Moorhaven Hospital, built as Plymouth Asylum and initially named the Plymouth Borough Asylum, was a mental health facility in Ivybridge,

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, England.

History

Work on Plymouth Asylum was commenced in 1888, to a design by James Hine and Odgers of Plymouth using a stepped corridor layout. The asylum was designed to cater for 200 patients, although in anticipation of future extension the administrative portion of the building was adapted for a larger number. It was erected on a commanding site in the parish of Ugborough, on the borders of Dartmoor. Stone for the building was quarried on the estate, and the masonry dressings are of limestone, brick,

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and

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stone. The chapel is in the Early Englishstyle. The contracted price for the asylum was £34,514; Pethick Brothers, of Plymouth acted as contractors. The Mayor, Alderman Waring, Chairman of the Plymouth Justices, laid the foundation stone in 1888. The hospital was opened as the Plymouth Borough Asylum in October 1891. Plymouth Asylum - floor plan

Situated at above sea level, its patients enjoyed excellent views down to the sea below. An additional storey was added to the building in 1908. It became Plymouth Mental Hospital in 1918 and 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 " ...

as Moorhaven Hospital in 1948. After the introduction of

Care in the Community Care in the Community (also called "Community Care" or "Domiciliary Care") is a British policy of deinstitutionalisation, treating and caring for physically and mentally disabled people in their homes rather than in an institution. Institutional ca ...

in the early 1980s, the hospital went into a period of decline and closed in February 1993. The buildings were subsequently converted into residential accommodation as Moorhaven Village.

References

{{authority control Hospitals in Devon Defunct hospitals in England Hospital buildings completed in 1891 Hospitals established in 1891 1891 establishments in England 1993 disestablishments in England Hospitals disestablished in 1993 Former psychiatric hospitals in England