History
(Taken from Canmore)
The Royal Asylum of Montrose was founded in 1781 by Mrs Susan Carnegie of Charlton for the treatment of private and pauper lunatics, and was the first purpose-built psychiatric institute in Scotland. Prior to this, insane patients had been housed in the Old Tolbooth in the High Street. In 1858 the asylum was transferred to Moffatt's new building on the lands of a farm at Sunnyside. The new building cost £27,513, and was built in the Jacobean style Moffatt often adopted. When the lease of the farmlands expired in 1911, 52 acres were purchased for the hospital at a cost of £4,500
Sunnyside Royal Hospital itself was built in 1855-7 on a hillside site 6km north of Montrose to replace the old Royal Asylum in the town. The new site was further developed in 1888-91 when a hospital block, designed by the architects, Sydney Mitchell & Wilson, was built to the north-west of the main building, and a large villa, Carnegie Lodge, was added to house private patients. Another two villas, Howden Villa and North Esk Villa, were built in the early 1900s to provide accommodation for pauper patients, and a nurses' home was constructed in 1935.
Building and architectural information can be found here.
Visit
Choosing to walk here from Montrose on one of the hottest days of the year was a mistake, but it was worth it for the three accessible buildings I could find, that being the Main Building, Booth House and Occupational Therapy. The grounds seem to be a haven for dog walkers, signs advertising that they're welcome to roam so long as they don't access the buildings.
The Main Building is most tightly fenced off, with layers of herras and palisade fencing, but the upside of this is that it's in much better condition than the outbuildings seem to be. Although I was sad to see the backdrop on the stage in the hall has been pulled down and lies in a pigeon-mess-covered heap on the floor. I also regret missing the morgue and the dentist chair, maybe next time.
(Taken from Canmore)
The Royal Asylum of Montrose was founded in 1781 by Mrs Susan Carnegie of Charlton for the treatment of private and pauper lunatics, and was the first purpose-built psychiatric institute in Scotland. Prior to this, insane patients had been housed in the Old Tolbooth in the High Street. In 1858 the asylum was transferred to Moffatt's new building on the lands of a farm at Sunnyside. The new building cost £27,513, and was built in the Jacobean style Moffatt often adopted. When the lease of the farmlands expired in 1911, 52 acres were purchased for the hospital at a cost of £4,500
Sunnyside Royal Hospital itself was built in 1855-7 on a hillside site 6km north of Montrose to replace the old Royal Asylum in the town. The new site was further developed in 1888-91 when a hospital block, designed by the architects, Sydney Mitchell & Wilson, was built to the north-west of the main building, and a large villa, Carnegie Lodge, was added to house private patients. Another two villas, Howden Villa and North Esk Villa, were built in the early 1900s to provide accommodation for pauper patients, and a nurses' home was constructed in 1935.
Building and architectural information can be found here.
Visit
Choosing to walk here from Montrose on one of the hottest days of the year was a mistake, but it was worth it for the three accessible buildings I could find, that being the Main Building, Booth House and Occupational Therapy. The grounds seem to be a haven for dog walkers, signs advertising that they're welcome to roam so long as they don't access the buildings.
The Main Building is most tightly fenced off, with layers of herras and palisade fencing, but the upside of this is that it's in much better condition than the outbuildings seem to be. Although I was sad to see the backdrop on the stage in the hall has been pulled down and lies in a pigeon-mess-covered heap on the floor. I also regret missing the morgue and the dentist chair, maybe next time.
