Hi,
After a some time of perusing this pastime, my interest was piqued by this particular gem. As it is quite close for me i decided that i wanted a bite of the apple. After assembling a motley team all of whom are virgin explorers we set course for Gosport..
Initially oversleeping i contacted our friends who were all still eager to continue our trip. We drove down to Gosport and parked up. After selecting an entry point and getting in we were re-payed with some fantastic sights. We spent around three and a half hours here taking in as much as we could.
We did have two very close calls with security but the rest of our visit was un-hindered.
As we were leaving we rather prematurely were congratulating ourselves only to find our exit had been sealed during our stay. I must say this boosted the adrenaline levels somewhat as we hastily improvised.
No tears though we all got out and were entirely satisfied to have popped our urbex cherry.
As this is a popular location some visitors have written on the walls as noobs this for us, added to the eerieness
Some fascinating history from the BBC. So Sad that it's now closed.
A history of Haslar hospital
As Gosport's Haslar hospital is decommissioned, a look at its history reveals the important part it played in the treating of the sick and injured military personnel throughout its history.
Since 1753, The Royal Hospital Haslar in Gosport has provided medical care to the service personnel of the Royal Navy, and latterly, to the Army and RAF, and, in more recent years, civilians, too.
The building of the hospital took 16 years and planning permission for it was first granted in 1745 by King George II, when the land was purchased.
Originally, a fourth side to the hospital’s three-sided 'U' shaped layout was planned, and was to include a chapel, but due to over-spending on the project, work on it never began.
Even so, during the building of the hospital, one of the first Physicians of Haslar (the person who ran the hospital), Dr James Lind, described the hospital as "an immense pile of a building and when complete it will certainly be the biggest hospital in Europe!"
As a compromise to the scrapped fourth side, a separate church was built in 1762 for staff, their families and patients.
But the hospital was already operational long before its completion – by 1753, some nine years prior to building work ending in 1762, would-be patients were bedding down in the builder's living quarters, aware that the new hospital would soon be open.
With the hospital still only half-built at this stage, and the need for more space to care for sick sailors in the area becoming increasingly desperate, patients were admitted into the completed areas of the hospital from October 1753.
This means there is no formal record of an official opening of the hospital.
But Haslar frequently saw full wards, and over the decades would gain a reputation as an excellent example of military nursing care.
Casualties from all major wars were treated at Haslar. The sick and injured servicemen from Trafalgar, Corunna, Waterloo, and Army casualities from the Crimean, as well as the two World Wars of the 20th Century, and the Falklands, were all cared for at Haslar
In the first decades or so of the 1800s - the years of the Trafalgar, Corunna and Waterloo battles - many of Haslar's patients who died were laid to rest in the grounds.
Its said that buried in the paddock to the south-west of the hospital are tens of thousands of servicemen, and is thought to be the densest area of burial in the UK of those who died serving their country.
When Haslar first opened, some compared it to a prison. There were overcrowded buildings, discharged patients taking up home in the attics and reports of drunkenness and petty theft among staff and patients.
Nurses and sailors
Late 18th Century Navy inspections resulted in improved conditions, when a Naval Captain was appointed as the hospital's first governor in 1795.
The management of the hospital was primarily by Naval Officers rather than by doctors, until the early 20th Century.
During World War I, the hospital was full, and during World War II, the threat of air raids meant Haslar primarily treated emergencies who were then transferred to inland hospitals once the patient was out of immediate danger. In 1941, two bombs hit the hospital.
Management of the hospital went over to doctors - Haslar was now under the leadership of a Medical Officer in Charge.
In 1954 the word 'Naval' was formally included in the title of the hospital, becoming Royal Naval Hospital Haslar.
'Naval' was removed in 1966 when it became a tri-service hospital (ie Navy, Army and RAF), serving the families of service personnel as well as the local population in the Gosport area, a role it continued with until now.
The military medical care carried out at Haslar now transfers to a new Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit in Portsmouth, and the 200 or so service personnel currently based at Haslar will remain there until 2009, working alongside NHS colleagues carrying out NHS work.
In 2009, the hospital closed its doors for the final time.
Here are some pics.
Cheers.
