Winterton Hospital was a

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 ...

north of

Sedgefield Sedgefield is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It had a population of 5,211 as at the 2011 census. It has the only operating racecourse in County Durham. History Roman A Roman 'ladder settlement' was discovered by C ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, England.

History

A site for the facility at Far Winterton, north of

, was purchased in 1855. It was designed by the architect John Howison, the surveyor for the county of Durham, as a three-storey corridor plan asylum built in the

Elizabethan style Elizabethan architecture refers to buildings of a certain style constructed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland from 1558–1603. Historically, the era sits between the long era of the dominant architectural style o ...

with 300 beds for inmates, along with a chapel and superintendent's quarters. The facility opened as Durham County Lunatic Asylum in 1858. A major extension of the hospital, designed by William Crozier Jr. using a pavilion plan in the

Italianate style The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

with 400 beds for inmates as well as adding a new chapel,

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...

, stables and cottages, was built between 1875 and 1880. The facility became Durham County Mental Hospital in 1925. Further major additions, providing new admission and administration blocks, were made in the 1930s. A hutted emergency hospital was built on the site during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The hospital 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 and became a psychiatric facility known as Winterton Hospital in 1949. It has been wrongly claimed that ''

The League of Gentlemen ''The League of Gentlemen'' is a surreal British comedy horror sitcom that premiered on BBC Two in 1999. The programme is set in Royston Vasey, a fictional town in northern England, originally based on Alston, Cumbria, and follows the lives o ...

'' performer and writer

Mark Gatiss Mark Gatiss (; born 17 October 1966) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer and novelist. His work includes writing for and acting in the television series ''Doctor Who'', '' Sherlock'', and '' Dracula''. Together with ...

grew up around Winterton Hospital while his father worked there as an engineer in 1970s, but it seems he worked at a similar hospital at

School Aycliffe School Aycliffe is a village in County Durham, England. It is a short distance west of Newton Aycliffe, and east of Heighington. Its name derives from a Viking called Scula, who owned land in that part of South Durham. School Aycliffe is spli ...

; both hospitals have now been demolished. Following 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 ...

, Winterton Hospital went into a period of decline and eventually closed in 1996. During demolition, contractors broke through into basement tunnels and rooms and discovered various preserved specimens taken from inmates. The site has since been developed as a science park known as NETpark which was opened by the Prime Minister,

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

, in 2005. The hutted emergency hospital developed into Sedgefield General Hospital but, after in-patient services were transferred to the North Tees General Hospital in the 1960s, Sedgefield General Hospital was downgraded to the status of a community hospital, and operated as such until it was relocated to Salters Lane in 2003. After the site had been cleared, a secure residential centre was planned for people with mental health problems, but was never built. In 2017, a residential development, known as Hardwick Grange, was granted planning permission in its place.

Notes

References

External links

Two views on a mental Hospital, life in Winterton
{{authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1880 Defunct hospitals in England Former psychiatric hospitals in England Hospitals established in 1855 Hospitals in County Durham 1996 disestablishments in England Sedgefield