Joseph Noble: a hospital named after an English MP

The Hospital Noble located on Plaza General Torrijos near the port of Malaga owes its existence to the legacy of Dr Joseph William Noble, an English doctor and Member of Parliament (MP) who died of cholera while on holiday in the city on 6 January 1861.

As cholera ravished Malaga Dr Noble went to attend to a guest suffering from the disease in the Alameda inn where they were both staying and fell victim to it himself.

It is not clear how long Noble stayed in Malaga although it was long enough for his wife and daughters to decide to use some of their inheritance to build a hospital to help local residents.

The idea behind the hospital was, in addition to helping the residents of La Malagueta, that it would also care for seafarers and fishermen of different nationalities arriving in the port of Malaga.

The neo-Gothic building has a long corridor off which are the various consulting and operating rooms and there is a large arch under which a stone slab is located with the words 'Hospital Noble'.

On 24 September 1870 the Municipal charity commission took possession of the building and it is currently used as municipal offices.

In April 2024 SUR reported on a meeting which took place to discuss returning the building to its original use. According to president of La Malagueta residents' association, Mari Ángeles Ramírez, the plans were first mooted in 1990, when the late socialist mayor Pedro Aparicio promised them that it would be used as a health centre.

As well as his work as a doctor, Noble was elected as a Liberal MP for Leicester at the 1859 general election with a majority of 20 votes. He held the seat until his death.

His family bought Dannets Hall in Leicester and Noble Street, where the hall was located before it was demolished in 1862, was named after him. Dr Joseph Noble is buried in the English cemetery in Malaga.