Cfen Coed Hospital, in Swansea, is one of few original asylum buildings to still be in use today. It was also one of the last to be built following delays caused by the First World War which led to a shortage of materials and labour. Construction started in 1928 and the asylum was completed in 1932, just two years before Runwell Hospital which was the last asylum to be built. The building was designed by George Thomas Hine, one of the prolific asylum architects of the time, known for his distinctive red brick style and like most asylums of the time it consisted of villas, a chapel, bakery, nurse’s home and eight cottages for staff who were required to live on site
Once opened, the first patients arrived from Talgarth Hospital. During the Second World War, the hospital was used to treat casualties.
From 2009 several new buildings were constructed to replace the now dated hospital. A new building for dementia patients was built on part of the site, a low-secure unit was opened in Bridgend and two other centres were opened.
In 2012 the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg Health Board described the accommodation as “outdated and no longer fit for purpose” and that it would close within four years however in June 2022, 100 patients were still being cared for on site. In 2019 the Swansea NHS board advertised the site as a location for TV and Film productions.
Sources: County Asylums, NHS Wales, Aberystwyth University, BBC News
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