Lilliputian view

 

Old Mercer Hospital under-view.

"The hospital was founded for the sick and the poor by the will of Mary Mercer, who died in 1734 - she had provided a house for poor girls at this location ten years earlier. A number of eminent surgeons took over the running of the hospital. Jonathan Swift was on its first board of governors.

In order to support funding for the hospital a number of concerts were arranged over the following years. The most significant of these was the first performance of Handel’s Messiah, which took place in the Ancient Musick Rooms in Fishamble Street on 13 April 1742. In order to provide room for a large audience, ladies were requested to lay aside their hoops and gentlemen their swords. By this means an audience of 700 was crowded into the space, and the concert realised £400." - Wiki