Have been here recently 3 times because I’m greedy lol. Not really, just going with different people….
So was told that there was now access to B block. We had tried last year when we managed to get into A and C. Since then the fence was taken down and replaced with that new green fencing that’s a bugger to climb. The only way is either attempt to climb or wiggle under a gap. Surprisingly we managed, with a lot of breathing in and removal of jumpers, to wriggle under the gap.
B block is knackered. Absolutely covered in graffiti, especially someone calling themselves Blisk who has tagged anything that wasn’t alive. The floors have gone in various places and the basement tunnels are thick with asbestos so we steered clear after looking.
B block is also beautiful in it’s decay; nature creeping in, peeling paint etc. It also has some magnificent cobwebs that are black due to smoke damage where someone has lit a fire on the ground floor. There is still some old medical stuff knocking around As pictured.
As I live fairly local I remember the old hospital including these 3 blocks as open. All that remains are these 3 blocks, the chapel and the building that houses a nursery. A school now stands on the site of what I knew as the eye hospital.
history -
In 1930 a larger hospital was built on the corner of Chiltern and Cotswold Roads. It opened in 1931 as the Sutton and Cheam District Hospital.
In 1938 the Nurses' Home was enlarged.
In 1939 the Hospital became the Sutton and Cheam General Hospital. During WW2 it had 130 beds as well as ten Emergency Medical Servicebeds for war casualties.
In 1948 it joined the NHS under the control of the St Helier Group Hospital Management Committee, part of the South West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board. A maternity annexe was opened in a converted house which, before the war, had been a private nursing home. The annexe had 21 beds in single and double rooms (4 beds for private patients and 1 amenity bed). The garden of Cedar Court next door was acquired. The Hospital also took over some of the vacant buildings belonging to the neighbouring Downs Hospital for Children, which had closed the same year.
In 1953 two new wards were built. The Hospital then had 146 beds, of which 8 were for private patients and 4 were amenity beds. However, there was a great need for a new Out-Patients Department as the Casualty and X-rays Departments, the dispensary and Almoner's office, were all served by one narrow corridor, also used by patients going to the Pathology Laboratory. (There were some 34,500 out-patient attendances each year.)
In 1957, a new Out-Patients Department was built- a pre-fabricated 'Cornish unit' - at a cost of £16,500. A chapel also opened on the site.
In April 1959, after extensive alterations, the former Downs Hospital for Children re-opened as the Cotswold Wing. The Wing had 136 beds and was used to accommodate geriatric patients from the St Helier Group, the first of whom arrived on 1st July 1959. By the end of the year only one block had fully opened; the second block of 68 beds could not do so because of the lack of nursing staff. The Hospital then had 282 beds, including the new Wing.
In 1966 only 244 of the 282 beds were staffed. The weekly cost of an in-patient was £36 1s 0d (£36.05), compared to £34 9s 11d (£34.50) the previous year.
Work began on converting the ground floor of an empty block in the Cotswold Wing into an Ophthalmic Out-Patients Department. The new Department was opened on 26th April 1967 by Mr A.J. Cameron, senior ophthalmic surgeon to the Hospital, who had retired a few years earlier.
In 1970 the weekly cost of an in-patient was £51.63, which increased to £59.77 in the following year.
In 1974, following a major reorganisation of the NHS, the Hospital came under the administration of the Sutton and West Merton District Health Authority, part of the South West Thames Regional Health Authority.
In 1982, after another major reorganisation, it came under the control of the Merton and Sutton District Health Authority.
In 1983 a Day Surgery Unit was opened.
Further improvements were made in 1990 and work began on building an Orthopaedic Surgery Unit, which opened in January 1991.
In 1999, following yet another major reorganisation, the Hospital joined the Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust.
