Not sure where the last five years have gone but I guess Covid is accountable for at least a couple of those.
I got invited to visit Cefn Coed a week or so after the majority of the site had closed. Other than two wards situated to the right of the admin block the rest of the site had closed down marking an end of 85 years of operation.
The site of the hospital had been proposed since 1908 and George Hine had drawn up plans of a design similar to that of St Mary's & Parc Prewitt. World War 1 would soon delay plans and it wasn't till 1928 that building works would commence. By this time Hine had passed away and his partner Hallam Carter-Pegg updated the plans and is widely accepted as the main architect of the site. Some cost cutting measures were imposed and the original design had included a large, prominent, clock above the administration doors. This was replaced with a crest of the City of Swansea.
No sooner had it opened that world war 2 struck and brought about a change in use as a casualty hospital. With the war over the hospital was eventually brought under control of the NHS when it was established in 1948.
Plans were originally muted/drawn up in 2002 for a replacement for the hospital and in 2009 work started on creating Ysbryd Y Coed to the north of the site. This involved removing many of the annex buildings built at the same time as the original hospital. You can see them here: https://www.countyasylums.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Cefn-Coed-1981.jpg
The two remaining operational wards will close once further facilities are built to the west of the site. Upon completion the original buildings other than the chapel are scheduled for demolition. At this stage no part of the site has been listed.
On with the pics:
Front of admin, you can see where the clock would have been fitted. Some original plans show illustrations of the admin block with clock in situ.
Stairs up to above admin, up here featured a billiards room for staff.
Stairs up to assistant medical quarters
Corridor on female side. The green and black tiles indicated female corridors, black and white for male. The walls painted since original build and hide the traditional glazed tiles that were used in many Hine builds of the era
At this time heating/boilers were still operational
Projection booth
It's often said that its easy to loose track of day/time when you are a patient as each day is the same, these day boards were designed to help patients differentiate
Most wards didn't resemble the original layout, of 1932 anymore, modified to fit more patients in typically, however there were occasional signs of the originality such as the posts in this particular ward:
One of the highlights, the x-ray room was locked up in the 1990s and untouched since
The wallpaper/carpets in this ward were absolutely pure 1980s. However of note in this picture was the cell on the left - one of the original padded cells which was identifiable by the wider door frame and smaller rear window. The hospital had originally had pocock bros padded cells fitted but prior to opening the super intendant asked for them to be send back to the supplier with a note thanking them for the installation but they were no longer required!
Kitchens:
The chapel, now converted into a archives/library/learning centre
The hall, split into 3 separate parts later in its useful life. This part remained mostly original. The underground heating system was advised not to be switched off but was still done so regardless. 3 months later the floor was deemed unsafe and the area locked off/condemned. Peak NHS. If anyone experienced the floor at St Mary's it was exactly the same.
The stage part of the hall blocked off and generally filled with much pigeon shit.
Tower views. Glorious views across to the mumbles.
The new unit built opposite. It is of an oval design so that patients can walk around the ward and never reach the end. This gives them a feeling of more freedom. They also have hospital cats!
1957 Doorman Engine, used for backup power generation. Think before they were taken over by English Electric but I'm not 100% on that.
Modern oil fired boilers
Workshops, reminded me of those at Whitchurch
The mortuary, used as a general storage for the engineering department with the chapel of rest a paint store. You can see the removal of the original partition which would have been post mortem area.
Rather lovely big chunks of slab here, but not mortuary slabs just side tables that probably used for part of the post mortem procedure.
Fin.
I got invited to visit Cefn Coed a week or so after the majority of the site had closed. Other than two wards situated to the right of the admin block the rest of the site had closed down marking an end of 85 years of operation.
The site of the hospital had been proposed since 1908 and George Hine had drawn up plans of a design similar to that of St Mary's & Parc Prewitt. World War 1 would soon delay plans and it wasn't till 1928 that building works would commence. By this time Hine had passed away and his partner Hallam Carter-Pegg updated the plans and is widely accepted as the main architect of the site. Some cost cutting measures were imposed and the original design had included a large, prominent, clock above the administration doors. This was replaced with a crest of the City of Swansea.
No sooner had it opened that world war 2 struck and brought about a change in use as a casualty hospital. With the war over the hospital was eventually brought under control of the NHS when it was established in 1948.
Plans were originally muted/drawn up in 2002 for a replacement for the hospital and in 2009 work started on creating Ysbryd Y Coed to the north of the site. This involved removing many of the annex buildings built at the same time as the original hospital. You can see them here: https://www.countyasylums.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Cefn-Coed-1981.jpg
The two remaining operational wards will close once further facilities are built to the west of the site. Upon completion the original buildings other than the chapel are scheduled for demolition. At this stage no part of the site has been listed.
On with the pics:
Front of admin, you can see where the clock would have been fitted. Some original plans show illustrations of the admin block with clock in situ.
Stairs up to above admin, up here featured a billiards room for staff.
Stairs up to assistant medical quarters
Corridor on female side. The green and black tiles indicated female corridors, black and white for male. The walls painted since original build and hide the traditional glazed tiles that were used in many Hine builds of the era
At this time heating/boilers were still operational
Projection booth
It's often said that its easy to loose track of day/time when you are a patient as each day is the same, these day boards were designed to help patients differentiate
Most wards didn't resemble the original layout, of 1932 anymore, modified to fit more patients in typically, however there were occasional signs of the originality such as the posts in this particular ward:
One of the highlights, the x-ray room was locked up in the 1990s and untouched since
The wallpaper/carpets in this ward were absolutely pure 1980s. However of note in this picture was the cell on the left - one of the original padded cells which was identifiable by the wider door frame and smaller rear window. The hospital had originally had pocock bros padded cells fitted but prior to opening the super intendant asked for them to be send back to the supplier with a note thanking them for the installation but they were no longer required!
Kitchens:
The chapel, now converted into a archives/library/learning centre
The hall, split into 3 separate parts later in its useful life. This part remained mostly original. The underground heating system was advised not to be switched off but was still done so regardless. 3 months later the floor was deemed unsafe and the area locked off/condemned. Peak NHS. If anyone experienced the floor at St Mary's it was exactly the same.
The stage part of the hall blocked off and generally filled with much pigeon shit.
Tower views. Glorious views across to the mumbles.
The new unit built opposite. It is of an oval design so that patients can walk around the ward and never reach the end. This gives them a feeling of more freedom. They also have hospital cats!
1957 Doorman Engine, used for backup power generation. Think before they were taken over by English Electric but I'm not 100% on that.
Modern oil fired boilers
Workshops, reminded me of those at Whitchurch
The mortuary, used as a general storage for the engineering department with the chapel of rest a paint store. You can see the removal of the original partition which would have been post mortem area.
Rather lovely big chunks of slab here, but not mortuary slabs just side tables that probably used for part of the post mortem procedure.
Fin.
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