Time for a quick dance
After a some time of perusing this pastime, my interest was piqued by this particular gem. As it is quite close for me i decided that i wanted a bite of the apple. After assembling a motley team all of whom are virgin explorers we set course for Gosport..
Initially oversleeping i contacted our friends who were all still eager to continue our trip. We drove down to Gosport and parked up. After selecting an entry point and getting in we were re-payed with some fantastic sights. We spent around three and a half hours here taking in as much as we could.
We did have two very close calls with security but the rest of our visit was un-hindered.
As we were leaving we rather prematurely were congratulating ourselves only to find our exit had been sealed during our stay. I must say this boosted the adrenaline levels somewhat as we hastily improvised.
No tears though we all got out and were entirely satisfied to have popped our urbex cherry.
As this is a popular location some visitors have written on the walls as noobs this for us, added to the eerieness
Some fascinating history from the BBC. So Sad that it's now closed.
A history of Haslar hospital
As Gosport's Haslar hospital is decommissioned, a look at its history reveals the important part it played in the treating of the sick and injured military personnel throughout its history.
Since 1753, The Royal Hospital Haslar in Gosport has provided medical care to the service personnel of the Royal Navy, and latterly, to the Army and RAF, and, in more recent years, civilians, too.
The building of the hospital took 16 years and planning permission for it was first granted in 1745 by King George II, when the land was purchased.
Originally, a fourth side to the hospital’s three-sided 'U' shaped layout was planned, and was to include a chapel, but due to over-spending on the project, work on it never began.
Even so, during the building of the hospital, one of the first Physicians of Haslar (the person who ran the hospital), Dr James Lind, described the hospital as "an immense pile of a building and when complete it will certainly be the biggest hospital in Europe!"
As a compromise to the scrapped fourth side, a separate church was built in 1762 for staff, their families and patients.
But the hospital was already operational long before its completion – by 1753, some nine years prior to building work ending in 1762, would-be patients were bedding down in the builder's living quarters, aware that the new hospital would soon be open.
With the hospital still only half-built at this stage, and the need for more space to care for sick sailors in the area becoming increasingly desperate, patients were admitted into the completed areas of the hospital from October 1753.
This means there is no formal record of an official opening of the hospital.
But Haslar frequently saw full wards, and over the decades would gain a reputation as an excellent example of military nursing care.
Casualties from all major wars were treated at Haslar. The sick and injured servicemen from Trafalgar, Corunna, Waterloo, and Army casualities from the Crimean, as well as the two World Wars of the 20th Century, and the Falklands, were all cared for at Haslar
In the first decades or so of the 1800s - the years of the Trafalgar, Corunna and Waterloo battles - many of Haslar's patients who died were laid to rest in the grounds.
Its said that buried in the paddock to the south-west of the hospital are tens of thousands of servicemen, and is thought to be the densest area of burial in the UK of those who died serving their country.
When Haslar first opened, some compared it to a prison. There were overcrowded buildings, discharged patients taking up home in the attics and reports of drunkenness and petty theft among staff and patients.
Nurses and sailors
Late 18th Century Navy inspections resulted in improved conditions, when a Naval Captain was appointed as the hospital's first governor in 1795.
The management of the hospital was primarily by Naval Officers rather than by doctors, until the early 20th Century.
During World War I, the hospital was full, and during World War II, the threat of air raids meant Haslar primarily treated emergencies who were then transferred to inland hospitals once the patient was out of immediate danger. In 1941, two bombs hit the hospital.
Management of the hospital went over to doctors - Haslar was now under the leadership of a Medical Officer in Charge.
In 1954 the word 'Naval' was formally included in the title of the hospital, becoming Royal Naval Hospital Haslar.
'Naval' was removed in 1966 when it became a tri-service hospital (ie Navy, Army and RAF), serving the families of service personnel as well as the local population in the Gosport area, a role it continued with until now.
The military medical care carried out at Haslar now transfers to a new Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit in Portsmouth, and the 200 or so service personnel currently based at Haslar will remain there until 2009, working alongside NHS colleagues carrying out NHS work.
In 2009, the hospital closed its doors for the final time.
Here are some pics.
Cheers.
Time for a quick dance
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