In 1920, Lancashire County Council bought Wrightington Hall from the Dicconson family with a view to converting it into a hospital for the treatment of patients with tuberculosis.

In 1926 five wards with open verandas were built and by 1932 the hospital was ready to accommodate 226 patients. Officially opened on 16th June 1933 and established as a specialist hospital offering the treatment available: rest, fresh air, good food and light therapy

In the 1940s Mr H. Platt from Manchester and Mr T.P. McMurray from Liverpool became the first Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeons at Wrightington. Charnley working with Platt in Manchester was a visiting surgeon to Wrightington.

In 1948 the NHS was formed and with of the help of new vaccines and health programmes the incidence of tuberculosis declined. New operating and medical departments were created at Wrightington over the next few years and a Nursing School was established offering specialist courses in orthopaedic surgery.

The Hospital's Medical Superintendent Mr J. Dobson introduced an innovation of clinical follow-up, checking patients' progress after discharge. This became central to the Wrightington research culture.

In 1959 Mr Keith Barnes succeeded Dobson as Hospital Superintendent and formed a very effective partnership with Charnley.

In the 1960s the Centre for Hip Surgery and Biomechanical Laboratory were established facilitating further research into biomechanics, wound healing, infection and the reaction of human tissue to different man-made materials.

"One of my aims is to indicate the need for establishing surgical centres to concentrate on the study of the reconstructive surgery of the hip joint."

"It is essential that the technical skills acquired by members of the staff of a special surgical centre should be handed on continuously so as to keep a body of men capable of handling the difficult secondary operations of the future."