Report - Cherry Knowle Asylum, Ryhope - July 2008

[Fuzzball]

I usually find GT Hine asylums to be rather pleasing to look at, but Cherry Knowle's admin facia looks positively demonic! The cone-spire roofing (i'm not if that's the correct term) look like KKK hats, and really add to the sinister vibe (at least to me). Out of so many county asylums with their varied designs - Cherry Knowle's exterior actually looks like it's been designed by a production designer for a rather on-the-nose horror movie.

Some really varied and rich pics there!

 

[catbalou]

My favourite place :-) Still have a piece of roof from Admin Block.
Thanks for posting

 

[tumbles]

I usually find GT Hine asylums to be rather pleasing to look at, but Cherry Knowle's admin facia looks positively demonic! The cone-spire roofing (i'm not if that's the correct term) look like KKK hats, and really add to the sinister vibe (at least to me). Out of so many county asylums with their varied designs - Cherry Knowle's exterior actually looks like it's been designed by a production designer for a rather on-the-nose horror movie.

Some really varied and rich pics there!

It's very un Hine like for sure, the again when he did have a bit more money at times he really did show what he could do - there are parallels slightly here with Cladbury - certainly those spire's as you call them

 

[stranton]

Very nice indeed! Must of been absolutely stunning when before it got wrecked.

never could find any, (maybe 1 or 2) photographs while it was live or before being trashed.

 

[The Stig]

Thanks for sharing, one of the first places I visited when I started umbexing all them years ago, thanks for sharing abs and bringing back memories

 

[Floki]

For todays back catalogue we're going back to the trusted Asylum. Visited this one solo when working overnight in area. I'd heard there was a new fence/steel plating going on. After ten years of the place being absolutely trashed/wide open they'd suddenly decided to secure it. When I rocked up sure enough I could see a shiny new fence but on futher inspection it was not complete. A few days later and I'd have not made it in quite as easy. It is without a doubt the most fucked asylum I ever did. I mean proper F.U.C.K.E.D - I didn't really like it here (given my love for most things Hine, a big shame) and my time was cut short when I realised I wasn't on my own in the place and a fairly large group of locals were smashing the place up. Still I got to see the hall and chapel which was just about the highlight of an otherwise shit pit. I recall some of the realy old school explorers saying before it was trashed it was almost up there with the likes of Cane Hill and West Park.

Bit of history off CA:

Sunderland County Borough began construction of its own asylum during 1893, completed in 1895. The site chosen consisted of sloping land outside the village of Ryhope, with views across to the North Sea. George Hine was chosen as Architect and produced a compact arrow layout consisting of six blocks of wards and the usual facilities including combined recreation hall and chapel in the centre of the south elevations. Other accomodation included a nurse’s block to the west, lodge cottage, terraced cottages for married attendants, a Superintendents residence, Isolation Hospital, and a villa block which was added in 1902. The administration block is notable for it’s unusual triangular plan. The building was designed on a compact arrow plan and constructed from red brick with stone dressings and slate roofs with distinctive caps over the bay windows, characteristic of Hine’s early commissions.

Further developments took place during the 1930’s and after with the construction of an admissions hospital and convalescent villas to the south, extended Nurse’s home to the west of the main building and the wartime emergency medical service huts close to the main gate, later Ryhope General hospital. The site became Cherry Knowle hospital on being incorporated into the National Health Service in 1948. Later developments under the NHS included a new boiler house and further staff accomodation within the grounds.

Buildings within the site later were later named after trees, with the original building becoming The Laurels, East (former male side) and The Laurels, West (former female side). As Community Care replaced Long Stay provision, contraction and closure took place in the north western portion of the site leading to the closure of the original asylum buildings, former isolation hospital, villa and former superintendents house.

The majority of the original buildings were disused and derelict for many years following closure but have now been demolished, with later buildings and staff accomodation still in NHS use. Plans for redevelopment of the entire site are to include reprovision of existing mental health facilities, reconstruction of Ryhope General Hospital, with remaining land and open space to be used for housing development.

