Report - Springfield Hospital - London - January 2020

[Humpa]

Time for my once a year report Visited with @raisinwing & @MotionlessMike. Also bumped into @Olkka & @Session9


Shamelessly borrowed history from Wiki

The hospital opened as the Surrey County Pauper Lunatic Asylum in 1840. The original building was a grand symmetrical red brick Tudor-style composition enclosing a large courtyard, built to the designs of Edward Lapidge, the county surveyor. A purpose-built chapel was added in 1881. It came under the management of Middlesex County Council in 1888 and was renamed the Wandsworth Asylum.

During the First World War it became the Springfield War Hospital and, after the war, it became the Springfield Mental Hospital. A new infirmary block to treat mentally ill patients who were also physically ill opened in July 1932. During the Second World War a serious bout of dysentery broke out at the hospital. It joined the National Health Service in 1948.

It was one of the hospitals investigated in 1967 as a result of the publication of Barbara Robb's book "Sans Everything". The committee found that at least two of the charge nurses showed themselves prone to outbursts of ill-temper which expressed itself in violence.

In its heyday the hospital had 2,000 patients but it is now reduced to under 300 inpatients. Much of the original hospital building is now disused, and there are plans to convert this to a residential development, "Springfield Village". Proceeds are being used to create new state of the art mental health centres at Springfield and at Tolworth Hospital in Surbiton.

In January 2020 £150 million of funding was approved to create eight new inpatient wards at the hospital. In February 2020 the hospital was featured in the BBC documentary "On the Psych Ward".

This place has been fairly well covered by a lot of people so I will just add my take on the place. After a nice early morning drive down the M40 we pulled up a short distance away. A "Chilly" 5 minute walk and a few pointers from @tumbles later and we were in. Internal photos are sparce and externals are from my phone because someone thought it would be a good idea to drop their camera and break their lens..........

Cheers for looking

​

 

[raisinwing]

Nice set of shots dude!

Listening to your camera smacking into the floor was not a pleasant thing.

 

[MotionlessMike]

Was a fun day mate!

You got your film stuff developed?

 

[Bugsuperstar]

Very nice that! I like this place.

 

[tumbles]

Lovely shots. Wish I'd had more time with this place.

 

[MotionlessMike]

Did anyone ever manage main hall / chapel / mortuary / boilerhouse etc?

 

[Humpa]

Was a fun day mate!

You got your film stuff developed?

i'm not sure haha, these are from the digi! i have that many rolls that are either developed but not scanned or still undeveloped. i need to go through the back log haha

 

[Humpa]

Nice set of shots dude!

Listening to your camera smacking into the floor was not a pleasant thing.

cheers man! and it was more the lens i was bothered about haha this was its second outing and then RIP

 

[Calamity Jane]

Nice coverage and great photos, very atmospheric. I like seeing this place & had it on my list for 2020 too. Is that a padded door?

 

[Ojay]

Good to see again.

 

[HughieD]

Like that alot...

 

[Seffy]

Good to see a report from you mate - it's been a while! Some banging photos here and all.

 

[Camera Shy]

Some sexy photos there mate, Had a few fun visits here also, always nice to see.

 

[The_Raw]

Great pictures! That padded door was strange seeing as it was at the entrance to a staff meeting room. Maybe the meetings sent people a bit nuts