April 2025
I recently visited the now-closed Newholme Hospital in Bakewell with @Mr Budge, following a trip to the nearby Haddon Tunnel. After years of hearing it was due to shut—and with plenty of false starts since it was first earmarked for closure back in 2017—it finally wrapped up operations in autumn 2024 following the opening of a new health hub next door. The site had the usual mix of emptiness and patchy modernisation, nothing too surprising there. Thankfully, we had the place to myself, avoiding the kind of nonsense seen in the past when the goons were caught sneaking in while it was still live.
History
The origins of Newholme Hospital trace back to the early Victorian period, when the Bakewell Poor Law Union was formally established in July 1838. In response to the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, a purpose-built workhouse was commissioned to house the area’s impoverished. Designed by Mr. Johnson of Sheffield, the original structure was completed in 1841 at a cost of £5,340. Its imposing Jacobean-style administration block stood at the heart of the site, setting the architectural tone for what would follow. As the 19th century progressed, the institution expanded significantly. Additional facilities were constructed including two infirmary blocks, a mortuary, and dedicated casual and receiving wards—reflecting both the increasing population and the evolving role of such workhouses in public health and welfare.
In 1930, amid shifting social attitudes and legislation, the workhouse was rebranded as the Bakewell Public Assistance Institution, distancing itself from the punitive connotations of its origins. This transition marked a broader movement toward more humane care for the vulnerable. The post-war years brought even greater change. With the establishment of the National Health Service in 1948, the facility entered a new era as Newholme Hospital, aligning with the nationwide vision of free, publicly funded healthcare. Over the decades, it served the community in various capacities, though like many former workhouse sites, it bore architectural and spatial reminders of its austere past.
In July 2017, health authorities announced the planned closure of Newholme Hospital, as part of a wider strategy to consolidate services across Derbyshire. Despite local speculation and delays, the hospital finally closed in Autumn 2024, following the completion of a modern health centre built adjacent to the historic site. The closure marked the end of nearly two centuries of institutional care on the grounds. In its final years, the hospital exhibited the familiar signs of a long-serving NHS facility: a patchwork of upgrades and modernisations layered over Victorian bones, with plenty of empty corridors and underused wards.
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Fujifilm X-T5, 10-24mm
