# West Ham Asylum – Goodmayes Hospital – Ilford – 2014-2018 various visits



## mockney reject (Oct 27, 2018)

_The History_

Borrowed from Goodmayes own history booklet.

_In the beginning_

Before West Ham became a borough in its own right the 'lunatics' from that area were sent to the Essex County Asylum, situated in Brentwood, or to any other Asylum in the county (or elsewhere) that could take them.
The people concerned were the 'pauper lunatics' - in other words people who were too poor to pay for their own care and who were reliant upon the local 'Guardians' providing them with 'Relief '. Many such people were living at that time in the workhouses, some of which had infirmaries attached to them. However those infirmaries did not cater for mental illness (though it was not defined as illness until some years later).
There were strict rules governing 'pauper lunatics' (in fact governing 'paupers' in general) which comprised part of the 'Poor Law' which was in force. 

The definition of 'lunatic' was set out in the 1890 Lunacy Act as:

_"A lunatic" means an idiot or person of unsound mind. Imbecility and loss of mental power, whether arising from natural decay or from paralysis, softening of the brain or other natural cause, and although unaccompanied by frenzy or delusion of any kind, constitutes unsoundness of mind within the definition"_

Whereas the definition of 'pauper' in the Lunacy Act 1890 was:

_"A person wholly or partly chargeable to a union, county or borough....when an alleged lunatic., though not actually in receipt of relief was in such circumstances as to require relief for his proper care, he was a pauper within the meaning of the word as used in the Lunacy Acts ....."_

It is worth noting that the last 'pauper' within the Hospital was only relieved from this state in 1988.

"Relief Lists" were published by the respective Unions, which listed the names of every person in each Parish who was in receipt of Relief. This included those in the workhouses, children who attended the Parish schools and, of course, the lunatics in Asylums. The Lists were "affixed to the Church and Chapel Doors of the Parish" and were for the use of Churchwardens, Overseers and Ratepayers. The purpose of publishing such lists is stated on the document itself:

_"If Names should be found in the List of Persons whose circumstances are known to place them beyond the need of Parochial assistance , the Relieving Officers should be immediately informed thereof - the leading object of the Guardians in publishing the Lists being to afford to the Ratepayers an opportunity of detecting such cases of imposition as even with the most industrious investigation of the Union Officers, may sometimes escape their vigilance. The Guardians also hope that the publication of the Lists will operate to deter such persons from soliciting relief by their own means or exertions, to keep off the Parish"_

West Ham became a Borough Council in 1886 and they decided straight away to build their own Asylum as they did not feel they should continue to use the Essex County Asylum. Permission was sought from Parliament for the right to purchase the necessary land and the Blue House Farm was purchased when its existing tenancy ran out. In keeping with the prevailing custom this was a considerable distance from the catchment area the Asylum would serve (the Asylum which served Ilford was in Brentwood and Waltham Forest was served by Claybury Hospital). Before building began a sand and gravel company came and worked on the site.

Also before the building was begun the Committee/Council members visited several other Asylums, both near (i.e. Warley) and farther away, including one in Scotland, to try and ensure that they provided the best possible facilities in their own new Asylum .

At the time of the purchase of the land, the building and the opening of the Asylum, this whole area was farm land However the Great Eastern Railway had stations at Goodmayes, Seven Kings and Newbury Park. When the Visiting Committee came to the site on the 19th December 1899 they reported: "That they visited the Borough Asylum Works at Chadwell Heath, and found that the contractors had laid a railway from the Great Eastern Line into and over the site in various positions for the purpose of carrying plant and material on the ground" although it is not noted where the railway ran into the site from, the goods yard at Goodmayes was extensive and it is likely that it ran from there. For the opening ceremony many people came as far as they could by train on the main line to be met by train brake vans which brought them up Barley Lane to the site of the Asylum.

