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Whittingham Hospital

Whittingham Hospital was a psychiatric hospital in the parish of Whittingham, near Preston, Lancashire, England. The hospital opened in 1873 as the Fourth Lancashire County Asylum and grew to be the largest mental hospital in Britain, and pioneered the use of electroencephalograms (EEGs). It closed in 1995.

Whittingham Hospital
The main building entrance (St Luke's Division) in 2008
Shown in the City of Preston district
Geography
LocationWhittingham, Lancashire, England
Coordinates53°49′01″N 2°39′29″W / 53.817°N 2.658°W / 53.817; -2.658
Organisation
Care systemNHS
FundingPublic hospital
TypeSpecialist
Services
Emergency departmentNo
Beds3533 in 1939
SpecialityPsychiatric hospital
HelipadNo
History
Opened1 April 1873
Closed1995

History Edit

Early years Edit

In 1866 the first three Lancashire lunatic asylums, at Prestwich, Rainhill and Lancaster, were deemed to be full.[1] Extra accommodation was urgently needed and to this end the building of Whittingham Asylum "for pauper lunatics" began in 1869.[2] The hospital was designed by Henry Littler of Manchester, Architect to the Lancashire Asylums Board[3] and built of red brick made from clay dug on site.[4] The buildings followed a plan of multiple quadrangles with inter-connecting corridors radiating from a long axial corridor section.[3]

 
North Lodge, the entrance to Guild Park, the grounds of the former Whittingham Hospital
 
A ward exterior pictured in 2008

The hospital was officially opened as the Fourth Lancashire County Lunatic Asylum on 1 April 1873, although 115 patients had already been admitted in the previous year, some of whom helped with the building work.[5] The large complex (to be known as St. Luke's Division from 1958) was completed in June 1875; it had an initial capacity of 1100 inmates and included an Anglican church, a Catholic chapel, a recreation hall and a large farm estate.[6] Before long it also had its own railway, telephone exchange, post office, reservoirs, gas works, brewery, orchestra, brass band, ballroom and butchers' shop.[7]

In 1878 a new annexe (known as St. John's Division from 1958) was built on 68 acres (28 ha) of land to the north of the site. The annexe was completed in 1880 and could accommodate 700 patients and, by the special agreement of the Postmaster General, the hospital's own dedicated Post Office.[8] The hospital contributed £15,500 towards Fulwood Urban District Council's scheme to extract water from Beacon Fell, in exchange for 90,000 gallons of water per day to be supplied, free of charge, to the hospital. This was achieved under the Fulwood and Whittingham Water Act of 1882.[9] In 1884, a sanatorium was established in the grounds for patients with infectious diseases.[8]

In 1892 works began for the grounds to be illuminated by electric lamps; these works were completed in 1894. In 1900 an annexe called Cameron House was opened to the northwest of the main building, joined in 1912 by a third annexe, later to become known as St Margaret's Division in 1958. By 1915 the number of inmates was recorded as 2,820 – more than double the asylum's original capacity.[8]

First World War Edit

 
Map of the hospital

In 1918 the New West Annexe (St Margaret's) was commandeered for the treatment of war casualties: patients who died during treatment were buried in the institution's private cemetery at the northern edge of the site. The hospital was returned to civilian use the following year following the cessation of hostilities.[8]

Inter-war years Edit

The National Asylum Workers' Union organised a strike of 429 employees at the hospital in 1918.[10] In 1923, the name "Whittingham Asylum" was dropped in favour of "Whittingham Mental Hospital", a change later reinforced in law by the Mental Treatment Act 1930.[11] In 1929, the Hospital Commissioners noted that an "open door" principle was practised on a number of wards, and the 1930 Act later resulted in the admission of the first voluntary patients.[8] By 1939, the number of patients was 3533, with a staff of 548, making it the largest mental hospital in Great Britain.[12]

Second World War Edit

At the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, Wards 31 to 36 in the West Annexe were again commandeered by the military and mental patients were relocated to other hospitals in the area. The commandeered wards were renamed the Whittingham Emergency Hospital and treated casualties of war, both military and civilian, the first being evacuees from Dunkirk. Following the end of the conflict the wards were returned to civilian use in 1946.[8]

Post-war Edit

In 1948, the hospital became part of the newly formed National Health Service and was renamed "Whittingham Hospital". In the same year it acquired Ribchester Hospital, originally a workhouse.[13]

