The History
This hospital emerged on the site of a Victorian property, Heatherfield, which eventually became Heatherwood. Who knows, maybe somebody planted a load of trees. The estate was put up for sale at the turn of the twentieth century before becoming acquired by the United Services Fund. They converted the building and grounds into a hospital (I wonder if the courtyard and older property originates from this). It was initially intended for children of WW1 veterans, with the first patients admitted in 1922, officially opened in May 1923. It specialised in treating TB in children and orthopaedic disease. It joined the NHS in 1948 and A&E, out-patient, physiotherapy and hydrotherapy services were added in 1961. A maternity department opened in 1972 - likely the huge Modernist rectangular tower block, and a mental health and elderly facility in 1988 - likely the noticeably newer southern-most ward separate from the rest of the site. It closed in the early 2010s, with the construction of a huge Swedish-looking hospital block to the north. The original hospital is due for demolition for houses. The place has been recently stripped, hence the vast amount of junk piled up outside it, so our visit was a bit late for the best stuff.
The Explore
First of all, we did the morgue. In plain sight, it was far from a discreet entry but we soon found ourselves in front of the very large body fridges. There was a rather facetiously casual sign knocking about reading 'child infant casket to be placed in fridge'. We spent a while lighting it up and getting some nice shots of this small building before moving onto the main site. it took as quite some time to find a way in, and after doing two laps of the site and creating the usual mental tier-list of potential entries and how awful they'd all be, we found an easier yet very hidden option. We began in what I assume was the 1980s section, all very modern and lacking in interest. We sheepishly crossed the open space and into the older section of the hospital. There were some cracking corridors and bits of architecture here, with the courtyard certainly being a reminder of a long-lost if not much classier era. We then moved onto the post-war tower block and other bits to the east which did have some nice Brutalist staircases in complete with a tasty bit of wood and metal work. Alright that might be a bit of a stretch, but it was the combination of different eras of architecture and the scale of the site that made this a brilliant explore.
The Morgue
Original Hospital
Modern Additions
Operating Theatre
This hospital emerged on the site of a Victorian property, Heatherfield, which eventually became Heatherwood. Who knows, maybe somebody planted a load of trees. The estate was put up for sale at the turn of the twentieth century before becoming acquired by the United Services Fund. They converted the building and grounds into a hospital (I wonder if the courtyard and older property originates from this). It was initially intended for children of WW1 veterans, with the first patients admitted in 1922, officially opened in May 1923. It specialised in treating TB in children and orthopaedic disease. It joined the NHS in 1948 and A&E, out-patient, physiotherapy and hydrotherapy services were added in 1961. A maternity department opened in 1972 - likely the huge Modernist rectangular tower block, and a mental health and elderly facility in 1988 - likely the noticeably newer southern-most ward separate from the rest of the site. It closed in the early 2010s, with the construction of a huge Swedish-looking hospital block to the north. The original hospital is due for demolition for houses. The place has been recently stripped, hence the vast amount of junk piled up outside it, so our visit was a bit late for the best stuff.
The Explore
First of all, we did the morgue. In plain sight, it was far from a discreet entry but we soon found ourselves in front of the very large body fridges. There was a rather facetiously casual sign knocking about reading 'child infant casket to be placed in fridge'. We spent a while lighting it up and getting some nice shots of this small building before moving onto the main site. it took as quite some time to find a way in, and after doing two laps of the site and creating the usual mental tier-list of potential entries and how awful they'd all be, we found an easier yet very hidden option. We began in what I assume was the 1980s section, all very modern and lacking in interest. We sheepishly crossed the open space and into the older section of the hospital. There were some cracking corridors and bits of architecture here, with the courtyard certainly being a reminder of a long-lost if not much classier era. We then moved onto the post-war tower block and other bits to the east which did have some nice Brutalist staircases in complete with a tasty bit of wood and metal work. Alright that might be a bit of a stretch, but it was the combination of different eras of architecture and the scale of the site that made this a brilliant explore.
The Morgue
Original Hospital
Modern Additions
Operating Theatre