It was noted by Mr. Andrew Johnston (the presiding Officer at the Brentwood Asylum) at the opening ceremony that it was:

_“Four times three years since the Town Council gave the Essex County Council notice to quit.......he drew attention to the fact, as a warning to all public bodies, of the very long time that those things took from the time they were determined until those determinations were brought into effect. They must look ahead and the fact that it had taken twelve years to provide that asylum should be a lesson to them all"._

_Open at last_

The Hospital, then known as the West Ham Borough Lunatic Asylum, was formally opened by His Worship the Mayor of West Ham, Councillor Abednego Bishop, J.P., on the 1st August 1901 and began accepting patients on the 6th August 1901. It had been hoped to open the Asylum almost a year earlier, but then as now, the building/builders took longer than expected to finish.

The foundation stone had been laid on the 3rd August 1898 by Alderman William Ivey J.P. At the laying of the 
foundation stone Alderman Crow J.P. gave a speech in which he said:

_"The ratepayers often grumbled about the rates and taxes and about the expenditure of the council which made the rates necessary. There was probably nothing that people objected to more than to the paying of rates and taxes, but he ventured to think that if they would consider for a few minutes the amount of good that came through the paying of rates and taxes there would be no grumbling at all. Let them just fancy what would happen in West Ham if the authorities at Brentwood were to discharge the 530 lunatics under their charge and set them at large in the streets of West Ham. What would the ratepayers of West Ham say if these lunatics were wandering about the Broadway to murder and endanger the safety of the people? .......He hoped it might not fall to the lot of anybody present that day to be ever incarcerated in that asylum, but if any of them ever should go a bit "dotty" he knew of no place where they could get better treatment than in a county asylum."_

The hospital was "built of red brick on the Pavilion system" with the wards branching off at the sides. The main entrance faced south and the wards were specifically planned to offer a large frontage to the south.

There were 17 wards, 8 male and 9 female, as well as the main Administration Block, detached houses for the Medical Superintendent, Steward, Chief Attendant and Engineer, and 8 semi-detached houses for other married attendants, there were also two gate houses, and the isolation pavilion. The Hospital also had its own artesian well, bakery and laundry complex. The 'Artisans Yard' consisted of accommodation for the tailor, shoemaker, carpenter, plumber, upholsterer, drawing office and the Clerk of the Works.

The hospital had a capacity for 800 patients, with the accommodation split between the various wards.







By the end of December 190l there were already 785 patients admitted to the Hospital which was, therefore, almost full up, with overcrowding on the male side.

The majority of the first patients (667) were transferred to the new Asylum from other Asylums, primarily from Brentwood. The table shown below shows the ascribed causes of the mental disorder in the admissions, discharges and deaths during 1901, and of those still remaining in the Asylum at the end of that year.






By the end of the second year (1902) the male side was, indeed, overcrowded and overcrowding was now threatened on the female side. The Medical Superintendent commented that many of the patients who were being admitted were, in fact, only old and could have been looked after just as economically and quite as efficiently in the workhouse infirmary.

There were 13 'recoveries', 13 'relieved', 5 'discharged not improved' and 28 deaths in the period up to 31st December 1901. 20% of those who died the following year were found to have tuberculosis, most of those contracted the disease in the Asylum.

Alcohol was identified as either a primary or secondary factor in 86 of the new patients. The Medical 
Superintendent remarked upon the effects of alcohol, and the frequency with which it appeared as a cause of mental problems, and expressed the following hope:

_“With regard to the prevention of this evil, it is to be hoped that the legislation which has recently come into force may have some effect, however small, in reducing the numbers annually rendered insane by drink”_

The weekly rate, charged to the West Ham Guardians, per patient in 1901 was 14s, but this was reduced to 12s 10d per week for the start of the new year of 1902/3.

The name of the Asylum was changed in 1918 to West Ham Mental Hospital, at the suggestion of the Medical Superintendent. This was some 12 years before the Mental Treatment Act (1930) was introduced, when most Hospitals changed their names.

_The Patients_

After the initial intake patients came to the hospital, mainly, from their homes. However the percentage of those who are voluntary patients, as opposed to Certified patients changed very dramatically. 

Initially all patients were Certified, but the change, begun with the introduction of the 1930 Mental Treatment Act, has continued so that as the N.H.S. came into existence there were 78% Certified patients and 22%. Voluntary patients eventually became 90% of total amount of inpatients.

