High Royds Hospital is a former
psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...
south of the village of
Menston
Menston is a village and civil parish in the City of Bradford in the county of West Yorkshire, England. Along with Burley in Wharfedale, most of Menston is within Wharfedale Ward in the metropolitan borough of Bradford. The remainder of Men ...
,
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
, England. The hospital, which opened in 1888, closed in 2003 and the site has since been developed for residential use.
History
The estate on which the asylum was built was purchased by the West Riding Justices for £18,000 in 1885.
The hospital was designed on the broad arrow plan by architect J. Vickers Edwards and the large gothic complex of stone buildings was formally opened as the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum on 8 October 1888.
[
The administration building, which is ]Grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
, features an Italian mosaic floor in the main corridor which is intricately decorated with the Yorkshire Rose and black daisies - the latter of which provided inspiration for the title of ''Black Daisies'', a television screenplay filmed at High Royds which took as its subject the experiences of sufferers of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
.
The hospital was intended to be largely self-sufficient, and had its own library, surgery, dispensary, butchery, dairies, bakery, shop, upholster's and cobbler's workshops and a large estate partly devoted to agriculture and market gardening. The patients lived in wards and if they were able, were expected to work towards their keep either on the farm, in the kitchens or laundry, or in various handicraft facilities. The hospital was formerly connected to the Wharfedale railway line by its own small railway system, the High Royds Hospital Railway, but this was closed in 1951.
The report into the abuse committed by Jimmy Savile
Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile (; 31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English DJ, television and radio personality who hosted BBC shows including ''Top of the Pops'' and ''Jim'll Fix It''. During his lifetime, he was well known ...
notes that he had carried out instances of abuse at High Royds Hospital in the 1980s. The report said that the assault was during a fancy dress fun run at the hospital and that the witness was credible and accepted the allegation as true. It was also alleged that Saville groped not only patients but also staff from the hospital and a porter was asked if there was a room that Savile could go to if "he pulled one of the nurses".
In its final years of operation, High Royds become outdated and unsuited to modern psychiatric practice. This was acknowledged by the chief executive of Leeds Mental Health in 1999 after complaints from consultants about violence and cramped conditions on the wards. After services were transferred to St James' Hospital and the Mount, High Royds Hospital closed in 2003.
In June 2017 a planning application was submitted to convert the administration block and workshops for residential use. The residential development is called Chevin Park. The final stage of redevelopment began in March 2019 with the conversion of the clock tower. The former ballroom is now a residents lounge.
High Royds in popular culture
Since its closure, the site has been used as a film set for the film ''Asylum
Asylum may refer to:
Types of asylum
* Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome
* Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute
* Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea
...
'', as well as for the successful television series ''No Angels
No Angels are an all-female pop group from Germany, formed in 2000. Originally a quintet, consisting of band members Nadja Benaissa, Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, Vanessa Petruo, and Jessica Wahls, they originated on the debut season of th ...
'', ''Bodies
Bodies may refer to:
* The plural of body
* ''Bodies'' (2004 TV series), BBC television programme
* Bodies (upcoming TV series), an upcoming British crime thriller limited series
* "Bodies" (''Law & Order''), 2003 episode of ''Law & Order''
* ...
'', Fat Friends
''Fat Friends'' (also known as ''Kay Mellor’s Fat Friends'') is a British drama that aired on ITV from 12 October 2000 to 24 March 2005, consisting of 25 episodes over four series. Set in Leeds, the series explores the lives of several slimmi ...
, Heartbeat
A heartbeat is one cardiac cycle of the heart.
Heartbeat, heart beat, heartbeats, and heart beats may refer to:
Computing
*Heartbeat (computing), a periodic signal to indicate normal operation or to synchronize parts of a system
*Heartbeat, clus ...
[ and ]The Royal
''The Royal'' is a British period medical drama, produced by Yorkshire Television (later part of ITV Studios), and broadcast on ITV1 from 2003 until its cancellation in 2011. The series is set in the 1960s and focuses on the lives of the st ...
.
The drama Diamond Geezer
''Diamond Geezer'' was a British television crime drama, broadcast on ITV between 20 March 2005 and 23 April 2007. Created by Caleb Ranson, the series stars David Jason as jewel thief and professional con man Des. One series of the programme w ...
starring David Jason
Sir David John White (born 2 February 1940), known professionally by his stage name David Jason, is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'', Detective Inspector J ...
which aired on ITV1
ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...
in March 2005 was also partly shot at High Royds.[
Leeds band ]Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 2000 as Parva, releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their current name that same year. Since their formation the band h ...
have written a song ("Highroyds") about the former hospital. Three of the band (Nick Hodgson
Nicholas James David Hodgson (born 20 October 1977) is an English drummer, backing vocalist, and songwriter, formerly of the indie rock band Kaiser Chiefs.
Early life
He attended St. Mary's Menston with Nick Baines and Simon Rix. He then wen ...
, Nick 'Peanut' Baines
Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 2000 as Parva, releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their current name that same year. Since their formation the band h ...
and Simon Rix
Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 2000 as Parva, releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their current name that same year. Since their formation the band h ...
) used to attend St. Mary's Catholic High School, the school that faces High Royds Hospital.[
The band ]Kasabian
Kasabian ( ) are an English rock band formed in Leicester in 1997 by lead vocalist Tom Meighan, guitarist and occasional vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff, and bassist Chris Edwards. Drummer Ian Matthews joined in 2004. Karlof ...
named their third album, ''West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
''West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum'' is the third studio album by British indie rock band Kasabian, which was released on 5 June 2009. It was the band's first album not to feature Christopher Karloff, the band's lead guitarist and songwriter wh ...
'' ic after the hospital after hearing about it on a TV documentary.
The hospital was the focus of a 2010 Open University documentary about asylums called Mental:A history of the Madhouse.
Anna Hope's novel ''The Ballroom'' is set in the asylum in 1911.
Ross Farrally's book ''High Royds Hospital: An Insight into "Insanity"'' looks at the asylum through interviews between 1949 and 2000.
See also
*Listed buildings in Guiseley and Rawdon
Guiseley and Rawdon is a ward in the metropolitan borough and Rawdon is a civil parish in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. This list also contains the listed buildings in Otley and Yeadon ward. The wards and parish contain 99 li ...
References
External links
High Royds Historical Archive
High Royds Village
{{authority control
Hospital buildings completed in 1888
1888 establishments in England
2003 disestablishments in England
Buildings and structures in the City of Bradford
Defunct hospitals in England
Hospitals in West Yorkshire
Hospitals established in 1888
Jimmy Savile
Former psychiatric hospitals in England