The Foundation stone for the new Sheffield Union Workhouse was laid 16 Sep 1878. The hospital opened on 22 Sep 1881.

On the 21 Oct 1906 the Local Government Board issued an order separating the hospital from other buildings naming it the Sheffield Union Hospital. Gradually it became known as Fir Vale Hospital, the remainder becoming Fir Vale Institution often referred to as Fir Vale House.

The Local Government Act of 1929 abolished the Board of Guardians and handed the Institution and Hospital over to the Sheffield Corporation and on 1 Apr 1930 the hospital was renamed City General Hospital and the Fir Vale Institution became Fir Vale Infirmary.

In 1967 the Northern General Hospital was formed by the amalgamation of the City General Hospital and Fir Vale Infirmary.

For more information see: The Institution and Hospital at Fir Vale, A Centenary History of the Northern General Hospital by Peter Speck (Sheffield Local Studies Library: 362.11 SQ). Also Life in the Workhouse and Old Hospital at Fir Vale, the story of the Northern General Hospital, by Lyn Howsam, (Sheffield Local Studies Library: 362.11 SQ).