North Wales Hospital, Denbigh
(Nothing new to see here)
(Why has it taken me this long to post these photos - How time flies!)
History
With the Lunatic Act passed in 1808 every county in the country was to provide an institute for the mentally ill, but by 1840 North Wales was still without such an institution because the poor rural communities could not afford to erect one. This meant that the most seriously ill pauper lunatics were sent to the English Asylums.
Building of the Hospital started in 1844. Plans were drawn up by Mr Fulljames of Gloucester under the guidance of his friend, Dr S. Hitch. The Hospital was constructed from limestone bricks produced by the Graig Quarry near Denbigh and was regarded as the finest structure of its type. The building work was completed four years later and opened on the 14th of November, 1848 and was able to house up to 200 patients. The clock tower was donated by a Mrs. Ablett in memory of her husband who donated the land for the Asylum.
The hospital was under ever increasing pressure to support its patients and relieve over-crowding, this led to a number of extensions occurring through out its life; the most major extension work happened in 1899. This allowed the Hospital to house 1500 patients at its peak and offer a wide range of treatments.
Denbigh Hospital was initially put up for sale by the North Wales Health Authority after it closed in 1995, but initial bids of around 1 million were refused.
The site was eventually sold for £155,000 in 1999.
The visit
Well, after the last trip back in 2010, I said I would never go back to this place again, but a couple of people I know said they were going to pop along, as it was a lovely summers day I decided to tag along, as I had not see the place since the roof was fixed.
As with the last visit, the place has once more gone down hill a hell of a lot, after another couple of harsh Welsh winters, bits that were there are no longer there, bits that were partially collapsed are now fully collapsed and the stripping of the Admin department looks like it was done by a bunch of cowboys, rather than people appointed by the Council, as they appear to have used breeze blocks to prop up windows among other 'fixes'
The Photos
[1]
[2] & [3]
[4] & [5]
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[7] & [8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12] & [13]
[14]
[15] & [16]
Full Gallery HERE
