Saying goodbye to Victoria House

Victoria House is a long-withstanding building located on Park Street in Hull. Ideally located opposite Tesco and St Stephens shopping centre, Victoria House has been a much-loved location for our staff working in Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language, CAMHS and many more over the years.

Built in 1890, the hospital was eventually replaced by Hull Royal Infirmary, but the building was deemed so impressive that it was awarded listed building status in 1994, due to its historic architectural importance. 

The building includes the former Victoria Hospital for Sick Children, the oldest surviving health facility in the city and was put up for sale in 2018. Having been officially sold last year, it’s now time for the staff working at the location to say their goodbyes and move on to their new base at Walker Street Children’s Centre.

The big move is an emotional farewell for many, with a handful of our staff members having worked there for over 20 years. We had a chat with Chris Robinson, Speech & Language Therapist, and Lynn Hall, Victoria House Receptionist, who told us that while it’s certainly upsetting to say goodbye, they know it’s time to move on.

The building - though maintaining its beauty in the way of an impressive staircase, colourful tiling on the floors and magnificent high ceilings - has well and truly seen better days. The overwhelming feeling we received when speaking to our staff there was that, while it will be hard to move away, they take comfort knowing that the historic building will be refurbished and loved again by its new owners.

“It’s always going to be difficult for staff to transition to a new location, especially for those who have worked here so long, but it’s nice to think that these walls will remain standing and that they will be refreshed into something that can be enjoyed once again in the future.”

– Helen Hanson, Speech Therapist, Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust

Furthermore, when meeting with the Occupational Therapy and Speech & Language Therapist teams, we were met with a stroke of optimism for the changes and challenges ahead. Speaking to Kathy Alterskye and Claire King, we were pleased to see a lot of smiles and enthusiasm for the move.

The teams at Victoria House are set to finalise the moving process and vacate the building next week. The building is currently being packed away and is scattered with boxes as staff relocate. We are looking forward to hearing from them about how the move goes and sincerely hope that they enjoy their new working location and the improved facilities available to them.