After the mill, my nephew (Who I'm going to call High Tower (HT) from now on) and me met up with Barry & Jen, our hosts and guides for the trip to Denbigh. First port of call was the church up the top of the hill, quite a nice looking building (Like most of the ones on site) It was then down to the morgue and than Barry & HT decided to climb the silo's, heights are not for me so I went to have a look around by myself. During the 4 plus hours I was there I managed to bump into then a couple of times and other than 3 youngsters, that's the only people I saw during that time.
Enjoyed the place with plenty to see and even after all that time still missed a couple of buildings.
History blatantly stolen from The_Raw's report
"Denbigh Lunatic Asylum was built in 1848, being the first ever asylum in Wales it's purpose was to cater for Welsh psychiatric patients who had previously been sent to English asylums. It increased in size over the years and became the North Wales Hospital, at it's peak hosting 1500 patients and 1000 staff. Many drugs and treatments were developed at this hospital, including malarial treatments, insulin shock treatments and sulphur based drugs during the 1920s and 30s. The early 1940s saw the introduction of electro convulsive therapy (ECT) and prefrontal lobotomy treatments.
The end was in sight for Denbigh when in 1960 Enoch Powell visited the site. Soon after the visit, he announced the hospital plan for England and wales, which would see psychiatric care facilities being attached to general hospitals and the introduction of care in the community. In 1987 a ten year plan was in place to facilitate the closure of the site, it closed in sections starting in 1991 with the main hospital building closing in 1995. By 2002 the Grade II listed building had been completely abandoned and in the same year was sold at auction to a redevelopment company called Freemont. Freemont had planned to build up to 280 homes, businesses and community facilities on the site, with the redevelopment enabling the original listed buildings to be restored. However, the planning consent expired in 2009.
The main hall was burnt down in 2008 and the rest of the hospital now remains in a serious state of disrepair. Denbighshire council have recently undertaken works costing in the region of £900,000 to repair part of the roof although this has done little to improve the general state of the place. The Council are now in the process of taking steps to make a compulsory purchase order of the site."
full set of photos here
Denbigh Mental 18/1/2014 - a set on Flickr
And some taken by HT from above (Plus a few on the ground)
HT at Denbigh jan 2014 - a set on Flickr
Cheers
Enjoyed the place with plenty to see and even after all that time still missed a couple of buildings.
History blatantly stolen from The_Raw's report
"Denbigh Lunatic Asylum was built in 1848, being the first ever asylum in Wales it's purpose was to cater for Welsh psychiatric patients who had previously been sent to English asylums. It increased in size over the years and became the North Wales Hospital, at it's peak hosting 1500 patients and 1000 staff. Many drugs and treatments were developed at this hospital, including malarial treatments, insulin shock treatments and sulphur based drugs during the 1920s and 30s. The early 1940s saw the introduction of electro convulsive therapy (ECT) and prefrontal lobotomy treatments.
The end was in sight for Denbigh when in 1960 Enoch Powell visited the site. Soon after the visit, he announced the hospital plan for England and wales, which would see psychiatric care facilities being attached to general hospitals and the introduction of care in the community. In 1987 a ten year plan was in place to facilitate the closure of the site, it closed in sections starting in 1991 with the main hospital building closing in 1995. By 2002 the Grade II listed building had been completely abandoned and in the same year was sold at auction to a redevelopment company called Freemont. Freemont had planned to build up to 280 homes, businesses and community facilities on the site, with the redevelopment enabling the original listed buildings to be restored. However, the planning consent expired in 2009.
The main hall was burnt down in 2008 and the rest of the hospital now remains in a serious state of disrepair. Denbighshire council have recently undertaken works costing in the region of £900,000 to repair part of the roof although this has done little to improve the general state of the place. The Council are now in the process of taking steps to make a compulsory purchase order of the site."
full set of photos here
Denbigh Mental 18/1/2014 - a set on Flickr
And some taken by HT from above (Plus a few on the ground)
HT at Denbigh jan 2014 - a set on Flickr
Cheers
