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Report - - Sanderson Children's Hospital - Home for Destitute Crippled Children 10/07/08 | Asylums and Hospitals | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Sanderson Children's Hospital - Home for Destitute Crippled Children 10/07/08

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Vivo

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Previous report from Hot Potato, Sweaty Morph, and Vivo's visit. This place is what gave Hot Potato his more than obscure name lol. Looking back, my photography has come some way!

This time, I visited with Crossy (from North East Urbex) after a quick whizz round last week with Kona.

History:
The hospital was founded by a local philanthropist, W J Sanderson. It was originally in Whickham in 1888 but they soon found the buildings there too small and moved to Gosforth in 1897. It was extended in 1914 so it could treat more patients. Initially the aim of the institution was to care for destitute handicapped children who were not suitable for housing in the workhouse.

The hospital became increasingly well known for the work it carried out in the field of orthopaedic surgery and in 1934 the hospital was designated as a specialist Orthopaedic Hospital and they began the treatment of adults. After 1948, the hospital was ran as part of the NHS and became a long-stay orthopaedic hospital covering the Newcastle area, although it continued to treat children the ratio of adults getting treatment there was relatively well balanced.

After the NHS reform in 1974, the hospital was handed over to the care of the elderly under the control of Newcastle Area Health Authority. Inspection of records found within the building suggests involvement in mental health but I cannot find any official sources stating this. It has been difficult to determine the actual date of closure. The National Archives seem to think it closed in 1974 but inside there are memos from 1991 and a calendar in reception for 1998. We were also shocked to find maintenance invoices from as late as 2003 but this may have been from after closure.

I've learnt my dad was treated here in the early 70's for surgery on his leg as he suffers from a hereditary motor disease.

The place has suffered quite badly at the hand of charvers (chavs for the non-North Easterners) and is very very well sealed. It took us about 20 hours of accumulated searching to find a way in when we got in here last year and it has gotten only slightly worse since, which is nice. Unfortunately when I went last week someone had pulled the front door off but fortunately Securitas have resealed it, which is good as the place is full of asbestos and isn't somewhere kids should be hanging out.

For those of you who don't give a fuck about history, onto the pictures: :D

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Signage at the front gate.

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The front door. I believe the day we got in here last year, was actually the place's birthday. Coincidence? :rolleyes:

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Crossy taking photos of what would appear to be Fort Knox.

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This place seems to have a large problem with fungus. There are full on mushrooms in places. I've not seen many places as bad as this for it.

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Nightlights on one of the wards.

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You've gotta take photos of toilets!

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Me with one of those epic lights in the surgery.

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One of the surgery areas. I think the room straight through the doors is the prep room for the surgeons and to the left is the 'scrubs' room.

There are more photos in my flickr set and I'll add more here when I get my ones from last week online.
 
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