# St John's Lunatic Asylum



## Rubex (Oct 31, 2015)

The Asylum was built in 1852 and enlarged on several subsequent occasions. The hospital was set in grounds of 120 acres which included gardens, farmland and a burial ground. In 1940 female patients were transferred to other hospitals, mainly Storthes Hall near Huddersfield, to make space for an Emergency Hospital, and many did not return until well after the end of the War. Administration of the hospital passed to the National Health Service in 1948. By the early 1960s it was known by its final name of St John's Hospital. Over the years it has had many different names: 1852-1893 Lincolnshire County Lunatic Asylum or Lincolnshire County Pauper Lunatic Asylum, 1894-1915 Lincolnshire Lunatic Asylum, 1897-1898 Lindsey, Holland, Lincoln and Grimsby District Pauper Lunatic Asylum, 1903-1920 Lincolnshire Asylum, 1898-1902 Bracebridge Pauper Lunatic Asylum, 1902-1919 Bracebridge District Lunatic Asylum, 1919-1948 Bracebridge Mental Hospital, 1930-1938 Lincolnshire Mental Hospital, 1939-1960 Bracebridge Heath Hospital, and 1961-1989 St John's Hospital, Bracebridge Heath. The hospital itself was closed in December 1989 with the remaining patients transferred to other establishments. 

Rumour has it that the honeycomb ceilings were put in place to reduce the noise levels of screaming patients from echoing down the long corridors. But it's actually a load of bollocks. The honeycomb ceilings were a common form of fireproofing in hospitals in the mid-nineteenth century.

































While the boys were off taking photos I wandered back to the cells, went in one and closed the door behind me. I wanted to get a feel for how things might have been. The cells were tiny. The first thing that struck me was how much smaller they are compared to some police cells. Not that I'd know anything about that, of course :yes:

























A little bit of privacy please! 





























This was my favourite room of the building. I was totally amazed at how derelict the room was, but yet the original light fitting is still perfectly in tact! 





































Thanks for looking,

Rubex


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## DirtyJigsaw (Oct 31, 2015)

Fantastic set of images there. Would love to walk around here myself. Those stairs still look impressive regardless of the scaffold


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## Rubex (Oct 31, 2015)

DirtyJigsaw said:


> Fantastic set of images there. Would love to walk around here myself. Those stairs still look impressive regardless of the scaffold



You should definitely go and have a look while the place is still standing! Thanks DirtyJigsaw


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## krela (Oct 31, 2015)

Nice, you've got shots that are quite a bit different to many which is interesting to see.


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## The_Derp_Lane (Oct 31, 2015)

Brilliant!


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## Mikeymutt (Oct 31, 2015)

Very nice rubex..lovely job.


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## smiler (Oct 31, 2015)

"Load of "bollocks"! Really Rubex that rough type Mikeymutt is a bad influence, I liked your take on the asylum, Thanks


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## Mikeymutt (Oct 31, 2015)

Ha ha smiler that made me laugh..I think it's the other way around..I have learnt words I never knew existed since exploring with rubex..it is a nice take on the place though.like krela says a lot of different shots


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## smiler (Oct 31, 2015)

Mikeymutt said:


> Ha ha smiler that made me laugh..I think it's the other way around..I have learnt words I never knew existed since exploring with rubex..it is a nice take on the place though.like krela says a lot of different shots



I'll believe you Mikey, you do make a good team though, but Rubex seems someone I wouldn't want to antagonize, so I'm gonna agree with whatever she says.


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## Rubex (Oct 31, 2015)

smiler said:


> I'll believe you Mikey, you do make a good team though, but Rubex seems someone I wouldn't want to antagonize, so I'm gonna agree with whatever she says.



Haha I'm not that bad honestly Smiler! :laugh:


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## smiler (Oct 31, 2015)

Rubex said:


> Haha I'm not that bad honestly Smiler! :laugh:



I agree with you Miss Rubex


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## tumble112 (Oct 31, 2015)

You're definitely on a roll just now. Very nice indeed.


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## HughieD (Oct 31, 2015)

Fantastic set there. Still loads to see and you captured it right well.


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## TheNarrator (Nov 1, 2015)

Some wonderful photographs here Rubex! I wonder, don't you ever get a little scared wandering around such places? I'd have been bricking it in that cell!


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## flyboys90 (Nov 1, 2015)

Great shots from different angles,Thanks for showing.


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## The Wombat (Nov 1, 2015)

well done, you've captured some very well composed shots
And your shots are a completely different set to mine 
Nice to meet you


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## Rubex (Nov 1, 2015)

The Wombat said:


> well done, you've captured some very well composed shots
> And your shots are a completely different set to mine
> Nice to meet you



Thanks Wombat! It was really nice to meet you too! I enjoyed looking around here, and in good company


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## ImmortalShadow (Nov 1, 2015)

Nice set!

Great to see it's still doable  I loved it here - one of my favourite UK sites.


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