St Thomas' campus

In 1173 the infirmary was named after St Thomas Becket who was canonised that year. In 1212 the Hospital was destroyed by fire and rebuilt on the east side of Borough High Street. The Hospital was closed during the Reformation but reinstated in 1553 by King Edward VI. Initially known as 'the King's Hospital', it soon reverted to the name 'St Thomas'' but was now called after St Thomas the Apostle rather than St Thomas Becket, who had been decanonised.

In 1768 Guy's and St Thomas' hospitals formalised their joint arrangements for teaching medical students as 'The United Hospitals of the Borough', but they split apart again in 1825.

In 1860 St Thomas' Hospital moved to make way for the building of London Bridge Railway Station, and it was at the new hospital, established in Lambeth, that Florence Nightingale founded the first professional school of nursing.

In 1948, on the establishment of the National Health Service, the medical schools at St Thomas', Guy's and King's College Hospitals became independent of the hospitals.

In 1982 the Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals were reunited. In 1983 the Royal Dental Hospital of London's School of Dental Surgery merged with Guy's Dental School, and the United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas's Hospitals (UMDS) were formed.

In 1998 UMDS and King's College London merged.