The monasteries were closed down during Henry VIII's Reformation. This meant that most hospitals closed down with them so there was less care for the old and the poor.

However,the 17th and 18th centuries saw new, larger hospitals being built by wealthy individuals, for example Guy's in London. Five new hospitals were built in London between 1720 and 1750 and by 1800 London's hospitals could cope with 20 000 patients a year (compared with only about 5 000 amongst the 470 hospitals in the whole of England in 1400).

Hospitals started to offer treatments and some specialised in particular diseases for example St Luke's (1751) for the mentally ill and London's Lock Hospital (1746) for venereal disease (STIs). Hospitals became centres for training, such as in Edinburgh.

On the whole, however, hospitals were dirty and offered little effective treatment. Those that could afford to were treated at home.

GCSE Health and the People AQA

Renaissance Hospitals