Long Grove Hospital, formerly Long Grove Asylum was a

mental 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, dissociati ...

, part of the

Epsom Cluster The Epsom Cluster, also referred to as the Horton Estate, was a cluster or group of five large psychiatric hospitals situated on land to the west of Epsom. The hospitals were built by the London County Council to alleviate pressure on London's e ...

of hospitals in the

Horton Horton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Horton Glacier, Adelaide Island, Antarctica * Horton Ledge, Queen Elizabeth Land, Antarctica Australia * Horton, Queensland, a town and locality in the Bundaberg Region * Horton River (Australia), ...

area of

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

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. ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

History

Construction

The hospital was commissioned by the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

and was the fourth institution of the

of Hospitals. It was designed by

George Thomas Hine George Thomas Hine FRIBA (1842–25 April 1916) was an English architect. His prolific output included new county asylums for Hertfordshire, Lincolnshire, Surrey, East Sussex and Worcestershire, as well as extensive additions to many others. Bi ...

; re-use of existing plans from other asylums allowed the council to pass the plans through the development stage and approval by the

Commissioners in Lunacy 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. Previ ...

faster than a new plan. At the peak of construction activity on the Long Grove site in 1905 the building contractor, Forster & Dicksee, employed about 1,100 men, around 900 of them recruited from the London unemployed and brought down from Waterloo daily in special trains, half their 4 shilling (20 pence) return fare being at the contractor's expense. The

Horton Light Railway The Horton Light Railway had its origins in a contractor's line (the Ewell & Long Grove Railway) built in 1905 to transport building materials, coal and other supplies for London County Council's Epsom Cluster of psychiatric hospitals in the Hort ...

was constructed to transport building materials to the site and was later used to transport hospital supplies to Long Grove and the other hospitals on the estate. The facility opened as Long Grove Asylum in 1907. The central axis of service buildings included the administration block, recreation hall with flanking male and female staff blocks, kitchens and main store. As usual for the time, gender-specific workplaces such as the laundry, workshops and boiler house were located on the side corresponding to their respective workforces. A large arc of corridor linked all wards, with radiating corridors making the entire main complex easily accessible. Parole and infirmary blocks were situated within the grounds, as was a detached chapel, senior staff and official's housing and an isolation hospital.

Mental health facility

Between 1907 and 1992 at least 43 female

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

carriers were held at Long Grove in a secure isolation unit without parole. All of the women came from the London area and despite having recovered from the disease were deemed a public health risk as they still hosted and excreted the bacteria. Hospital staff were made to undergo

decontamination Decontamination (sometimes abbreviated as decon, dcon, or decontam) is the process of removing contaminants on an object or area, including chemicals, micro-organisms or radioactive substances. This may be achieved by chemical reaction, disinfecti ...

on entering and leaving the ward and wore masks and surgical gowns at all times. All toilets in the unit were flushed using boiling water to minimise the risk of infection. It is believed that the women were detained even after the advent of antibiotic treatments in the 1950s, due to the state of their mental health, which may have deteriorated partly as a result of their incarceration. The unit was the subject of a BBC investigation in 2008 which alleged that carriers were kept unnecessarily in "prison-like conditions". The facility became Long Grove Mental Hospital in 1918 and Long Grove Hospital in 1937. It joined the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

in 1948. Former patients of the hospital include George Pelham (a man who survived the sinking of two ships, including the RMS ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

'') in 1939, Josef Hassid (a Polish violin prodigy) in 1943 and

Ronnie Kray Ronald Kray (24 October 193317 March 1995) and Reginald Kray (24 October 19331 October 2000) were identical twin brothers, gangsters and convicted criminals. They were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London, Engl ...

(one of the Kray twins) in 1957.

Decline and redevelopment

After the introduction of Care in the Community in the 1980s the hospital reduced in size and closed in 1992. Most of the buildings were subsequently demolished. Those which were retained were converted into apartments and incorporated into Clarendon Park, a new development of houses and flats. Parts of the surrounding landscaped grounds have been preserved and now form part of

Horton Country Park Horton Country Park is a Local Nature Reserve north-west of Epsom in Surrey. It is owned and managed by Epsom and Ewell Borough Council. The park is a wooded recreation and amenities area occupying the east of a narrow upland watershed betwe ...

References

{{authority control Former psychiatric hospitals in England Hospitals in Surrey Epsom Hospital buildings completed in 1906 Hospitals established in 1906 1906 establishments in England 1992 disestablishments in England Hospitals disestablished in 1992 Defunct companies based in Surrey Defunct hospitals in England

History

Construction

Mental health facility

Decline and redevelopment

See also

References