So was told that there was now access to B block. We had tried last year when we managed to get into A and C. Since then the fence was taken down and replaced with that new green fencing that’s a bugger to climb. The only way is either attempt to climb or wiggle under a gap. Surprisingly we managed, with a lot of breathing in and removal of jumpers, to wriggle under the gap.
B block is knackered. Absolutely covered in graffiti, especially someone calling themselves Blisk who has tagged anything that wasn’t alive. The floors have gone in various places and the basement tunnels are thick with asbestos so we steered clear after looking.
B block is also beautiful in it’s decay; nature creeping in, peeling paint etc. It also has some magnificent cobwebs that are black due to smoke damage where someone has lit a fire on the ground floor. There is still some old medical stuff knocking around As pictured.
As I live fairly local I remember the old hospital including these 3 blocks as open. All that remains are these 3 blocks, the chapel and the building that houses a nursery. A school now stands on the site of what I knew as the eye hospital.
history -
| Medical dates: Medical character: | 1899 - 2017 Acute, geriatric. Later, acute, mental | |
| A Cottage Hospital for the area opened in 1899 in two semi-detached houses in Bushey Road, Sutton. The Hospital had six beds. In 1902 it moved to new premises in Hill Road, becoming known as Sutton Cottage Hospital. It had 12 beds in four small wards and an administrative block. |
In 1930 a larger hospital was built on the corner of Chiltern and Cotswold Roads. It opened in 1931 as the Sutton and Cheam District Hospital.
In 1938 the Nurses' Home was enlarged.
In 1939 the Hospital became the Sutton and Cheam General Hospital. During WW2 it had 130 beds as well as ten Emergency Medical Servicebeds for war casualties.
In 1948 it joined the NHS under the control of the St Helier Group Hospital Management Committee, part of the South West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board. A maternity annexe was opened in a converted house which, before the war, had been a private nursing home. The annexe had 21 beds in single and double rooms (4 beds for private patients and 1 amenity bed). The garden of Cedar Court next door was acquired. The Hospital also took over some of the vacant buildings belonging to the neighbouring Downs Hospital for Children, which had closed the same year.
In 1953 two new wards were built. The Hospital then had 146 beds, of which 8 were for private patients and 4 were amenity beds. However, there was a great need for a new Out-Patients Department as the Casualty and X-rays Departments, the dispensary and Almoner's office, were all served by one narrow corridor, also used by patients going to the Pathology Laboratory. (There were some 34,500 out-patient attendances each year.)
In 1957, a new Out-Patients Department was built- a pre-fabricated 'Cornish unit' - at a cost of £16,500. A chapel also opened on the site.
In April 1959, after extensive alterations, the former Downs Hospital for Children re-opened as the Cotswold Wing. The Wing had 136 beds and was used to accommodate geriatric patients from the St Helier Group, the first of whom arrived on 1st July 1959. By the end of the year only one block had fully opened; the second block of 68 beds could not do so because of the lack of nursing staff. The Hospital then had 282 beds, including the new Wing.
In 1966 only 244 of the 282 beds were staffed. The weekly cost of an in-patient was £36 1s 0d (£36.05), compared to £34 9s 11d (£34.50) the previous year.
Work began on converting the ground floor of an empty block in the Cotswold Wing into an Ophthalmic Out-Patients Department. The new Department was opened on 26th April 1967 by Mr A.J. Cameron, senior ophthalmic surgeon to the Hospital, who had retired a few years earlier.
In 1970 the weekly cost of an in-patient was £51.63, which increased to £59.77 in the following year.
In 1974, following a major reorganisation of the NHS, the Hospital came under the administration of the Sutton and West Merton District Health Authority, part of the South West Thames Regional Health Authority.
In 1982, after another major reorganisation, it came under the control of the Merton and Sutton District Health Authority.
In 1983 a Day Surgery Unit was opened.
Further improvements were made in 1990 and work began on building an Orthopaedic Surgery Unit, which opened in January 1991.
In 1999, following yet another major reorganisation, the Hospital joined the Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust.
