Report - St Martins Hospital, Canterbury - Sept 21

[Bikin Glynn]

St Martins Hospital

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Been done to death but here's my take, Iv tried to keep pics a bit different.
Im not surprised to be honest despite the "used for police training signs" which I think may actually be true in this instance its just about the easiest hospital Iv done.

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Im sure you know this bit but stole it from last report by @UnknownAX
St Martin's Hospital, which was designed by William Joseph Jennings and Gray using a compact arrow layout, opened in 1902. The hospital became Canterbury City Mental Hospital in the 1920s and joined the National Health Service as St Martin's Hospital in 1948.
From the local government reorganisations of 1889, Canterbury was designated as a County Borough, administratively independent from the remainder of Kent. This autonomy also necessitated the provision of asylum care for the mentally ill of the city within it’s own premises or under an arrangement elsewhere satisfactory to the Commissioners in Lunacy who were responsible for requirements were met.

Until the provision of its own asylum, Canterbury therefore utilised space purchased under contract at other County or Borough asylums, or private institutions such as Fisherton House, Salisbury
The expense incurred in providing an asylum was usually discouraging enough to the majority smaller county boroughs unless pressure for finding space, cost of boarding or compulsion due to pressure from the Commissioners in Lunacy forced them to do so. However advantages were also to be gained as lucrative business could be gained in disposing of excess capacity to other authorities and to private, fee-paying patients.

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Canterbury was one of the smallest of all English county boroughs to construct its own asylum, with it’s opening in 1902 enabling transferral of the borough’s mentally ill much closer to home. Correspondingly, the building itself was also one of the smallest of its time, with approx 250 beds in comparison with between 1,000 to 2,500 at other contemporaries.
A site was purchased to the west of the city on the Littlebourne Road. The land had previously been developed as a manor house and its grounds. The building, known as Stone House was utilised as accommodation for private female patients within the grounds.
The firm engaged for the design of the project was William Joseph Jennings and Gray who were local architects.

My personal favourite part here was the old mortuary turned into a workshop. I think this is still used for their feeble attempts to board this place up.

Ok then here are a few that you expect to see from here.

Thanks For Looking

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[Calamity Jane]

Lovely take on it. Those 3 lights are a bit retro. Lots of nice chimneys too.

 

[Bikin Glynn]

Lovely take on it. Those 3 lights are a bit retro. Lots of nice chimneys too.

Thanks Jane there is some nice features & its fairly unvandalized which is always a bonus.

 

[HughieD]

Really fantastic set of pics mate.

 

[Bikin Glynn]

Really fantastic set of pics mate.

Thanks mate, if u are ever down that way I would recommend it

 

[Mikeymutt]

Nice report mate. Funny I went here the weekend. I was surprised how easy it was. We were there five hours and never saw a soul. I enjoyed it more than I expected. I was expecting this pristine hospital and it was far more dirty and grubby than I expected.

 

[Bikin Glynn]

Nice report mate. Funny I went here the weekend. I was surprised how easy it was. We were there five hours and never saw a soul. I enjoyed it more than I expected. I was expecting this pristine hospital and it was far more dirty and grubby than I expected.

Oh cool, yeah considering it's next to live site it's crazy.
Think the police training puts a lot off which is good as it's u vandalised.
Could do with a tad more decay couldn't it lol

 

[Mikeymutt]

Oh cool, yeah considering it's next to live site it's crazy.
Think the police training puts a lot off which is good as it's u vandalised.
Could do with a tad more decay couldn't it lol

I think another few years and that will happen..at least it was not sparkly clean.

 

[J.J.]

Glad to see its easier to get into than I thought, I heard the place was heavily guarded but glad that's not true. Really good pics, gonna head there sometime before Christmas.

 

[Fuzzball]

Love these pictures! They have a really old-skool mid-noughties flavour, reminds me of the moody, atmospheric shots of West Park, Hellingly, Cane Hill etc. Nice to think that unlike those places, this is actually still here.
(Of course this comment will age like milk eventually).

 

[Bikin Glynn]

Glad to see its easier to get into than I thought, I heard the place was heavily guarded but glad that's not true. Really good pics, gonna head there sometime before Christmas.

Yeah as mentioned it IS used for police training & has live site next door so just choose your timing carefully.

 

[Bikin Glynn]

Love these pictures! They have a really old-skool mid-noughties flavour, reminds me of the moody, atmospheric shots of West Park, Hellingly, Cane Hill etc. Nice to think that unlike those places, this is actually still here.
(Of course this comment will age like milk eventually).

thanks dude yes it does have a bit of that feel I guess though I never made it to any of the above.
As mentioned above it almost needs a bit more decay for my liking.

 

[Fuzzball]

thanks dude yes it does have a bit of that feel I guess though I never made it to any of the above.
As mentioned above it almost needs a bit more decay for my liking.

Np, I like seeing all the different takes people have on the same places - lenses, post processing, angles etc. Your pictures are the kind of ones I first encountered when introduced to urbex. I'd hazard a guess that this place will be sold before decay really sets in. Though the same could also be said for Cefn Coed and that place is maturing now.