Leavesden Hospital |
| Hob Uid: 1455419 | |
Location :
Hertfordshire
Three Rivers
Abbots Langley
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| Grid Ref : TL1030001700 |
| Summary : The Metropolitan District Asylum was built between 1868 and 1870 in Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire. It was built to accommodate 1,500 patients. It was one of two asylums for mentally disabled people and was designed to cover the north side of the Thames. The second asylum, to cover the south side, was located at Caterham. The architect of the Leavesden Asylum was John Giles of Giles and Biven. The large site was symmetrically planned along a north-south axis. Several ranked pavilions, for female patients to the west and males to the east, flanked the central range of administration block, kitchen, stores, laundry and ancillary buildings. There was also a chapel. The buildings were built of yellow brick with decorative bands of red brick. The ward designs closely resembled those of the Nightingale pavilions of contemporary general hospitals, although they were generally wider and separated by iron partitions. The asylum soon became overcrowded and was greatly extended by the construction of new buildings and the purchase of surrounding properties. Between 1875 and 1876, the infirmary blocks were extended and a new male pavilion was added. A recreation hall was built in 1891 to designs by A. & C. Harston. Between 1902 and 1903, a new mortuary and isolation block to treat typhoid were constructed. By 1924, the asylum was known as Leavesden Mental Hospital. In 1926, Coles Farm, to the east , was purchased and a new boiler house and nurses home were built. In 1931, the former St Pancras Industrial School, opposite the hospital, became an annexe for chronic cases. Part of the hospital became an Emergency Medical Scheme Hospital during the Second World War. The hospital closed in 1995, the site was redeveloped for housing, and many of the buildings were demolished with the exception of the administrative block, chapel, and recreation hall. |
More information : The Metropolitan District Asylum was built between 1868 and 1870 to accommodate 1,500 patients. It was one of two asylums for mentally disabled people and was designed to cover the north side of the Thames. The second asylum, to cover the south side, was located at Caterham. The architect of the Leavesden Asylum was John Giles of Giles and Biven. The large site was symmetrically planned along a north-south axis. Several ranked pavilions, for female patients to the west and males to the east, flanked the central range of administration block, kitchen, stores, laundry and ancillary buildings. There was also a chapel. The buildings were built of yellow brick with decorative bands of red brick. The ward designs closely resembled those of the Nightingale pavilions of contemporary general hospitals, although they were generally wider and separated by iron partitions. The asylum soon became overcrowded and was greatly extended by the construction of new buildings and the purchase of surrounding properties. Between 1875 and 1876, the infirmary blocks were extended and a new male pavilion was added. A recreation hall was built in 1891 to designs by A. & C. Harston. Between 1902 and 1903, a new mortuary and isolation block to treat typhoid were constructed. By 1924, the asylum was known as Leavesden Mental Hospital. In 1926, Coles Farm, to the east , was purchased and a new boiler house and nurses home were built. In 1931, the former St Pancras Industrial School, opposite the hospital, became an annexe for chronic cases. Part of the hospital became an Emergency Medical Scheme Hospital during the Second World War. The hospital closed in 1995, the site was redeveloped for housing, and many of the buildings were demolished with the exception of the administrative block, chapel, and recreation hall. (1-9)
The National Grid Reference for the building is: TL103017 (10) |
Monument Period Name : Early 20th Century
Display Date : Mortuary and isolation block built1902-3
Monument End Date : 1903
Monument Start Date : 1902
Monument Type : Psychiatric Hospital, Pavilion Ward Block, Office, Kitchen, Storehouse, Laundry, Chapel, Infirmary, House, Workshop, Bath House, Water Tower, Recreational Hall, Mortuary, Isolation Block
Evidence : Demolished Building, Documentary Evidence, Extant Building
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Monument Period Name : Early 20th Century
Display Date : 1926 Additions
Monument End Date : 1926
Monument Start Date : 1926
Monument Type : Psychiatric Hospital, Pavilion Ward Block, Office, Kitchen, Storehouse, Laundry, Chapel, Infirmary, House, Workshop, Bath House, Water Tower, Recreational Hall, Mortuary, Isolation Block, Farm, Nurses Hostel, Boiler House
Evidence : Demolished Building, Documentary Evidence, Extant Building
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Monument Period Name : Second World War
Display Date : WW2 EMS Hospital
Monument End Date : 1945
Monument Start Date : 1939
Monument Type : Psychiatric Hospital, Pavilion Ward Block, Office, Kitchen, Storehouse, Laundry, Chapel, Infirmary, House, Workshop, Bath House, Water Tower, Recreational Hall, Mortuary, Isolation Block, Farm, Nurses Hostel, Boiler House, General Hospital
Evidence : Demolished Building, Documentary Evidence, Extant Building
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