West Park Hospital (sometimes erroneously referred to as West Park Asylum) was a large

psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...

Epsom Epsom is a town in 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 Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...

, Surrey.

History

Origins

The hospital seems to have been so-called because of its location to the west of the landscaped parkland formerly associated with Horton Manor (later the

Manor Hospital Manor Hospital my refer to: * Manor Hospital, Epsom * Acland Hospital, Oxford * Walsall Manor Hospital Walsall Manor Hospital is an acute general hospital in Walsall, West Midlands (county), West Midlands managed by the Walsall Healthcare NHS Tr ...

). Although sometimes called an '

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea * ...

' by urban explorers and the media, West Park was never officially termed as such, having opened as West Park Mental Hospital in 1923. The term had largely fallen out of favour by the 1920s and was made obsolete in law by the

Mental Treatment Act 1930 The Mental Treatment Act 1930 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom permitting voluntary admission to, and outpatient treatment within, psychiatric hospitals. It also replaced the term "asylum" with "mental hospital". It was repeale ...

Design and construction

The hospital was designed by William C. Clifford-Smith (architect to the

London County Council The 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 ...

), who was also involved in the design of nearby St Ebba's and The Manor Hospitals. The hospital had been in planning since 1906, and by 1917 it was largely complete; however, the outbreak of war postponed opening until 1921. The hospital was the last great London mental hospital, and the last 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 ...

Operation

When complete the hospital could cater for around 2,000 patients of mixed class. The site had extensive boiler houses and plant rooms, a large laundry and a substantial water tower. There were also large kitchens located behind the canteen and a substantial recreation hall or

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called ''balls''. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially histori ...

(the latter suffered an arson attack on 30 September 2003 and is now a burnt out shell). The hospital was also once served by the Horton Estate's own railway but this was removed in 1950 and no trace remains except around the central engineering block.

Decline and redevelopment

The hospital was slowly run down from the mid-1990s, and by 2003 most of the hospital was closed and derelict, although some buildings, including the New Epsom and Ewell Cottage Hospital remain in use by NHS healthcare services. Because of its derelict state, it came to be of interest to

urban explorers Urban exploration (often shortened as UE, urbex, and sometimes known as roof and tunnel hacking) is the exploration of manmade structures, usually abandoned ruins or hidden components of the manmade environment. Photography and historical inte ...

who were attracted by the sheer size of the buildings and also the many hospital items still in situ, such as beds, kitchen equipment and personal items. A

padded cell A padded cell or seclusion room is a controversial enclosure used in a psychiatric hospital or a special education setting in a private or public school, in which there are cushions lining the walls and sometimes has a cushioned floor as wel ...

also remained in-situ and was of considerable interest to explorers. In November 2010, demolition began of the former hospital buildings. As of April 2011, most of the central buildings had been cleared with only a limited number of wards, the water tower and administration building being retained for conversion to apartments. These were retained in the Noble Park housing development which was completed in April 2012.

Gallery

Image:WP hall.JPG, The burnt out remains of the Main Hall. Image:WP ward.JPG, Honiton and Hereford ward, the upper floor gutted by a fire in 2003 which destroyed the roof. Image:WP Kitchen.JPG, One of the large stainless-steel ovens in the hospital kitchens, still in-situ. Image:WP Dentist.JPG, A chair in the dental clinic - the hospital had many clinics, including an opticians. Image:WP Bathroom.JPG, A bathroom within one of the wards close to the main hall, which is in a poor state. Image:WP store.JPG, A much-photographed store room in one of the older wards which contains hundreds of personal items. Image:WP corridor.JPG, Part of the extensive network of corridors and covered ways which connects wards to services. Image:WP cell.JPG, The "Pocock Brothers" padded cell within an older ward is the hospital's most iconic feature. Image:WP day room.JPG, A typical day room within one of the wards, with large bay windows make good use of the sunlight. Image:WP bedroom.JPG, A bedroom within a ward, with beds still remaining.

External links

West Park Gallery
* ttp://abandoned-britain.com/PP/westpark/1.htm Additional Photographs from Abandoned Britain

References

{{authority control Former psychiatric hospitals in England Hospitals in Surrey Epsom Hospital buildings completed in 1923 Demolished buildings and structures in Surrey Buildings and structures demolished in 2010 Hospitals established in 1923 1923 establishments in England 2003 disestablishments in England Defunct companies based in Surrey Defunct hospitals in England