Ordnance Survey 1945-1965 mapping showing the five Epsom Cluster asylums In Epsom, Surrey, the former London County Council decided two create five suburban mental hospitals. These were mostly typical ‘lunatic asylums’ as they were initially known – large institutions to accommodate those with mental illnesses, disorders and learning difficulties. The Manor (1899), Horton (1902), Long…
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High Royds in Menston is one of the most well-documented and now infamous of the county asylums to be built, instantly recognizable by its looming clocktower. In 1885, some 300 acres of land was purchased and over the next 3 years construction work began to build one of the more lavish asylums ever constructed. The…
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In February 2024, we visited what remains of South Ockendon Hospital, and were shown around the beautiful recreation hall and other surviving rooms with kind permission of the Brandon Groves Community Club. The hall formed the centre of what was once a vast villa-plan institution for people with learning difficulties. Whilst not a county asylum,…
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Roundway Hospital dates back to the 1840’s when a committee of Justices approved plans for an asylum in Wiltshire. Forty-eight acres of land was purchased and architect Thomas Henry Wyatt was brought in to design the asylum, who went for an Italianate style. Stone for the buildings was mined locally and slate for the roof…
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Today this former asylum is owned by the University of West England (UWE) and is home to hundreds of students who studying medical courses. With various hospital wards and beds – all of these are mockups used for training but fortunately the university have retained many features of the 140 year old building. St Peter’s…
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Officially opened in January 1906, St Cadoc’s Hospital is one of few original asylum buildings which is still used today. Although the majority of the site is sitting unused, mental health services for children, adults and the elderly are still provided on site, including in some of the original wards. In 1891 Newport was constituted…
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The Bata shoe factory and estate was built in East Tilbury the 1930s by Czecheslovakian entrepeneur Thomas Bata. It was modelled on the original factory in Zlín, now in the Czech Republic, and hence survives as an unusual piece of Czech industrial Modernism here in Essex. The factory was converted into the Thames Industrial Park…
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The former Royal Navy Ordnance Depot has been based here since the late 17th century, used to store and prepare munitions for the naval ships laid up on the River Medway at Chatham. Situated opposite Chatham Dockyard the depot was an important part of the daily activity at the dockyard and due to its location…
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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…
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We recently embarked on a roadtrip across Scotland, focused on abandoned asylums and other hospitals. We photographed a total of eight, six of those being former asylums. The variations and similarities in their architecture was most interesting, with changes to asylum design being apparent. This varied from the streamlined design of the Georgian Royal Murray…
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