Whitchurch Hospital ( cy, Ysbyty'r Eglwys Newydd) 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, dissociat ...

in Whitchurch, an area in the north of

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. It was managed by the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board. The hospital remains a grade II

listed building 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 ...

. Its grounds are separately listed, also at Grade II, on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.

History

The population of Cardiff had expanded greatly, from under 20,000 in 1851 to over 40,000 less than 20 years later. By 1890, there were 476 Cardiff residents "boarded out" in the Glamorgan Asylum, and a further 500 to 600 being held in hospitals as far away as Chester and

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...

Costing £350,000 and ten years to build, the Cardiff City Asylum opened on 15 April 1908. The main hospital building covered , designed to accommodate 750 patients across ten wards, five each for men and women. Like many Victorian institutes, it was designed as a self-contained institute, with its own water tower atop a power house containing two

Belliss and Morcom Belliss and Morcom is a manufacturer and supplier of oil-free reciprocating compressors, technologies and services. Founded in 1852 in Birmingham, West Midlands, it is now a division of Ingersoll Rand based in Redditch, Worcestershire, England. ...

steam-engine powered electric generator sets, which were removed from standby in the mid-1980s. The site also contained a farm, which provided both food supplies and therapeutic work for patients. The first medical superintendent was Edwin Goodall, whose then advanced approaches and therapies resulted in the hospital acquiring a reputation at the forefront of mental health care. Patients were also encouraged to take work and supervised tours outside the institute. The first matron was Florence Emily Raynes (1880-1940). During the First World War, the facility was taken over by the military and became the Welsh Metropolitan War Hospital between 1915 and 1920.^:56 Lieutenant Colonel Goodall was the Commanding Officer. H.Winnett Orr an American orthopaedic surgeon documented the services and his training at Cardiff in 1917 before serving in France. Dr Goodall was awarded a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1919 for the hospital’s work with wounded and shell-shocked troops.^:87 In 1918, Matron Raynes was awarded the Royal Red Cross Medal, 1st class for her service in the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service, receiving the medal from the King at Buckingham Palace. During the Second World War, part of the hospital was turned over to the military, becoming the largest emergency service hospital in South Wales, treating British, American and German personnel. There were 200 beds retained for civilian use, which enabled early treatment of post traumatic stress disorder of military patients. On 5 July 1948, the hospital was taken over by the Ministry of Health when 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 " ...

was founded. It was managed by the Whitchurch and Ely Hospital Management Committee, which also managed

Ely Hospital Ely Hospital ( cy, Ysbyty Trelái) was a large psychiatric hospital in the Ely district of Cardiff, Wales. An enquiry into the ill-treatment of patients at the hospital led to reforms to services for people with intellectual disabilities throug ...

, another large psychiatric hospital in Cardiff. After the introduction of Care in the Community in the early 1980s the hospital went into a period of decline and the number of resident patients reduced. The hospital was filmed in 2007 for the ''

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growin ...

'' episode '' From Out of the Rain'', first broadcast on 12 March 2008. In November 2010 the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board decided it was preferable to centralise all adult mental health care services at Llandough. The hospital closed in April 2016.

References

External links

*
The Whitchurch Hospital Historical Society
{{authority control Towers completed in 1904 Hospital buildings completed in 1904 Former psychiatric hospitals in Wales Hospitals in Cardiff Hospitals established in 1904 Towers in Wales Whitchurch, Cardiff Registered historic parks and gardens in Cardiff