Dr Gray’s Hospital is the third oldest in the area now covered by NHS Grampian. It was founded by Alexander Gray, who was from Elgin but spent his adult life as a surgeon in Bengal with the East India Company. He died in 1807, leaving £20,000 “for the establishment of an hospital in the town of Elgin for the sick and the poor of the town and county of Murray (Moray)".

His will was contested by his heirs, and it wasn’t until 1814 that the money was released and the building of the hospital began. A field to the west of Elgin was purchased, and the laying of the foundation stone took place on 11th July 1815 – a ceremony said to have been disturbed by the news of Wellington’s victory at Waterloo, though no mention is made of this in the surviving records.

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The hospital opened to patients on Friday 1st January 1819, though the first patient – Helen Forsyth – wasn’t admitted until Monday 4th January. Throughout the 19th century, the hospital saw many changes not only to its layout, but to its administration, staffing, and the building of a separate institution in the hospital grounds. The Elgin Pauper Lunatic Asylum opened to the west of Dr Gray’s Hospital in 1835 and was the earliest pauper lunatic asylum to be built in Scotland.

Further donations allowed Dr Gray’s Hospital to extend, with the construction of an operating theatre, x-ray department and increased staff accommodation. This was situated at the rear of the building and opened in 1909. By the late 1930s the building of a further extension block was required. This provided out-patient departments and more staff accommodation and was opened in 1939.

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Gray's Hospital was incorporated into the National Health Service in 1948 and along with the neighbouring hospital, Bilbohall, was administered by the Moray Hospitals Board of Management. Bilbohall had been built as a small lunatic asylum in 1835 and over the years had been greatly developed and extended. In the late 1960s a corridor joining the two hospitals was built. The corridor acted as a link between the two, and various departments were situated off the corridor including the occupational therapy department, a central kitchen and the staff dining room.

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In May 1990, following a comprehensive review of acute health care services in Moray, the Scottish Office gave approval for the re-development of Gray's Hospital on the existing site. Most of the old Bilbohall Hospital was demolished to make way for the first stage of the re-development and construction work began in February 1993. The first stage comprised a main ward block, three new operating theatres, a 5-bed maternity delivery suite and a special care baby unit. A laboratory, pharmacy and a new kitchen and staff restaurant were also provided. This work was completed in May 1995 on schedule. The second and third stages were completed in 1997/98 and included a new acute psychiatric ward and new out-patient, accident and emergency and imaging departments along with refurbishment and upgrading of the original building.

Due to fire safety issues, the original building was no longer used for in-patients from 2013, ending 194 years of almost continuous use. It is now used for a variety of out-patient departments and teaching.

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This exhibition as part of Dr Gray’s Hospital’s 200th anniversary has been compiled using original records held within NHS Grampian Archives, with assistance from volunteer Beth Carmichael and the support of the Friends of Dr Gray’s.