The hospital opened on 15 June 1841 as the Surrey County Pauper Lunatic Asylum. It received 299 patients, transferred from various private pauper asylums across Surrey. In the beginning, the asylum coped with every sort of clinical problem; specialist facilities developed gradually over time. The cottage hospital opened in 1872, and an infirmary block and operating theatre followed in 1881.
Over the next 100 years, admission rates soared. Many were suffering the effects of poverty and alcoholism. And as more people moved away from agricultural life to city living, those with mental illness often became a burden their families could not support. In 1959, an act of parliament allowed the number of patients to be controlled and their needs matched to a specific type of treatment.
From the 1960s onwards, the number of inpatients began to fall. This reflected changes in treatment, and changes in attitudes towards mental health.
Springfield University Hospital remained open, but implemented changes. Now, there are fewer inpatient beds and the majority of services are provided in outpatient or community settings.
Hopefully no one’s bored of seeing this place yet - It’s certainly one I doubt I’ll ever tire of seeing. Visited with @raisinwing and @Humpa on a crisp & sunny January morning. Well worth the 4:00am get up and three hour-ish trek from S-o-T. Nice to bump into a couple of familiar names on the day while inside.
Nowt new here but it's something to scroll through right? Although it's cool to see more new bits surfacing in more recent reports too!
Inside the main entrance
The pix got a little jumbled up on my hdd - but roughly start in the more recently used parts and move towards the more derped parts
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Secure ward
I think I read the 'derelict' part of the hospital was last used in either 1991 or 1994. Either way the floor is pretty lively in a few places!
View from one of the hall windows looking across the site
That's it, thanks for looking.
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