean the project stalls for a number of years while a compromise with residents is worked out[1]
  • 2004 — Private members' club, restaurant and recording studio open[4]
  • 2020 — The private members club (h Club) announced that they will not be reopening after closing over the coronavirus lockdown in the UK.

Food hygiene ratings

In 2014, the club received a zero rating for food hygiene after an inspection found mouse droppings in kitchens, prompting worries of cross-contamination.[5]

In 2015, The Hospital Club received a five-star rating by the Foods Standard Agency.[6]

Television studio (h Studio)
Post-Paralympics legacy event in the studio

The venue's 2,700 square feet (250 m2)[7] television studio is located two floors below ground level, and when it opened in 2003 was the first high-definition television studio in the UK. A grid height of 4.4 metres (14 ft) and a size of 61 feet x 44 feet, roughly equivalent to that of Television Centre's TC2, means it is well used for programme production.[8]

The studio can accommodate an audience of approximately 200 people sitting or standing.[9] It was recently upgraded, with particular focus on the sound production room which was upgraded in conjunction with Solid State Logic.[10]

References
  1. Naylor, Tony (28 February 2015). "The Hospital Club, Covent Garden, London: hotel review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  2. "British Lying-In Hospital". Lost Hospitals of London. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  3. "St Paul's Hospital, Endell Street". Lost Hospitals of London. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  4. "Meet Sue Walter at The Hospital Club". 26 September 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  5. "Celebrity club gets zero ratings from hygiene inspectors". The Times, 16 September 2014, p. 22.
  6. The Hospital Group. Food Standards Agency, 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  7. "TV & Music Studios". thehospitalclub. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  8. "The Hospital Club Studio". tv studio history. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  9. "The Studio @ The Hospital Club". Hire Space. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  10. "The Hospital Club Moves to SSL System T". Solid State Logic. Retrieved 20 January 2019.

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