General healthcare within the town was delivered by Denbigh Infirmary, or, as it was styled until 1831, the `Denbigh General Dispensary and Asylum for the Recovery of Health?. There had been a steady increase in the provision in hospitals for the poor across England in the eighteenth century, but the Denbigh example founded in 1807 was the first institution of its kind in North Wales.

As its name implies, it was not only a Dispensary for medicines but also a place for people to stay and regain their health under the watchful eye of qualified medical staff. William Davis described ?its advantages became so apparent that in 1810 a subscription was commenced for the purpose of erecting a suitable building: and in 1813 a considerable portion of the present structure was finished, with apartments for the reception of in-patients. In 1834 an additional building was erected for the use of fever patients or other infectious disorders. Such schemes relied heavily on the generosity of philanthropists, in this case of Dr George Cumming, the first physician to the hospital, although regular donations allowed maintenance, expansion and the purchasing of new equipment, so that the weekly fee of the inpatients would `merely defray any of the expense of maintenance?. Between 1821 and 1822 alone the number of patients totalled 862, by 1823 it had treated 9,041 people, and treated a range of ailments from scrofula, cancer, leprosy, amputation and melancholia.

The hospital, as common for the date, is constructed to resemble a modest country house, the long symmetrical facade distinguished as a public building only by its slightly more austere and utilitarian nature. The 1834 wing, built to the rear and physically separate from the main range was capable of receiving patients with contagious illnesses or fevers and may have been prompted by the Cholera epidemic that had ravaged Denbigh in 1832, though infirmary accounts in fact only mention a contagious fever at Llanfair and Llanganhafal in 1831. It was otherwise used as a general ward, and this increased capacity led to the name change to `The Denbighshire Infirmary and General Dispensary?. By 1836 fifteen wards were fitted with thirty beds, indicating that it followed the prevailing plans of early 19th century hospitals of small rooms off narrow corridors, increasingly criticized as the benefits of good ventilation to disperse `fatal miasmas? were discussed. After a call for subscriptions in 1850, a washroom, laundry, storeroom, larder and pantry were added to the complex, while in 1871 Turkish Baths were completed, some 524 being taken by both patients and public in the first year. The complex continued to develop adding a day room and mortuary, until 1883 when a complete rearrangement and reconstruction was called for. Originally estimated at £500, work was completed in 1885 at a cost of £1600. In the early twentieth century further remodelling took place, and progress was made of a more technical nature with the introduction of x-ray facilities, gas engines, sterilizers and electric lifts, together with advanced surgical equipment.

In 1930 a scheme was formulated for a Voluntary Workmans Contribution known as the `Denbighshire Infirmary Benefit Society?, until 1948 when the Infirmary was taken over by the Ministry of Health, sitting under the Clwyd and Deeside Hospital Management Committee. March 1979 saw its role changed to that of a community hospital, providing non-specialist treatment for less serious cases. While the range of services was downgraded, the building was extended to include a new Continuing Care ward with beds for 20 patients, 30 acute beds rehabilitation department and a Day Hospital which could accommodate 15.

S Fielding 13/06/2013
Refs: Morris Jones, Rev. J/ Gwyn Thomas, J. Denbighshire Infirmary 1807-1981. Clwyd Health Authority. 1967/reprinted 1981