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Lancaster Moor Hospital

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(Redirected from Lancaster County Lunatic Asylum) Former hospital in Lancashire, England

Hospital in Lancashire, England
Lancaster Moor Hospital
The 1816 building in 2008
Lancaster Moor Hospital is located in LancasterLancaster Moor HospitalLocation in Lancaster
Geography
LocationLancaster, Lancashire, England
Coordinates54°02′56″N 2°46′19″W / 54.049°N 2.772°W / 54.049; -2.772
Organisation
TypeSpecialist
Services
SpecialityPsychiatry
History
Former name(s)Lancashire County Lunatic Asylum (1816-1930)
Lancaster County Mental Hospital (1930-1948)
Opened1816
Closed2000
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameMoor Hospital, Blocks 40, 41, 42, 44 and 46
Designated24 January 1994
Reference no.1289436
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameMoor Hospital, New Block
Designated24 January 1994
Reference no.1195079
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameBoundary walls, railings, gates and gate piers at Lancaster Moor Hospital
Designated13 September 2006
Reference no.1391761

Lancaster Moor Hospital, formerly the Lancaster County Lunatic Asylum and Lancaster County Mental Hospital, was a mental hospital in Lancaster, Lancashire, England, which closed in 2000 (the mental health departments left in 1991, but others remained).

History

The 1883 building in 2010

The main building, which was designed by Thomas Standen, was opened as the First Lancashire County Asylum in 1816. It was extended at various times until 1850, and is grade II* listed. A further building, which was designed by Arnold W. Kershaw in the gothic style and known as "the Annexe", was completed in 1883 and is grade II listed, as are its walls, railings, and gateways. The hospital's chapel, which was designed by Edward Graham Paley, was built in 1866 and is grade II listed.

A female doctor, Catherine Arnott, was one of the asylum's early resident Medical Officers.

Campbell House, a facility for paying "gentlemen" patients, was completed in 1909 and the Ladies' Villa, a facility for paying "lady" patients, was completed in 1916. The Ladies' Villa, also known as Ridge Lea, was large enough to be classed separately as a small Mental Asylum.

The hospital was a pioneering site for the humane treatment of the mentally ill with the introduction of treatments such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The writer Alan Bennett describes his mother's treatment in the hospital in his memoirs.

Following the introduction of Care in the Community in the early 1980s, the hospital went into a period of decline and closed in 2000; the Annexe and chapel have since been converted into apartments, and houses have been built in the grounds. The Ladies Villa "Ridge Lea" has since been abandoned after closing in 2013. It is currently used as a dog training ground for Lancashire Police and is surrounded by metal fencing to deter Urban explorers as it is a prime area for exploring.

The hospital was renamed as Lancashire County Mental Hospital in 1930, and as Lancaster Moor Hospital in 1948.

See also

References

  1. Lewis, Samuel (1848). "'Lambley - Lancaster', in A Topographical Dictionary of England". London: British History Online. pp. 6–17. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  2. Historic England. "Moor Hospital, Blocks 40,41,42,44 and 46 (1289436)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  3. Historic England. "Moor Hospital, New Block (1195079)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  4. Historic England. "Boundary walls, railings, gates and gate piers at Lancaster Moor Hospital (1391761)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  5. Historic England. "Church of St Michael, Moor Hospital (1289454)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  6. ^ "Ridge Lea Asylum". Beyond the point. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  7. Blackburn, Helen (1895). A Handbook for Women Engaged in Social and Political Work. J.W. Arrowsmith. p. 42.
  8. "Lancaster Moor". County Asylums. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  9. ^ Woodend, Joscelin (18 December 2013). "The Evolution of the Treatment of the Mentally Ill: How Lancaster County Lunatic Asylum Changed the Face of Treatment". New Histories. 5 (2). Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  10. Riley, Sue (5 February 2013). "Lancaster's Moor Hospital to be transformed in multi-million pound housing property development". Lancashire Life. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  11. Law, Cally (4 May 2014). "Asylum seekers". Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  12. "Ridge Lea Hospital - ALW Exploration". 15 August 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  13. "Lancaster Moor Hospital (Lancaster County Asylum)". Derelict Places - Urban Exploring Forum. 28 November 2005. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  14. Watts-Tobin, Mary Ann (1 October 2010). "A history of Lancaster Moor Hospital". Morecambe Bay Medical Journal. 6 (3): 71–74. doi:10.48037/mbmj.v6i3.307.

External links

Buildings and structures in the City of Lancaster
Grade I
Ashton Memorial, Lancaster
Grade II*
Grade II
Unlisted
Demolished
Listed
buildings
in
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