Brookwood Hospital at Knaphill (near

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

) in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, was established in 1867 by Surrey Quarter Sessions as the second County Asylum, the first being Springfield Asylum in Tooting (1840). A third asylum,

Cane Hill Hospital Cane Hill Hospital was a psychiatric hospital in Coulsdon in the London Borough of Croydon. The site is owned by GLA Land and Property. History The hospital has its origins as the third Surrey County Pauper Lunatic Asylum, designed by Charles ...

at Coulsdon in the eastern part of the county, followed in 1882.

History

Brookwood Lunatic Asylum Fancy Dress Ball

The facility, which was designed by

Charles Henry Howell Charles Henry Howell FRIBA (c.1824 – 1905) was the principal architect of lunatic asylums in England during much of the Victorian era. Based in Lancaster Place, London he was a partner in the architects' firm Howell & Brooks. Howell designe ...

, the principal asylum architect in England and architect to the

Lunacy Commissioners The Commissioners in Lunacy or Lunacy Commission were a public body established by the Lunacy Act 1845 to oversee asylums and the welfare of mentally ill people in England and Wales. It succeeded the Metropolitan Commissioners in Lunacy. Previo ...

and county surveyor for Surrey from 1860–1893, was opened as the Brookwood Asylum on 17 June 1867. It was the leading mental hospital for the western half of Surrey, occupying a large site at Knaphill, near Brookwood. The hospital had a dairy farm, a cobbler's workshop, a large

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...

, its own fire brigade, gasworks and sewage farm and employed the services of many local businesses. Surrey County Council Archive The chapel, which could seat 800, opened in 1903. The facility became known as Brookwood Hospital in 1919. During the Second World War the hospital served as an emergency war hospital and it joined the National Health Service in 1948. A library and conference centre were built in 1967. It was occupied by staff protesting about staff shortages in 1982. Only 420 were in post out of an establishment of 805. It eventually closed in 1994. Since the hospital's closure the land has been sold off for development for housing, and the clock tower and the central building around it, which is listed, has been converted into luxury apartments. Several of the new residential roads were named after the old hospital wards. The hospital's chapel is now a Buddhist temple and the former mortuary now provides living accommodation for the temple's monks. A large two-storey building that was originally the hospital's social club has been converted and registered as a children's day care centre and nursery.

Brookwood Hospital Archive

In 2002 a grant from the Wellcome Trust's Research Resources in Medical History grant scheme allowed a comprehensive catalogue of the historic archive of Brookwood Hospital to be made. This catalogue has made the archive available to researchers as a source for medical, social and local historians. The preserved archive is very extensive and provides a detailed overview of the day-to-day running of Brookwood Hospital and of the medical care provided to its patients throughout its history. The records also show how the hospital operated as a self-contained community, employing patients with skills in cooking, cleaning and gardening, providing training workshops, a farm which provided food for both the hospital and for sale, and details of the entertainment provided for the residents.

References

External links

Brookwood Hospital ArchivesThe Brookwood Hospital records on the National ArchivePhotographs from Brookwood Hospital
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brookwood Hospital Former psychiatric hospitals in England Hospitals in Surrey History of Surrey Woking Hospital buildings completed in 1867 Hospitals established in 1867 1867 establishments in England 1994 disestablishments in England Defunct companies based in Surrey Defunct hospitals in England Gothic Revival architecture in Surrey