The Wallace Fountains
The Wallace Fountains of Paris have been provi-ding drinking water to residents and visitors
Sir Richard was a philanthropist and a great connoisseur of art , of which he acquired a valuable collection that became the "Wallace Collection" in London. It was bequeathed to the British nation by Sir Richard's widow, Lady Wallace, in 1897, following his death in 1890. The collection is displayed at Hertford House, one of the family's London properties in the nineteenth century.
Sir Richard Wallace achieved fame during the during the Franco-Prussian War and the great siege of Paris (1870/71) for his notable acts of charity, which included providing medical care for the citizens and ensuring that they had access to clean water. Many of his water fountains, "les fontaines Wallace", erected in 1870, can still be seen to this day.
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In summary
Built between 1872 and 1879
«The Hertford British Hospital was
founded in 1871by Sir Richard
Wallace for the medical and surgical
treatment of "indigent and sick
British nationals in and around
Paris". It was named after his father,
the 4th Marquess of Hertford.»
In 1961, the Hospital returned to the civilian sector, but it struggled with insufficient income and eventually, in 1977, it was contracted into the French state health scheme. However, it remained a private, non-profit making charity in the by then dilapidated buildings most of which dated from the Hospital's foundation in 1879.
At this stage, the Committee of Management worked hand-in-hand with the British Ambassador and the Embassy staff to raise funds to rebuild the Hospital. Through the intervention of Simone Veil, the French Minister of Health at the time, a grant was made to the Hospital that enabled the construction of the new Hospital building.
This was opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 1982; she had been its faithful Patron since 1937, a role she kept until her death in 2002. The 9th Marquess of Hertford has replaced the Queen Mother as Patron of the Corporation thus continuing his family's connection with the original Charity.
From 2008, the hospital started to serve a new role. The French authorities, as part of a national plan, encouraged the two hospitals in the Levallois area to regroup and the medical activities of the neighbouring Hôpital Notre Dame du Perpétuel Secours and the Hertford British Hospital were merged to create the Institut Hospitalier Franco-Britannique. Like the Hertford British Hospital, the Œuvre du Perpétuel Secours was founded in the 1870s, and the new Institute was run by trustees of the two charities under the supervision of the French Health Authorities.
From 2019, the Hôpital Franco-Britannique was managed in a new structure formed by creating a joint venture between the Œuvre du Perpétuel Secours and the Fondation Cognacq-Jay.
Then, on 1st January 2022, after the winding up of the joint venture, the hospital activity (but not the building) became fully part of the Fondation Cognacq-Jay and the name was simplified becoming Hôpital Franco-Britannique – Fondation Cognacq-Jay: this formally marked the end of HBCF’s direct involvement in medical care and, today, whilst the Charity continues to make the rue Barbès premises available free of charge to the Fondation Cognacq-Jay, it has become a grant making organisation, supporting both individuals in dire need and other charities and associations operating in France that share the same objective.
The Fondation Cognacq-Jay has initiated an ambitious renovation programme for the premises in rue Kléber and, when that project is completed, the activities will be regrouped on the one site and the use of the premises on rue Barbès will revert to HBCF.
For those seeking to learn more about Sir Richard Wallace and the history of the Hertford British Hospital, one of HBCF’s previous Trustees, the late Peter Howard, has written a complete history of the Hospital, entitled "Sir Richard Wallace - Le Millionaire Anglais de Paris - and The Hertford British Hospital." The book is published by the Grimsay Press.
It is also possible to obtain a “Brief History of HBCF”, a booklet published by the Charity by below.
The Wallace Fountains of Paris have been provi-ding drinking water to residents and visitors
National museum housing unsurpassed mas-terpieces of painting, sculpture, furniture
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