Before the fever hospital was opened there were a number of epidemics throughout London - particularly people with relapse fever (where they seemed to recover but relapsed after a week). The Metropolitan Asylums Board was in charge of all fever cases and designated the site as a fever and smallpox hospital.

When the fever hospital opened, all 200 beds were immediately taken up. The building of the smallpox hospital next door was still taking place to prevent the spread of the epidemic, which between 1870 and 1871 had killed 8000 people in London. 

The smallpox hospital opened in February 1871 and was made up of four blocks each with eight wards of 12 beds. In the first three days 60 patients were admitted and by the next month the hospital was filled to capacity. The overflow went to the fever hospital, which by this time housed 600 beds. Recovering patients were made to stay in corridors or in tents in the hospital’s garden, some were even sent to stay in a hospital ship moored at Greenwich. By July the epidemic had nearly ended and by 1873 the smallpox hospital was practically empty.

The first inoculation for smallpox was made in England in 1721 and a vaccine was introduced in 1796; it was not until 1853 however that infant vaccinations were made compulsory, although they were not received by everyone. The 1870s epidemic showed that the vaccinations worked, as no patient who had been vaccinated died. Following the smallpox decline, it was no longer feasible to keep the hospital open and in 1921 it merged with the Eastern ‘fever’ Hospital.

The 1920s saw the Eastern Hospital treating mainly scarlet fever and diphtheria in children. Patients were made to wear rough flannel nightdresses and black boots, and breakfast consisted of weak cocoa and marmalade sandwiches. They were put into isolation facilities until they had been diagnosed, at which time they would be moved to a general ward.

During the Second World War, St John’s Hospital for Diseases of the Skin in Leicester Square lost all of its inpatient facilities due to the bombing. Patients were moved to the Eastern and the relationship between the two hospitals continued until their closure. After the war the Eastern played an important part in the combat against TB and polio. With these diseases under control at this time, the wards were then used to care for the elderly and mentally handicapped children.

In 1974 the Eastern was bought under the management of the City and Hackney Health Authority; it was closed in 1982 and most of the buildings were demolished. 

Homerton Hospital was built on the site where the Eastern Hospital stood, opening in 1986. The only remaining building of this era is Chatsworth House.