Bit of history..
Sunnyside Royal Hospital was a psychiatric hospital located in Hillside, north of Montrose. The hospital was originally founded in 1781 by Susan Carnegie as the Montrose Lunatic Asylum, Infirmary & Dispensary and obtained a Royal Charter in 1810.
In 1858, a new improved asylum was completed to the north of Montrose in the village of Hillside on lands of the farm of Sunnyside and the old site was vacated. This site was further developed with the construction of a new facility for private patients called Carnegie House in 1899. Despite this addition, overcrowding was a problem, as the asylum's patient numbers had grown to 670 by 1900. In 1911 the lease of Sunnyside Farm finally expired and over 52 acres were purchased for the sum of £4500.
In 1948, the National Health Service 1946 (Scotland) Act brought the hospital under control of the Eastern Regional Hospital Board. Its name was changed from the Royal Asylum of Montrose to the Royal Mental Hospital of Montrose. In 1962 it became Sunnyside Royal Hospital and came under the jurisdiction of new management. During the 1950s and 1960s, the introduction of new drugs lessened the need for prolonged admission of patients.
The site was officially closed in late 2011 and most patients were sent to a new £20 million build at nearby Stracathro Hospital - the Susan Carnegie Centre. Others were placed in the community. Sunnyside was open for 230 years before its closure, and was the oldest psychiatric hospital in Scotland.
Our visit:
We visited here on our recent Scotland trip not entirely sure what to expect. There was tons of people strolling around walking dogs so we were able to have a good mooch around the massive site before heading to have a look at some of the buildings. It's great to be able to walk through a door from one ward to another and immediately step back in time 30 years. It would have been good to have had a look at some of the other buildings but our visit was unexpectedly cut short when several vehicles from the local police force arrived. We sat it out for a bit and luckily they left, but with a security van also doing the rounds fixing and checking boards we figured a hasty exit was needed. The buildings do have PIR's and although some don't appear to be working, some of them probably are!
Main Building
Lovely glass corridors
Recreation Hall
The scenery on the stage was lovely, and a sign found below from the 1980's reports that it is over 140 years old.
My pictures from the hall all came out a bit crap. Old photos show a Pipe Organ with an ornate case sat up on the balcony.
Radio Sunnyside
Formal Dining Room
Modern Wards
Old Wards
From 1939 (courtesy of sunnyside.me.uk)
continued..