Some early less trashed photos here: https://www.countyasylums.co.uk/cherry-knowle-ryhope-sunderland/

Pics:

Does anybody know if this is still here and not demolished or renovated?

 

[tumbles]

Does anybody know if this is still here and not demolished or renovated?

There is a thread pinned at the top of this forum that might help you

 

[Effy]

So disappointing to see what appears like it was once stunning architecture on the outside in such a mess. Wonderful report, good to see some older ones!

 

[Fuzzball]

It's very un Hine like for sure, the again when he did have a bit more money at times he really did show what he could do - there are parallels slightly here with Cladbury - certainly those spire's as you call them

This is true, as an architect he must have wanted to expand and vary his design output, which could help in obtaining commissions. Plus I think there was some frustration by Hine that Howell tended to be auto ear-marked for lunacy building projects. So that may also have also influenced his wanting to constantly develop his style as well as refining the Plan, perhaps. Don't get me wrong, I like the variation in styles as apart from the admin buildings mostly- new build asylums by 1900 tended to have very similar structures and aesthetics.. I just feel that Cherry Knowle's design of admin is rather too stylistic, like its become a pastiche. And that almost caricature-like quality can very easily be made to look demonic. It looks damn cool and interesting to be sure, but not very reassuring. Just a personal-taste observation, really. If I saw Cherry Knowle's admin in an asylum-based period drama I would assume the production design had chosen the most asylumy of asylums to base the show in.

What are those "spires" actually called? I couldn't find them in the architecture books I have.

 

[tumbles]

What are those "spires" actually called? I couldn't find them in the architecture books I have.

Reaching for the asylum bible to see if they describe them!

 

[Fuzzball]

Reaching for the asylum bible to see if they describe them!

Thanks!
Now that is one difficult to obtain book! Well.... it can be bought for a bit more than a slice of cake!
It seems like this book is to asylum identification what the the two The Ship Magnificent volumes are to Titanic construction.

 

[tumbles]

Thanks!
Now that is one difficult to obtain book! Well.... it can be bought for a bit more than a slice of cake!
It seems like this book is to asylum identification what the the two The Ship Magnificent volumes are to Titanic construction.

I bought @ASOM's *spare* copy! - The boy knows how to collect.. paid more for it than he paid for a full pococks bronze plaque ffs!

 

[Fuzzball]

I bought @ASOM's *spare* copy! - The boy knows how to collect.. paid more for it than he paid for a full pococks bronze plaque ffs!

If one of these books were lying in an abandoned asylum, it'd be worth more than one of those old lovely radiators or a couple of oak doors and considerably less of a pain in the arse than removing lead off the roof!

It definitely seems like a fantastic book on this subject where there are few out there. Margaret Rutherford's has been a good resource as she produced one of those Shire books which provide a comprehensive summary on asylum design. Her 2003 three-volume paper on asylum design and landscaping is really good too, very in-depth but not from a purely architectural view. Most of the really detailed info I have found is in those sorts of research papers.

Any chance you could share a couple of images from the pages please? I'm interested to see just what the book looks like inside. Lots of technical drawings or photos, or mostly text or both?

 

[MotionlessMike]

There's a copy on eBay for about £180... Looks a good read from some of the pix!

 

[Fuzzball]

A little cheaper than usual! Good spot!
I'm hoping it'd go into rich detail about the planning and construction of the asylums - like architectural drawings, sketches, types of fixtures and fittings often used, and further info about the processes employed in the construction and hopefully a lot more about Hine and Howell and other architects. The RIBA doesn't seem to have much on these subjects, strangely.

I'm making a model of an imagined 1900s-era compact-arrow plan asylum which takes its style off of Hine, with some Howell and dash of Whitmore thrown in, such as elements of Cane Hill and Severalls, together with Hellingly to give a combined summary of these institutions in miniature.. Most of it is just working off of photos and floorplans on here, Simon Cornwell's site, County Asylums etc with some detail provided by the research papers I've downloaded. Very much enjoying this project, though as I don't have the lingo to describe some of the architectural features and elements it's hard to find out more info on things I'd like to know about and/or need to know. I really wanna know what those "spires" are called, and things like that! :-p