Report - Blackburn Royal Infirmary - August 2013

[FocusOnScott]

Hey there,

Found this place by chance as I thought it was knocked down years ago! The builders are working around the perimeter of the site as they are building new houses all around it...the parts the remain are the war memorial wards and are listed which is why it hasn't been demolished. The building is absolutely wrecked but it is still worth a wander around...the roof top is actually quite a nice place to relax and watch the world (Blackburn) go round!

THE HISTORY:

The Infirmary was opened in 1865. It was one of the first hospitals in England designed in accordance with the principles of a ‘pavilion hospital’. Eight linked eight wards were designed by a Manchester architect, Roger Turnbull, staggered along a spine corridor, with a larger central block. Construction halted in 1861 and the building was never finished to the original design, although increased patient demand led to its extension in 1884, with a nurses’ home added in the 1890s. The Victoria Wing was added in 1901, with later extensions to the east. Following the First World War, the Blackburn Memorial Committee decided
that the principal tribute and memorial to local men lost in the Great War would be the construction of a new wing, the War Memorial Wing. Designed in the early 1920’s by local architects Sames and Green, the construction of the War Memorial Wing began in 1924 and was completed in 1928. The building was designed to compliment the Italianate architecture of the original 19th century hospital. It was designed to provide an imposing frontage and statement building to greet any traveller entering Blackburn along the Bolton Road to the south east. Although it is not the oldest or the tallest building on the site, its location and design dominates the site. It rises above road level so that the tall central tower and wide flanking wings, with ornate decoration on the northern elevation, are seen as a highly visible feature.

Photo time!!!

Thanks for looking!!! Come again!!!