 
Cameron House Division in 2006

While working at the hospital during the 1950s, Dr C.S. Parker and Mr Charles Breakall produced an early electroencephalograph (EEG) machine using War Surplus material purchased for £2.10.0d. (£2.50) and conducted pioneering experiments in the field of encephalography and mental illness using patients there. An article was published in The Lancet describing these experiments, and considerable interest was said to have been expressed by the American Department for Space Medicine at the time.[8]

From 1965 to 1968 English rock musician Kevin Coyne worked at the hospital as a social therapist and psychiatric nurse and it was whilst at Whittingham that his son Robert was born.[14] His 1972 album Case History was in part inspired by his work at the hospital.[15]

Abuse scandal and enquiry Edit

On 18 July 1967, the Student Nurses' Association held a meeting with the senior nursing tutor, submitting serious complaints of cruelty, ill-treatment and fraud in the hospital. The Head Male Nurse then called a meeting of all students in which the students were threatened with actions for libel and slander. Several further complaints were suppressed until the following year when the hospital management committee finally intervened and announced an inquiry into allegations of corruption and abuse. The inquiry divided the allegations into three specific headings: Care of Patients, Organisation of Services and Financial Control. The enquiry heard (among others) the following complaints:[16]

  • That patients had been left untreated
  • That some patients had been given only bread and jam to eat or had been given food mixed up and served as "slops"
  • That some patients had been locked outside, regardless of weather conditions, or in washrooms and cupboards.
  • That in one ward, students had witnessed patients being dragged about by their hair.
  • That on ward 3, a male ward, patients were given "wet towel treatment", which involved twisting a cold, wet towel or bed sheet round a patient's neck until the patient lost consciousness. Patients were also seen to have been punched and locked in a storeroom.
  • On ward S2, another male ward, it was alleged that two male nurses had poured methylated spirits into the slippers of one patient and into the dressing gown pocket of another and set them alight.

It was also reported that some wards were infested with vermin and others were too cold, too hot or too damp. In addition, it was found that there was a culture of petty theft on the wards and of serious fraud and embezzlement in some administrative offices.[16]

In 1968–69, £91,000 was issued from sources for the use of patients, yet only £42,000 was recorded as having been spent in the hospital shop, supposedly leaving the remaining £49,000 unaccounted for.[16]

As a result of the investigation, both the Head Male Nurse and the Matron took 'early retirement'. Two male nurses were convicted of theft and in a separate incident another nurse was jailed for manslaughter after an elderly patient he had assaulted later died.[16] Two other nurses were charged but acquitted.[17]

Documentary Edit

 
One of four Belliss and Morcom engines used to generate the hospital's electricity supply, pictured in 1986

Ray Gosling and Nick Broomfield spent three weeks in the hospital filming a documentary for Granada Television, broadcast on ITV on 26 August 1975.[18][19] It was Broomfield's first television film.[20]

Decline and closure Edit

 
The disused St John's Anglican Church in the hospital grounds, a Grade II listed building[21]

During the 1970s and 1980s, new drugs and therapies were introduced to treat people suffering from mental illnesses. Long-stay patients were returned to the community or dispersed to smaller units around Preston. The hospital closed in 1995[22] and the site subsequently became known as "Guild Park". In 1999, Guild Lodge was opened on the edge of Guild Park, providing secure mental healthcare services to a small number of patients, followed the next year by purpose-built rehabilitation cottages close by.[23]

It is planned to build 650 new homes on the site and to convert some of the hospital buildings for use as apartments. St John's and St Margaret's divisions have been demolished. Due to uncertainty over the construction of the Broughton bypass[24][25] and the economic downturn there was little further progress, and the remaining buildings were left derelict, a popular destination for urban exploration. In 2014, planning permission was renewed and extended, and demolition of almost all of the remaining buildings resumed. The grade II listed St John's Church and five blocks, including St Luke's main entrance block, had originally been scheduled to be retained, along with some sporting and recreational facilities.[26] Demolition was completed by 2016.[27] In April 2021 Preston council approved urgent repair work to St John's church to maintain the fabric of the building.[28]

Whittingham Hospital Railway Edit

The Whittingham Hospital Railway was a two-mile (3 km) private branch to Grimsargh, built in 1887, to transport coal and other goods. It also provided free transport for staff and passengers.[29] It eventually closed in on 30 June 1957.[30]

