Statue of Thomas Guy
Our original endowments came from Edward VI, who
re-established St Thomas' Hospital in 1553 after it had been closed
by his father because of its religious associations during the
Reformation. Two centuries later in 1721, Thomas Guy a bible
seller, MP and governor of St Thomas', funded the building of Guy's
Hospital. Thomas Guy died before the building was complete but left
one third of his estate to the hospital.
As voluntary hospitals, Guy's and St Thomas' relied on
donations. When the NHS was created in 1948, health services were
funded by the government, but charitable donations continued to
support the work of the hospitals.
These donations were managed by the separate Special Trustees of
Guy's Hospital and St Thomas' Hospital. In 1993 the two hospitals
merged under one NHS Trust and in due course the two separate
charitable funds were joined to form Guy's and St Thomas'
Charitable Foundation.
When Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital NHS Trust achieved Foundation
Trust status in 2004, the Trustees changed the name to Guy's and St
Thomas' Charity.