The Hospital was, as you will have already read, always full to capacity and beyond, but patient numbers peaked in 1955 when 1342 patients were resident here. However, in later years in-patient numbers gradually dropped. This does not mean that the Hospital serves fewer patients just that fewer people need to be admitted to the Hospital on a long term in-patient basis. This is in some part due to the fact that in the 1950's major advances in drug treatments were developed and to the increased knowledge about some conditions, which means people can be helped in other ways. These developments led to many more patients being treated at home, and not being admitted to a hospital at all, and others needing only short stays in hospital prior to being discharged.

Until the late 195O's the practice was for all wards to be locked, and for patients to be contained on their own ward unless they went to work in another part of the hospital where they would be under the supervision of a member of staff. After the late 1950's this began to change, and by 1962 there were only two locked wards remaining, in which all the more disturbed patients were kept together.

Some of the women who were admitted were pregnant, and any child born in the Hospital was also certified as 'insane' and kept here - often for the rest of their lives. The last 'patient' who was admitted here because they were born on the premises only died a few years ago. The children were kept on the Female wards, although not necessarily with their own mother. Some very young children were also admitted with their mother and were only discharged if and when she was.

Clothing was provided for patients by the hospital, however in 1934 it was allowed that each patient could wear their own clothing (including undergarments) which was to be labelled for them. Nothing was mentioned about arrangements prior to this, but I presume each patient took 'pot luck' when the laundry came back (all the clothing issued by the Hospital up to that date was identical).

Food was provided on a strict diet.






The menu did not vary much from week to week, and there appears to have been no choice whatsoever. It is worth remembering, however, that most of the vegetables, milk, eggs and pork provided, before the farm was closed, was fresh from the garden/farm each morning, and that all bread, pies, puddings and sausages were made on the premises and not bought in. However this did not stop the diet being very unbalanced, with meat, potatoes and bread making up the bulk of the food. Patients received extra food, (in the morning and at tea time), and were on 'staff meals', when they were 'working'.

Many patients did 'work' around the hospital, and some were paid for their labours. Each ward had two patients who were considered to be as capable as staff, and were given their own 'duties' within their ward. They were responsible for laying tables, serving food etc. One patient worked scrubbing the corridor which leads from the reception to the conservatory every night for 5s per week - he saved up for a red waistcoat with shiny buttons, and was very proud of it when he bad finally saved enough to purchase it.

By the end of the war some patients also worked in local companies, and those who did paid for their lodging in the Hospital. Local laundries and Plessey were the largest employers of patients, and the finding by staff of placements was often helped if the people had had some experience by working in the appropriate department within the Hospital. This largely stopped when Selective Employment Tax was introduced in 1967, and when patients were gradually stopped from working in the Hospital itself and could not gain enough experience to take to an outside employer. At the height of outside working approximately 130 patients were going 'out to work' each day. By 1975 the emphasis was to find patients accommodation in the community rather than employment.

Patients were allowed to have visitors on Thursdays between the hours of 2.30pm and 5pm. This was extended, eventually, to include Tuesdays as well (although apparently 'unofficial' visiting was always allowed on Sundays). Families/nearest relatives who lived more than 10 miles away were allowed to visit on other days, providing that they wrote for permission. The relatives of any patient who became dangerously ill were also allowed extra visiting rights. Visitors were not allowed to go into the wards, but rather patients were brought to the 'Visiting Room' where they could sit to talk to their friends/relatives.

In the early years there were no 'treatments' for mental patients, and the people either recovered or they didn't, with the help only of the reasonable diet and, comparatively, sanitary conditions. As treatments began to become available - after the 1st world war - the West Ham Mental Hospital was in the forefront of their use, was among the first to use E.C.T. and perform leucotomies, and gained national acclaim for its use of insulin shock treatment for schizophrenia.

The rights and civil liberties of patients were not properly considered until the 1959 Mental Health Act was passed or were patients treated as individuals until after this time. The role of the Hospital was a custodial one, and patients were institutionalised, and all treated the same.

_The Staff_

The Hospital opened with a complement of 133 staff, ranging from doctors to farm labourers, tailors to engineers.
The various rates of pay for the staff when the hospital opened are shown below.




