History:
Wexham Park hospital was built in the early 1960s as part of a reorganisation of acute services serving Slough. The site, on the outskirts of the town, was occupied by a large mansion that was demolished although the artificial lake and trees arranged in extensive parklands were retained. The hospital accommodated a range of acute services and was built with 300 beds.

Architecture:
The architects for the hospital were Powell and Moya in association with Llewelyn- Davies Weeks and Partners.
One of the architects, Phillip Powell, explained the philosophy behind the planning of the scheme:
'A hospital is not a building: rather it is a changing and growing body… ( The design).. was called…the matchbox on the muffin, a multi-storey matchbox with wards sitting…on the low muffin of the other departments which are those where the ease of changing and stretching is important.'
'Here, we have a site which has made it possible to evolve a way of making a hospital into what it should be, but too seldom can be - a village or small town - a community, not an imposing institution.' (Ref Stone Peter (ed). 1980. P16).
The hospital is planned around a cruciform circulation spine with the main entrance below the tower that accommodates the administrative functions. Four streets radiate from the hub accommodating all the clinical and support services. The layout separates in and outpatient circulation and brings together diagnostic and treatment areas.
This hospital design was exemplary for the way it approached the key planning issue of 'growth and change' - an issue that was only just being recognised when this hospital was designed. The hospital streets were designed so that they could be extended for future growth. It was also appreciated for the human scale and visual form that were sustained in spite of its size.