See also Edit

References Edit

  1. ^ Pattinson, p.109
  2. ^ Pattinson, p.111
  3. ^ a b Cracknell, Peter, , accessed 6 May 2012
  4. ^ Pattinson, p.112
  5. ^ Pattinson, p.113
  6. ^ Pattinson, p.115
  7. ^ Pattinson, M. (Ed.) (1999) Longridge — The Way we Were, Hudson History of Settle, ISBN 0-9533643-4-8, p.108
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Ashton, K.D., "Asylum" Whittingham Hospital – Potted History, accessed 6 May 2012
  9. ^ Pattinson, p.117
  10. ^ Abel-Smith, Brian (1960). A History of the Nursing Profession. London: Heinemann. p. 132.
  11. ^ Pattinson, p.128
  12. ^ Pattinson, p.132
  13. ^ Pattinson, p.135
  14. ^ Clayson, Alan (6 December 2004). "Obituary: Kevin Coyne". theguardian.com. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  15. ^ McKay, George (28 October 2013). Shakin' All Over: Popular Music and Disability. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 9780472052097 – via Google Books.
  16. ^ a b c d Ashton, K.D., "Asylum" Whittingham Hospital - The Inquiry, accessed 6 May 2012
  17. ^ "WHITTINGHAM HOSPITAL (Hansard, 15 February 1972)". api.parliament.uk.
  18. ^ Gosling's Travels (Whittingham Hospital), ITN Source, accessed 19 June 2014
  19. ^ Broomfield, Nick (1948-), BFI Screenonline, accessed 19 June 2014
  20. ^ Interview - Nick Broomfield: Mr Reality Check, Broadcast, 23 February 2006, accessed 19 June 2014
  21. ^ Historic England. "Church of St John in grounds of Whittingham Hospital] (1165188)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  22. ^ "Asylum" Whittingham Hospital accessed 5 November 2007
  23. ^ Lancashire Care—Secure Services, accessed 5 November 2007
  24. ^ English Partnerships: Whittingham, Preston
  25. ^ Whittingham housing plans submitted, Longridge News, 12 September 2007, accessed online 6 November 2007
  26. ^ "New homes coming to hospital site", Specification Online, 23 March 2016, accessed 10 April 2018
  27. ^ "Life in the asylum after the war given a dramatic twist". Lancashire Telegraph.
  28. ^ "'Forgotten' Preston church needs urgent work to save it". www.lep.co.uk.
  29. ^ Pattinson, p.119
  30. ^ Pattinson, p.139

