Our history

Marie Curie's origins are linked to the Marie Curie Hospital, at 2 Fitzjohn's Avenue, Hampstead. This pioneering hospital, opened in 1930 by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, specialised in the ‘radiological treatment of women suffering from cancer and allied diseases’. It was staffed by medical women who cared for 700 patients a year in 39 beds, with facilities for radium and x-ray therapy, and modern pathological and research laboratories.

In 1944, most of the hospital was destroyed by a direct hit in an air raid. It took three weeks to recover the hospital's radium sources which were stored in steel cylinders in the floor. In 1948, five members of the re-establishment committee set up to oversee rebuilding of the hospital decided to separate themselves from the new NHS. Instead, they sought to perpetuate the name of Marie Curie in the charitable medical field.

The Marie Curie International Memorial was formally established on 6 July 1948, and shortly afterwards became the Marie Curie Memorial Foundation. This was the beginning of the charity now known as Marie Curie. Around the same time, fundraising for the new charity started when Mrs Alice Macpherson donated her diamond engagement ring which sold for £75. The foundation then launched an appeal that raised £4,000, and Marie Curie's daughter Eve gave us permission to use her mother's name. Read more about Marie Curie the scientist.

Working with the Queen's Institute of District Nursing, the charity's inaugural committee launched a joint national survey to investigate the needs of cancer patients and the best ways of helping them. The detailed report set the direction for our work in our early years.

Tidcombe Hall, Tiverton (1953)

Edenhall, Hampstead (1954)

Strathclyde House, Glasgow (1954)

Conrad House, Newcastle upon Tyne (1957)

Sunnybank, Liverpool (1959)

Holme Tower, Penarth (1959)

Harestone, Caterham (1961)

Ardenlea, Ilkley (1963)

Belfast Home, Belfast (1965)

Warren Pearl House, Solihull (1965)

From its earliest days, the Marie Curie Memorial Foundation helped patients who needed nursing at home – initially by providing welfare grants to fund night nursing provided by other organisations. In 1958, following a joint national survey carried out with the Queen's Institute of District Nursing, the charity began running its own day and night nursing service. This service started off in London and was soon extended elsewhere. By the end of the 1950s, Marie Curie home nursing was available in nine areas of the UK.

One of our other aims was to make a significant contribution to medical research – initially by making grants to fund research into the causes and treatments of cancer. In 1952, we funded a research fellowship to investigate the relationship between physiological activity and chemical structure in drugs for the treatment of blood cancers. Further grants followed.

The 10 Marie Curie Homes we founded in the 1950s and early 1960s were all housed in converted buildings – including a prep school, a railwaymen's convalescent home, a police orphanage and several mansions. They were far from ideal for caring for seriously ill cancer patients so in the 1960s we decided that all future Marie Curie Homes would be purpose-designed and built. The first was opened in Belfast in 1965 while a similar, larger building followed in Fairmile, Edinburgh, in 1966.

We also began to replace existing homes with purpose-built ones, starting with Edenhall in Hampstead and Strathclyde House in Glasgow in 1967. Our first Marie Curie Home, the Hill of Tarvit – which was no longer viable because of its remote location – was closed in 1977. Throughout this stage in their development, Marie Curie Homes relied primarily on local GPs for clinical cover.

Our day and night nursing service continued to grow throughout the 1960s and by 1974, when responsibility for community care in England and Wales passed to the NHS, Marie Curie Nurses were caring for 3,664 people across 200 local authorities. At this point, the charity negotiated a 50:50 sharing of costs for the service in England and Wales with the NHS taking responsibility at local level for deployment of nurses. Similar arrangements were negotiated later in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

We opened our own research facility at the Marie Curie Home in Caterham in 1962 with early work focusing on controlling the growth and proliferation of hormone-dependent tumours. In 1967, we opened bigger laboratories at a converted former convalescent home in Limpsfield Chart, Oxted, and extended the scope of our cancer research.

The Marie Curie Memorial Foundation was a pioneer of direct-mail fundraising – writing to potential donors and asking them for support. Appeals were backed by popular celebrities including Wilfred Pickles, Dame Flora Robson and Henry Cooper.

From the early 1980s, Marie Curie Homes (later Marie Curie Hospices) moved away from providing long-term nursing care to people living with cancer and became increasingly focused on hospice care. This meant they cared for more patients who were more seriously ill, usually for shorter periods of time.

The medical side of care was increasingly led by consultants in palliative medicine, while specialised services such as physiotherapy and occupational therapy were provided by allied health professionals. Marie Curie Hospices also developed new ways of reaching out to their communities with a wide range of day services.

Home nursing continued to be our core service, providing vital support for people with terminal cancer and an increasing number of people with other illnesses. By the late 1990s, Marie Curie was reaching around 40% of the people in the UK who died of cancer at home.

