Moorfields Eye Hospital: the first 100 years

The earlier history of Moorfields Eye Hospital tracks some of the great transitions of development within ophthalmology and can be interpreted through the various contributions of key individuals within this era. A detailed account of this early period is provided by E Treacher Collins in The History & Traditions of the Moorfields Eye Hospital,¹ which was published in 1923. It is also of immense value that major published works by key physicians at Moorfields Hospital are available as online resources. In addition, transactions of various early meetings of the International Congress of Ophthalmology, are also available online. 

In Britain at the turn of the 19th century, there was little evidence of the clinical specialty of ophthalmology. There were what was known as ‘oculists’ who practiced a trade in various treatments of eye conditions, where a common procedure was that of ‘couching’, where the dislodging of cataracts could offer temporary visual improvement but was often associated with loss of the eye due to infection.