External links Edit

  • Whittingham Hospital History and Photos
  • Exploring Whittingham Asylum

whittingham, hospital, psychiatric, hospital, parish, whittingham, near, preston, lancashire, england, hospital, opened, 1873, fourth, lancashire, county, asylum, grew, largest, mental, hospital, britain, pioneered, electroencephalograms, eegs, closed, 1995, m. Whittingham Hospital was a psychiatric hospital in the parish of Whittingham near Preston Lancashire England The hospital opened in 1873 as the Fourth Lancashire County Asylum and grew to be the largest mental hospital in Britain and pioneered the use of electroencephalograms EEGs It closed in 1995 Whittingham HospitalThe main building entrance St Luke s Division in 2008Shown in the City of Preston districtGeographyLocationWhittingham Lancashire EnglandCoordinates53 49 01 N 2 39 29 W 53 817 N 2 658 W 53 817 2 658OrganisationCare systemNHSFundingPublic hospitalTypeSpecialistServicesEmergency departmentNoBeds3533 in 1939SpecialityPsychiatric hospitalHelipadNoHistoryOpened1 April 1873Closed1995 Contents 1 History 1 1 Early years 1 2 First World War 1 3 Inter war years 1 4 Second World War 1 5 Post war 1 6 Abuse scandal and enquiry 1 7 Documentary 1 8 Decline and closure 2 Whittingham Hospital Railway 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory EditEarly years Edit In 1866 the first three Lancashire lunatic asylums at Prestwich Rainhill and Lancaster were deemed to be full 1 Extra accommodation was urgently needed and to this end the building of Whittingham Asylum for pauper lunatics began in 1869 2 The hospital was designed by Henry Littler of Manchester Architect to the Lancashire Asylums Board 3 and built of red brick made from clay dug on site 4 The buildings followed a plan of multiple quadrangles with inter connecting corridors radiating from a long axial corridor section 3 North Lodge the entrance to Guild Park the grounds of the former Whittingham Hospital A ward exterior pictured in 2008The hospital was officially opened as the Fourth Lancashire County Lunatic Asylum on 1 April 1873 although 115 patients had already been admitted in the previous year some of whom helped with the building work 5 The large complex to be known as St Luke s Division from 1958 was completed in June 1875 it had an initial capacity of 1100 inmates and included an Anglican church a Catholic chapel a recreation hall and a large farm estate 6 Before long it also had its own railway telephone exchange post office reservoirs gas works brewery orchestra brass band ballroom and butchers shop 7 In 1878 a new annexe known as St John s Division from 1958 was built on 68 acres 28 ha of land to the north of the site The annexe was completed in 1880 and could accommodate 700 patients and by the special agreement of the Postmaster General the hospital s own dedicated Post Office 8 The hospital contributed 15 500 towards Fulwood Urban District Council s scheme to extract water from Beacon Fell in exchange for 90 000 gallons of water per day to be supplied free of charge to the hospital This was achieved under the Fulwood and Whittingham Water Act of 1882 9 In 1884 a sanatorium was established in the grounds for patients with infectious diseases 8 In 1892 works began for the grounds to be illuminated by electric lamps these works were completed in 1894 In 1900 an annexe called Cameron House was opened to the northwest of the main building joined in 1912 by a third annexe later to become known as St Margaret s Division in 1958 By 1915 the number of inmates was recorded as 2 820 more than double the asylum s original capacity 8 First World War Edit Map of the hospitalIn 1918 the New West Annexe St Margaret s was commandeered for the treatment of war casualties patients who died during treatment were buried in the institution s private cemetery at the northern edge of the site The hospital was returned to civilian use the following year following the cessation of hostilities 8 Inter war years Edit The National Asylum Workers Union organised a strike of 429 employees at the hospital in 1918 10 In 1923 the name Whittingham Asylum was dropped in favour of Whittingham Mental Hospital a change later reinforced in law by the Mental Treatment Act 1930 11 In 1929 the Hospital Commissioners noted that an open door principle was practised on a number of wards and the 1930 Act later resulted in the admission of the first voluntary patients 8 By 1939 the number of patients was 3533 with a staff of 548 making it the largest mental hospital in Great Britain 12 Second World War Edit At the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 Wards 31 to 36 in the West Annexe were again commandeered by the military and mental patients were relocated to other hospitals in the area The commandeered wards were renamed the Whittingham Emergency Hospital and treated casualties of war both military and civilian the first being evacuees from Dunkirk Following the end of the conflict the wards were returned to civilian use in 1946 8 Post war Edit In 1948 the hospital became part of the newly formed National Health Service and was renamed Whittingham Hospital In the same year it acquired Ribchester Hospital originally a workhouse 13 Cameron House Division in 2006While working at the hospital during the 1950s Dr C S Parker and Mr Charles Breakall produced an early electroencephalograph EEG machine using War Surplus material purchased for 2 10 0d 2 50 and conducted pioneering experiments in the field of encephalography and mental illness using patients there An article was published in The Lancet describing these experiments and considerable interest was said to have been expressed by the American Department for Space Medicine at the time 8 From 1965 to 1968 English rock musician Kevin Coyne worked at the hospital as a social therapist and psychiatric nurse and it was whilst at Whittingham that his son Robert was born 14 His 1972 album Case History was in part inspired by his work at the hospital 15 Abuse scandal and enquiry Edit On 18 July 1967 the Student Nurses Association held a meeting with the senior nursing tutor submitting serious complaints of cruelty ill treatment and fraud in the hospital The Head Male Nurse then called a meeting of all students in which the students were threatened with actions for libel and slander Several