Sanderson Hospital was an

orthopaedic Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

hospital for children and an elderly care facility used by the

NHS 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 " ...

Gosforth Gosforth is a suburb of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It constituted a separate urban district from 1895 until 1974 before officially merging with the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. In 2001, it had a populati ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, UK.

History

The WJ Sanderson Home for Destitute and Crippled Children was established in

Whickham Whickham is a village in Tyne and Wear, North East England. It is in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. The village is on high ground overlooking the River Tyne and south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It was formerly governed under the histor ...

in 1888 by William John Sanderson, a local philanthropist. Its purpose was to care for destitute children who couldn't be housed in

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...

s due to physical disabilities. Shortly after opening it moved to larger premises at Red House in

Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This f ...

on 1 June 1889, before opening its Gosforth site in 1897. The Gosforth site was opened by a Mrs. Hilton Philipson on 30 September 1897. In 1914 the hospital buildings was extended to allow for the treatment of more patients. Until the implementation of the National Health Service Act 1946 the hospital operated independently, and in July 1948 it came under the control of a Hospital Management committee as part of the National Health Service. While independent the hospital also had its own school based on-site. The site was used as the long-stay orthopaedic hospital for the area. In 1974 the hospital given over to the care of the elderly during NHS reforms. The hospital had various subtle name changes over the years: in 1929 it became the WJ Sanderson Home for Crippled Children; around 1935 it was renamed the WJ Sanderson Orthopaedic Hospital and School for Children; around 1950 it became known as the Sanderson Orthopaedic Hospital; and in 1964 it became known as Sanderson Hospital.

Closure

The services provided by the hospital were steadily reduced as they were moved to the larger hospitals such as the

Freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...

and General Hospitals. Services for the elderly were closed in 1996. By 2003 only community out-patient services remained (then known as the Sanderson Centre in an annex) and there were plans to move those too, bringing the site's use by the NHS to an end. Since finally closing in May 2005 the site had been disused for more than 15 years, and the hospital buildings, some of which were Victorian, were later demolished. In 2006 plans existed to turn the site, by now blighted by vandals, into housing which sparked protests from the local community. In 2011 there was an attempt to build housing on the site with

Taylor Wimpey Taylor Wimpey plc (formerly Taylor Woodrow plc) is one of the largest home construction companies in the United Kingdom. The company was created from the merger of rivals Taylor Woodrow and George Wimpey on 3 July 2007. It is listed on the Lo ...

having planning permission, but later pulled out of the scheme in 2013. There had also been an attempt to build a new health facility with the Malhotra Group on the site that was abandoned in 2018. , the site on Salters Road is currently being redeveloped into 37 dwellings, known as Sycamore Square. The planning that was approved by

Newcastle City Council Newcastle City Council is the local government authority for the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. The council consists of 78 councillors, three for each of the 26 wards in the city. It is currently controlled by the Labou ...

in February is for 23 large houses and 14 apartments centred around a large green area. The development is headed by Lok, part of Newcastle-based Morton Group, who bought the plot in June 2019 from

Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the Shelford Group of University Teaching Hospitals and an NHS Foundation Trust. It provides acute medical services in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, at Royal Victoria Infirmary and Fre ...

References

{{Reflist Hospital buildings completed in 1897 NHS hospitals in England Hospitals established in 1897 Hospitals in Tyne and Wear Defunct hospitals in England 1897 establishments in England Hospitals disestablished in 2005 Demolished buildings and structures in Tyne and Wear

History

Closure

See also

References