(This is my first report here, so apologies in advance if I mess this up at all!) A kind of unplanned visit with my friend, we had headed out for the day to explore something else and ended up here. It appears from all the previous posts that Barrow is well explored/covered already, however it seems that the builders / vandals etc are just going for random parts of the buildings now and looks a lot worse than reports from even a month or so ago sadly. We were here for around 4 hours in the end and didn't see another person (though we did hear the builders driving around), and we covered a good chunk of what remains I believe. There's not many (if any) windows left in place now and a lot of walls have now been knocked through etc...
Barrow History: Construction began in 1934 and although the hospital was not officially opened until 3 May 1939, it received the first patients in May 1938. With WW2 breaking out it was also commandeered by the Royal Navy to be the Royal Navy Auxiliary Hospital, it returned to normal civilian use in 1946. In 1960 the hospital's population reached a peak of 453. At this time it was predicted that new community-based care initiatives would lead to a decline in patient numbers to 200 by 1975 but in the event this target was not met. However, there was a noticeable decline in numbers during the 1970s and in 2003 it was announced it would close by 2008. In 2005 a national survey of hospital cleanliness named Barrow as the dirtiest in Britain after inspectors found cigarette burns on floors, graffiti on walls, urine stains around a toilet and stains from bodily fluids on the bottom of a hoist chair. The closure plan was bought forward and Barrow closed in 2006.
Photos: (I go snap-happy with my camera so I've only put a few up here. I'll have more on my fb page and link to it when it's all up)
I believe these are from Woodside:
Inside "The Centre":
"East Villa"
Thanks for looking!
Barrow History: Construction began in 1934 and although the hospital was not officially opened until 3 May 1939, it received the first patients in May 1938. With WW2 breaking out it was also commandeered by the Royal Navy to be the Royal Navy Auxiliary Hospital, it returned to normal civilian use in 1946. In 1960 the hospital's population reached a peak of 453. At this time it was predicted that new community-based care initiatives would lead to a decline in patient numbers to 200 by 1975 but in the event this target was not met. However, there was a noticeable decline in numbers during the 1970s and in 2003 it was announced it would close by 2008. In 2005 a national survey of hospital cleanliness named Barrow as the dirtiest in Britain after inspectors found cigarette burns on floors, graffiti on walls, urine stains around a toilet and stains from bodily fluids on the bottom of a hoist chair. The closure plan was bought forward and Barrow closed in 2006.
Photos: (I go snap-happy with my camera so I've only put a few up here. I'll have more on my fb page and link to it when it's all up)
I believe these are from Woodside:
Inside "The Centre":
"East Villa"
Thanks for looking!
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