# Carmarthen Infirmary - Carmarthen - July 2008



## evo_mad (Mar 28, 2009)

Bored Saturday afternoon, I got an MSN off JJ, "what are you up to??"

"Nothing" I replied, "where do you suggest?"

"Carmarthen Hospital" came the reply.

That was it, I gave my brother a ring and we were off down west.

Present here were JJ, JJs mate, my brother & me.








The Victorian former infirmary in Carmarthen, built in 1858 – described as one of the few remaining examples in existence – has fallen into disrepair since it was last used by the NHS in 1996.

The Grade II listed building was purpose-built in 1858 and paid for by public subscription. It was designed by William Wesley Jenkins, an architect whose family were well connected with the town.

William Wesley Jenkins is considered to be a son of Carmarthen. He was very active in the town from the 1840s to 1850s and the development of a hospital put it ahead of other towns in South Wales and showed how advanced its society was.

There's a small list of Staff / patients here.
http://www.institutions.org.uk/hospitals/wales/CMN/carmarthen_infirmary_1871.htm

Access is a little difficult, especially in a crowded town centre on a Saturday afternoon but we were quickly in, nothing broken.

Once inside, there were many things to see.

List on the back of a door.










?????????





Switchwork.





Pipework.













































I hesitate on mentioning this, but there were loads of records hanging about, these were x-rays of patients.





Fantastic switch / relay panel.





Tiny doorway next to the lift, which led to a few small rooms. One of the rooms was sealed with no doors, the only entrance was a hole in the wall.





We then made our way tentatively upstairs using the stairs which had seen better days, I say seen, it barely remembers them. As we were walking up, the stairs were actually moving away from the mountings.












The "Clinicmatic"





The floors were in great condition.





In-situ shower / bath.





The "Atrium".





Fire alarm in good condition.





Alarm panel.





Bed / materials bench.





Broadcast unit,





X-ray screen.

























On the top floor, there's a hatch which leads to the workings for the lift.



































Large extraction vent in one of the rooms.





Beds with corrugated sheets as bases??










240 / 415 outlets,





Ventilation.





Sash weights. With the price of scrap as it is at the moment, I reckon these won't be there long.



































As we were talking outside, this old guy scared the life out of me!!!





Cheers for taking your time to trawl through my pics.

J.


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## Exploretime (Mar 29, 2009)

Man what a shame about its condition. You would think that considering its historical importance and the relationship to the town that they would preserve it slightly better. Great report mate.


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## ashless (Mar 29, 2009)

Nice pics, good write up!
You may want to invest in a tripod and it'll make those pesky low light shots all crisp and tasty


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## evo_mad (Mar 29, 2009)

ashless said:


> Nice pics, good write up!
> You may want to invest in a tripod and it'll make those pesky low light shots all crisp and tasty



Cheers mate, I don't know how I could work with a tripod, all my shots are taken with an Nokia 95 8mp or an i8510 8mp camera phone.


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## Black Shuck (Mar 29, 2009)

I used to live about 10 miles down the road from there and remember it well.


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