Our 2026 video on the former Edinburgh District Asylum
Bangour Village Hospital is a unique remaining example of a psychiatric hospital built in the village style – a revolutionary design for the late 19th century. In 1897, members of the Scottish Lunacy Board visited Leipzig, Germany, to take a look at the Altscherbitz Asylum. Opened in 1876, this was a brand new approach to psychiatric care; moving away from people locked away in wards in large interconnected buildings by giving them space and freedom to help with their mental health, to give the impression of living within a small community village.
It seems to me to be the type of asylum that confirms most completely to the most modern and the best idea of what an asylum ought to be. It carries further than any other type the idea the idea of making asylum arrangements similar to those of ordinary life. – John Sibbald, Commissioner of Lunacy for Scotland
It is debatable to what degree the colony plan of asylum building proved to be effective over its rival; the super-efficient compact arrow echelon plan popularised in England and Wales by George Thomas Hine at the same time. Whilst this approach sought to bring facilities close together via curving corridors, the colony plan sought to spread them out. It was an intentional sacrifice away from efficiency for the sake of patient wellbeing.
Bangour Village drew the most publicity of the colony plan asylums, although several more were built at a similar time across the United Kingdom, primarily in Scotland and Northern Ireland where this experimental approach was deemed more appropriate. This began with the private asylum at Craighouse; an annexe to the Royal Edinburgh Asylum (1889-94) and later with extensions to Crichton Royal, Dumfries (1890s onwards). Pauper lunatic asylums did not follow suit until the turn of the century, with Aberdeen District Asylum, Kingseat (1904), Purdysburn Villa Colony, Belfast (1906/13), and Renfrew District Asylum, Dykebar (1909). Clearly, the Scottish Asylum Board were impressed by Altscherbitz, despite criticisms of the plan. The colony plan was rapidly being used across the England and Wales for emergent ‘mental deficiency’ and epileptic institutions; which sought to seperate those with disabilities out from those with mental illnesses, although was considered too radical to ever be fully attempted for mental asylums until the final late interwar period of asylum-building.
With officials happy with the colony plan for the new asylum, a 960-acre site was purchased just a few miles west of Edinburgh and a competition was launched to find someone to design it. Scottish architect Hippolyte Blanc, known for designing gothic style churches, won the competition and was tasked with designing this ground-breaking asylum. Construction started in 1898 and the Edinburgh District Asylum was opened in 1906.
Blanc designed the asylum to be completely self sufficient with its own farms, power supply, reservoir and even its own railway due to a lack of suitable roads. To an extent, this was common of many contemporary asylums, but the novel colony plan meant buildings were more spread out across a vast area than ever, posing a logistical challenge.
Our 2022 footage of the derelict hospital site
Each villa accommodated between 25 and 40 patients and had a day room, dining room and dormitories. Most other asylums had a central dining hall where all of the patients would congregate for their meals however having everyone spread across this vast site made some things, like this, more difficult.
After the main hospital opened, so did the recreation hall. At almost 100ft long it features a stage with an orchestra pit, which could be covered up when not needed. A chapel was completed in 1930, designed by Englishman Harold. O Tarbolton, who trained alongside architect George Thomas Hine.
The site was requisitioned by the War Office in both World Wars, with patients transferred to Hartwood Hospital in World War 2.
In 1961, Minister of Health, Enoch Powell, gave his infamous ‘water tower’ speech where he announced that he wanted to see these archaic institutions closed, saying that by using more of the newly discovered anti-psychotic drugs, around 75,000 beds could go with patients treated in the community.
Bangour Village managed to survive until 1991 when it closed its doors after 85 years. Some of the existing patients were transferred to the newly opened St John’s Hospital.
Bangour Village
In October 2015, planning permission was sought for a new housing development on the abandoned Bangour site, with the mixed-used redevelopment being called ‘Bangour Village’. This is quite unusual for a residential conversion of a former asylum, as often they take new names in an attempt to veer buyers away from their buildings’ past. It is nice to see the history and buildings intended to be honoured at the development. Despite the majority of the buildings being listed, planning permission was approved for the development with five buildings marked for demolition but with ten being redeveloped. Plans below by ‘MLA Architects’ show the plans for two of the former buildings, with the hall set to be a school.
Surviving Buildings
We have compiled a map of the existing buildings to show you what remains today.
1. Villas 18, 19, 20.
Female patients who required little supervision would have lived in these buildings. Patients in villa 18 would have worked in the laundry department and those in 19 and 20 would have been employed doing needlework and embroidery.
2. Recreation Hall
3. Villa 7
4. Nurses Home
The former nurses home originally had 88 single rooms and was looked after by a housekeeper and six staff.
5. Hospital Block
Home to wards 3, 4 and 5.
6. Chapel
Built in a Romanesque style, it was designed to allow all forms of Christian worship. It was built, using whinstone from a local quarry, as a memorial for the contribution that Bangour had made to the war.
7. Administration
8. Villa 10
9. Villa 8
10. Power Station & Workshops
The workshops provided employment for the male patients in the hospital and included a painter, smith, cabinetmaker, upholsterer, plumber, carpenter and shoemaker. The boiler house was situated to the east and the south side contained the coal sheds. The coal was delivered directly into the shed via shutes, which arrived by train into the hospital’s train station. Steam produced here was used to power the laundry, kitchen and bakery and the electricity generated was used for the whole hospital. The engineer’s house was situated close by and is the current Gateway Cottage.
Villa 9 (demolished)
Villa 9 was situated north of Villa 10, to the east of the administration block. It was used initially as accommodation for patients who required close supervision and is thought to have been the only building to have padded rooms. Due to the unpredictability of patients in this villa, each person had their own room, unlike some of the others which had communal wards.
Sources: Wellcome Collection, Wikipedia, HistoricEnvironment.Scot, Historic-Hospitals.com