The Marie Curie Research Institute focused on molecular biology, seeking to identify the mechanisms in the cells that are altered in cancer. Marie Curie scientists published their work in leading journals while the Research Institute hosted international meetings. The charity contributed significantly to scientific knowledge in key areas, including bladder cancer, gene transcription mechanisms and the cell's internal transport system.

In the 1990s, we also began to carry out palliative care research – investigations focused on improving care for people approaching the end of their lives. Marie Curie researchers were amongst the pioneers in this very new field.

We ran our first daffodil appeal – with fresh daffodils – in Scotland in 1986. The appeal continued to grow throughout the 1990s and we incorporated the daffodil into our logo, where it remains today.

Fundraising grew and diversified as we established community fundraising across the UK, developed fundraising partnerships with major companies, and opened our first charity shops.

In October 1995, we also officially took on a new name: the Marie Curie Memorial Foundation became Marie Curie Cancer Care.

We launched our first national campaign – 'Supporting the choice to die at home' – in 2004. This helped put end of life care on the political agenda – and now all major parties in all four nations are committed to increasing people's choice over their place of death.

During this period, we committed to providing care to all people with a terminal illness, regardless of their diagnosis, solely based on need.

Marie Curie pioneered new ways of providing care for people living with a terminal illness, helping them to stay at home until the end of their lives. Working closely with the NHS, local independent hospices and other charities, we developed services designed around people's needs. Research showed that we successfully helped more people with terminal illnesses remain in their homes.

The Marie Curie Nursing Service continued to grow – reaching increasing numbers of people at the end of their lives. A major study by the Nuffield Trust provided strong evidence that the Marie Curie Nursing Service reduces the need for emergency hospitalisation and allows more people to die at home, cutting hospital costs.

Marie Curie Hospices continued to develop their care, expanding the services they offered in local communities, especially day services, to become regional centres of excellence in care.

We replaced our hospices in Glasgow and Solihull with modern buildings designed around the needs of patients and families.

We also introduced the Companion service – in which trained volunteers help local people with terminal illnesses.

We focused our efforts on palliative care research to find better ways of caring for people with terminal illnesses and their families. We significantly increased our funding in this area, setting up new research teams at University College London, Liverpool University and Cardiff University. We also established a major grants programme, awarding around £1 million every year to fund palliative care research projects on a competitive basis. We are now one of the UK's leading funders of palliative care research.

In October 2014, our name was further shortened to simply Marie Curie; to reflect the work we do to support people affected by all terminal illnesses.

Marie Curie is here for anyone with an illness they're likely to die from, and those close to them. Whatever the illness, wherever you are, we're with you to the end. With this in mind, we've developed a five year strategy to close the gap in end of life care so more people don't die without the care and support they need.

One in four people dying in the UK don't get the care and support they need, and the problem is getting worse as our population ages. By 2048, the need for end of life care will have increased by up to 25%. This needs to change.

We aim to continue delivering care and support – when, where and how it's needed – to more people, including those with dementia and from underserved communities. People with dementia – the leading cause of death in England and Wales – and groups that are disadvantaged in earlier life are both less likely to get the palliative care they need. For example, if you’re from a racialised minoritised ethnic group, LGBTQ+, live in poverty, or have a learning disability you are more likely to die without end of life care, and we’re working to change this.

Resources and impact within existing services will be maximised, as well as developing new or expanded services. With more than 3,000 doctors, healthcare assistants, counsellors and support workers offering personalised clinical and emotional care, we’re there as people face the biggest challenge of their lives.

Many people have limited or no access to end of life care and support due to geographic and other barriers. Growing our information and support services across multiple channels – phone, webchat, website, print, and an online community – will help us reach more people so they can be supported wherever and whenever they need.

We offer information and support over the phone in over 200 languages, and via webchat, to anyone with an illness they’re likely to die from and those close to them. Trusted information is free and available to all – from first questions after a terminal diagnosis, or information about accessing services, to experiences shared by careers, guidance and planning on death and support for grief.

Many issues affecting people at the end of life can only be addressed structurally and systemically. As the UK's largest not for profit end of life care provider, and largest charitable funder of palliative care research, we're uniquely positioned to identify the key challenges and shape end of life care policy. Our work deepens our understanding of what makes a good end of life, highlighting challenges and gaps in care, and improving support for everyone with an illness they’re likely to die from, and those close to them.

Marie Curie campaigns for a world where everyone gets the best experience possible at the end of their life. We raise public awareness and influence decision-makers across the UK on the issues affecting dying people and those close to them, so more people can access high quality care and support when and where they need it most. Together, we drive policy change and support important research to improve standards.