A little history:
The hospital was built in 1876 and designed by Robert Griffiths, who also designed the Staffordshire County Asylum. The site made good use of its location, with extensive southern views and incorporated a large farm, gas works, staff residences and burial ground.
The style is Gothic; the most popular style of the day, which features lots of local bricks and stone dressings and a large clock/water tower more akin to a church steeple. In 1887 the asylum was extended further to accommodate more patients, and by the 1940s had reached it’s maximum population.
The asylum entered the news in more recent history, when a fire broke out killing 6 patients, and the hospital finally closed its doors in 1995.
For more history please vist:
CountyAsylums.com is for sale | HugeDomains
As it stand now some of the principle buildings and the clock tower remain, and are , according to a builder we met whilst on site, being restored to their former glory. These are to include both the clock tower and indeed the heavily fire damaged hall to the rear of the Clock tower.
We seem to have timed our second visit to coincide with a recent ram raid of the builders yard and as such some areas I couldn't access on my first visit were available for a mooch.
The hospital was built in 1876 and designed by Robert Griffiths, who also designed the Staffordshire County Asylum. The site made good use of its location, with extensive southern views and incorporated a large farm, gas works, staff residences and burial ground.
The style is Gothic; the most popular style of the day, which features lots of local bricks and stone dressings and a large clock/water tower more akin to a church steeple. In 1887 the asylum was extended further to accommodate more patients, and by the 1940s had reached it’s maximum population.
The asylum entered the news in more recent history, when a fire broke out killing 6 patients, and the hospital finally closed its doors in 1995.
For more history please vist:
CountyAsylums.com is for sale | HugeDomains
As it stand now some of the principle buildings and the clock tower remain, and are , according to a builder we met whilst on site, being restored to their former glory. These are to include both the clock tower and indeed the heavily fire damaged hall to the rear of the Clock tower.
We seem to have timed our second visit to coincide with a recent ram raid of the builders yard and as such some areas I couldn't access on my first visit were available for a mooch.
