An Infirmary for sick children on Pottergate, admitted its first inpatients on 3 April 1854.  The first Children’s  Hospitals in the UK were at Myrtle St in Liverpool in 1851 and Great Ormond Street Hospital in London 1852. The Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital as it became known, is still one of the oldest in the country.

The Pottergate hospital was replaced by a grand, state of the art building in 1900. The land was donated by Jeremiah Colman at Unthank Road. The hospital became a treasured part of the Norwich community for many years  – keeping pace with medical advances, and developing almost presciently, with isolation wards, baby blocks and new paediatric theatres. With the NHS in 1948, came a new specialist – the first dedicated Paediatrician – Dr John FP Quinton. 

In 1975 as the health care economy contracted, The Jenny merged with the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. No longer a standalone Children’s Hospital, but still retaining the identity of The Jenny Lind. The present Jenny Lind takes up much of the West Block of NNUH and ensures children receive the dedicated specialist care they need.