further complaints were suppressed until the following year when the hospital management committee finally intervened and announced an inquiry into allegations of corruption and abuse The inquiry divided the allegations into three specific headings Care of Patients Organisation of Services and Financial Control The enquiry heard among others the following complaints 16 That patients had been left untreated That some patients had been given only bread and jam to eat or had been given food mixed up and served as slops That some patients had been locked outside regardless of weather conditions or in washrooms and cupboards That in one ward students had witnessed patients being dragged about by their hair That on ward 3 a male ward patients were given wet towel treatment which involved twisting a cold wet towel or bed sheet round a patient s neck until the patient lost consciousness Patients were also seen to have been punched and locked in a storeroom On ward S2 another male ward it was alleged that two male nurses had poured methylated spirits into the slippers of one patient and into the dressing gown pocket of another and set them alight It was also reported that some wards were infested with vermin and others were too cold too hot or too damp In addition it was found that there was a culture of petty theft on the wards and of serious fraud and embezzlement in some administrative offices 16 In 1968 69 91 000 was issued from sources for the use of patients yet only 42 000 was recorded as having been spent in the hospital shop supposedly leaving the remaining 49 000 unaccounted for 16 As a result of the investigation both the Head Male Nurse and the Matron took early retirement Two male nurses were convicted of theft and in a separate incident another nurse was jailed for manslaughter after an elderly patient he had assaulted later died 16 Two other nurses were charged but acquitted 17 Documentary Edit One of four Belliss and Morcom engines used to generate the hospital s electricity supply pictured in 1986Ray Gosling and Nick Broomfield spent three weeks in the hospital filming a documentary for Granada Television broadcast on ITV on 26 August 1975 18 19 It was Broomfield s first television film 20 Decline and closure Edit The disused St John s Anglican Church in the hospital grounds a Grade II listed building 21 During the 1970s and 1980s new drugs and therapies were introduced to treat people suffering from mental illnesses Long stay patients were returned to the community or dispersed to smaller units around Preston The hospital closed in 1995 22 and the site subsequently became known as Guild Park In 1999 Guild Lodge was opened on the edge of Guild Park providing secure mental healthcare services to a small number of patients followed the next year by purpose built rehabilitation cottages close by 23 It is planned to build 650 new homes on the site and to convert some of the hospital buildings for use as apartments St John s and St Margaret s divisions have been demolished Due to uncertainty over the construction of the Broughton bypass 24 25 and the economic downturn there was little further progress and the remaining buildings were left derelict a popular destination for urban exploration In 2014 planning permission was renewed and extended and demolition of almost all of the remaining buildings resumed The grade II listed St John s Church and five blocks including St Luke s main entrance block had originally been scheduled to be retained along with some sporting and recreational facilities 26 Demolition was completed by 2016 27 In April 2021 Preston council approved urgent repair work to St John s church to maintain the fabric of the building 28 Whittingham Hospital Railway EditThe Whittingham Hospital Railway was a two mile 3 km private branch to Grimsargh built in 1887 to transport coal and other goods It also provided free transport for staff and passengers 29 It eventually closed in on 30 June 1957 30 See also EditLancaster Moor Hospital the first Lancashire County Asylum Prestwich Hospital the second Lancashire County Lunatic Asylum Rainhill Hospital the third Lancashire County Asylum Winwick Hospital the fifth Lancashire County Asylum Calderstones Hospital the sixth Lancashire County AsylumReferences Edit Pattinson p 109 Pattinson p 111 a b Cracknell Peter County Asylums accessed 6 May 2012 Pattinson p 112 Pattinson p 113 Pattinson p 115 Pattinson M Ed 1999 Longridge The Way we Were Hudson History of Settle ISBN 0 9533643 4 8 p 108 a b c d e f g Ashton K D Asylum Whittingham Hospital Potted History accessed 6 May 2012 Pattinson p 117 Abel Smith Brian 1960 A History of the Nursing Profession London Heinemann p 132 Pattinson p 128 Pattinson p 132 Pattinson p 135 Clayson Alan 6 December 2004 Obituary Kevin Coyne theguardian com Retrieved 12 January 2018 McKay George 28 October 2013 Shakin All Over Popular Music and Disability University of Michigan Press ISBN 9780472052097 via Google Books a b c d Ashton K D Asylum Whittingham Hospital The Inquiry accessed 6 May 2012 WHITTINGHAM HOSPITAL Hansard 15 February 1972 api parliament uk Gosling s Travels Whittingham Hospital ITN Source accessed 19 June 2014 Broomfield Nick 1948 BFI Screenonline accessed 19 June 2014 Interview Nick Broomfield Mr Reality Check Broadcast 23 February 2006 accessed 19 June 2014 Historic England Church of St John in grounds of Whittingham Hospital 1165188 National Heritage List for England Retrieved 13 June 2014 Asylum Whittingham Hospital accessed 5 November 2007 Lancashire Care Secure Services accessed 5 November 2007 English Partnerships Whittingham Preston Whittingham housing plans submitted Longridge News 12 September 2007 accessed online 6 November 2007 New homes coming to hospital site Specification Online 23 March 2016 accessed 10 April 2018 Life in the asylum after the war given a dramatic twist Lancashire Telegraph Forgotten Preston church needs urgent work to save it www lep co uk Pattinson p 119 Pattinson p 139External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Whittingham Hospital Whittingham Hospital History and Photos Exploring Whittingham Asylum Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Whittingham Hospital amp oldid 1086660983, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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