Visited with RustproofHawk.
After failing to get into an abandoned hotel then an old office building (this
We decided to give Normansfield hospital in Teddington a go. Knowing that restoration and building works had started you can see from the pictures that it's a lot better now, replaced floors, fixed staircases e.t.c. all apart from the attic which looks like nothing has been done up there except for the roof access being waterproofed and tidied up.
It was pitch black when we were there and security were on it (we think) chasing other people from getting in!
History: (some copied from twickenham-museum.org.uk)
Setup by John Langdon Down
Opened 1868
Closed 1997
Having established his reputation and gained a large experience in the field (Down's Syndrome) he acquired a recently-built house, ‘Normansfield’, on the Kingston Road and opened it in May 1868 as a Private Home for the "care, education and treatment of those of good social position who present any degree of mental deficiency".
John Langdon-Down died, much honoured, in 1896. He had worked at the London Hospital throughout the years at Normansfield and become a major authority on mental subnormality. His widow Mary, an able and practical woman who had always helped in the management and daily running of the hospital, continued in this work until she died in 1901.
The hospital was now divided into four parts: one wing for women and children, another for boys, and one house each for higher grade men and women.
During the difficulties of the Second World War, being so near the National Physical Laboratory the grounds received a V1 and many high explosive and incendiary bombs, fortunately without casualties.
The problem of maintaining a private hospital became overwhelming after the war, and a smooth transfer to the National Health Service was successfully negotiated in 1951.
Dr Langdon-Down, Percival’s son Norman, took over as Physician Superintendent under the Staines Group Hospital Management Committee.
A League of Friends of Normansfield was created in 1957, its first president Lady Brain, the granddaughter of the founder. A prominent and highly effective member of the Committee was the West End actor-manager Brian Rix, later Lord Rix. £100,000 was raised in eleven years to provide not only small things for the patients but a school, a shop, a clubroom and a holiday home at Selsey.
Disastrous appointment and final closure
He was replaced by a psychiatrist described as authoritarian and incompetent who was suspended six years later in the middle of a nurses strike. By then senior personnel were resigning and buildings were in disrepair. A seemingly disastrous appointment. Not many years later the hospital closed its doors.
Pics: (taken in mostly near darkness so some of them look a bit odd being long exposures)
First corridor inside, after getting up from the basement:
One of the stairwells being restored:
Dodgy wooden walkway where a bathroom was and not to mention security walking by!
Staircase further down:
One of the rooms further upstairs getting renovated:
Looking at the staircase, a lot has been stripped but looking good inside:
One of the rooms with a nice fireplace that is probably yet to have work started:
The other side:
Looking through the door towards security:
Up the staircase to the top part of the main building with a nice window light:
Top floor corridor:
On the way up to the attic now looking back down the staircase:
First attic level, not much up here from a few fireplace surrounds and pigeons:
Room with a massive girder holding crucial brickwork and main beams in place:
Looking towards the clock tower in the other part of the building which we didn't get a chance to get into:
Top level of the attic, looking up at the lovely curved wood:
Up through the hatch onto the highest part of the roof, just above where the last pic was:
Looking to the active part of the building with the Victorian theatre building:
Myself and rustproofhawk resting and enjoying the view:
To the front of the building with the drive and the main road:
There's a flagpole up there too but the top's broken:
Lovely clocktower:
Theatre roof:
Housing estate:
View towards Twickenham:
On the way down - RedRoom:
Hope y'all enjoyed.
After failing to get into an abandoned hotel then an old office building (this
We decided to give Normansfield hospital in Teddington a go. Knowing that restoration and building works had started you can see from the pictures that it's a lot better now, replaced floors, fixed staircases e.t.c. all apart from the attic which looks like nothing has been done up there except for the roof access being waterproofed and tidied up.
It was pitch black when we were there and security were on it (we think) chasing other people from getting in!
History: (some copied from twickenham-museum.org.uk)
Setup by John Langdon Down
Opened 1868
Closed 1997
Having established his reputation and gained a large experience in the field (Down's Syndrome) he acquired a recently-built house, ‘Normansfield’, on the Kingston Road and opened it in May 1868 as a Private Home for the "care, education and treatment of those of good social position who present any degree of mental deficiency".
John Langdon-Down died, much honoured, in 1896. He had worked at the London Hospital throughout the years at Normansfield and become a major authority on mental subnormality. His widow Mary, an able and practical woman who had always helped in the management and daily running of the hospital, continued in this work until she died in 1901.
The hospital was now divided into four parts: one wing for women and children, another for boys, and one house each for higher grade men and women.
During the difficulties of the Second World War, being so near the National Physical Laboratory the grounds received a V1 and many high explosive and incendiary bombs, fortunately without casualties.
The problem of maintaining a private hospital became overwhelming after the war, and a smooth transfer to the National Health Service was successfully negotiated in 1951.
Dr Langdon-Down, Percival’s son Norman, took over as Physician Superintendent under the Staines Group Hospital Management Committee.
A League of Friends of Normansfield was created in 1957, its first president Lady Brain, the granddaughter of the founder. A prominent and highly effective member of the Committee was the West End actor-manager Brian Rix, later Lord Rix. £100,000 was raised in eleven years to provide not only small things for the patients but a school, a shop, a clubroom and a holiday home at Selsey.
Disastrous appointment and final closure
He was replaced by a psychiatrist described as authoritarian and incompetent who was suspended six years later in the middle of a nurses strike. By then senior personnel were resigning and buildings were in disrepair. A seemingly disastrous appointment. Not many years later the hospital closed its doors.
Pics: (taken in mostly near darkness so some of them look a bit odd being long exposures)
First corridor inside, after getting up from the basement:
One of the stairwells being restored:
Dodgy wooden walkway where a bathroom was and not to mention security walking by!
Staircase further down:
One of the rooms further upstairs getting renovated:
Looking at the staircase, a lot has been stripped but looking good inside:
One of the rooms with a nice fireplace that is probably yet to have work started:
The other side:
Looking through the door towards security:
Up the staircase to the top part of the main building with a nice window light:
Top floor corridor:
On the way up to the attic now looking back down the staircase:
First attic level, not much up here from a few fireplace surrounds and pigeons:
Room with a massive girder holding crucial brickwork and main beams in place:
Looking towards the clock tower in the other part of the building which we didn't get a chance to get into:
Top level of the attic, looking up at the lovely curved wood:
Up through the hatch onto the highest part of the roof, just above where the last pic was:
Looking to the active part of the building with the Victorian theatre building:
Myself and rustproofhawk resting and enjoying the view:
To the front of the building with the drive and the main road:
There's a flagpole up there too but the top's broken:
Lovely clocktower:
Theatre roof:
Housing estate:
View towards Twickenham:
On the way down - RedRoom:
Hope y'all enjoyed.