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The nursing staff were not necessarily qualified 'Nurses' or 'Attendants' as the men were called, and most of them had no nursing qualifications or experience at all. However these were not needed particularly as:" The function of an Asylum is to keep these poor people in comfort, to attend to their bodily ailments, to prevent them from doing harm to themselves or to others, to improve their habits, and to employ them and amuse them”. 

For the Doctors this was not the case, and all of the Medical Superintendents had to be fully qualified and any nursing staff that did have a qualification were given higher pay.

The majority of members of staff lived on the premises, and, therefore, were on call 24 hours a day they had extra rules governing their living quarters and needed the express permission of the Medical Superintendent to go off Hospital grounds. Even the Superintendent himself had to have permission to be away overnight, and had to get the written permission of the Committee to be away for three or more consecutive nights. There were also two or three rooms for staff accommodation on each ward they also, naturally, ate on the premises.

When coming on duty all staff had to report to the Head Male Nurse or the Matron. The male staff went on parade every day, and the female staff were also inspected, any member of staff not correctly dressed, or whose dress did not meet the requirements of their superior, was sent home to correct their dress.

When Mr. Sullivan was steward, every day he went around all the departments, kitchen, laundry, stores etc., and the corridors, and the outside yards. When he had looked everywhere he would return to his office and note anything wrong, then he would ask the appropriate members of staff to come to see him in his office and explain to them his displeasure at their mistakes. Mr. Overall, who succeeded him, did this daily round in full morning suit. One thing that Mr. Sullivan insisted on was that the kitchen yard be scrubbed and disinfected every day and if the yard was not still damp when he passed it someone would have to explain why. The larger stores yard was also scrubbed about once a week.

Staff were totally responsible for all their patients. They looked after the patients' money and they decided if a patient needed new clothes and would take them to the tailor for new clothes to be made. Each ward would take their patients to the bath houses at the appointed time and ensure that every patient had a bath. With no chiropodist, beautician or hairdresser it was ward staff who performed all these duties too, staff also had to keep the patients' clothing clean during the day, and ensure that patients were dressed correctly at all times. 

Any patient in ill-fitting or dirty clothes would lead to a reprimand for ward staff.

Staff, as well as patients, were segregated, with the male patients cared for by the male staff and the female patients by the female staff, even the Medical Superintendent was accompanied by a female member of staff when he attended a female patient.

This segregation was strictly enforced and the General Management rule no. 1 in "General Rules" dated 1901 stated :-

_“The male and female Patients shall be kept in separate Wards, and no male Attendant, Servant, or Patient, shall be allowed to enter the Female side, or any Female to enter the Male side except with adequate authority. Any Attendant, Nurse or Servant transgressing this rule shall be liable to instant dismissal. No male Officer, with the exception of the Medical Officers and Chaplain, and no male Attendant, Artisan , or Servant, except the Porter for temporary custody only, shall be entrusted with a key admitting to the Female Wards"_

It was a duty of the nurses/attendants to carry the coal for the fires onto the wards, to ensure safety around the fires themselves and to extinguish appropriate fires before the patients retired to bed. These duties were carried out until the central heating was installed. Nursing staff had cleaning duties both inside and outside their own ward - each ward was allocated corridors in the central accommodation block which it was their duty to keep clean, as well as all the cleaning tasks needed on the ward itself. Staff/patients also undertook any portering which was needed. 

The supervision of patients while they worked at any of these tasks, as well as any work they did in the grounds or farm, was undertaken by members of the ward staff (although kitchen and laundry staff supervised patients who were working in their area). When nursing and domestic duties were finally separated ward staff were given the choice of becoming either Nursing Assistants or Domestics.

The majority of patients are noted in the Annual Reports as being occupied in some way, most either helping the ward staff or working on the farm or in the gardens. About 10 worked in the kitchen - one of whom woke the kitchen staff with a cup of tea in the morning, and made any breakfasts that were needed before they arrived on duty - 50 to 60 worked in the laundry, 5 brought the coal up to the hospital from the goods yard at Goodmayes Station in a lorry every day, and 100 worked in the grounds, gardens and farm. This way the hospital needed very few 'domestic', laundry' and 'portering' staff or 'gardeners/farm labourers'.

Eventually the practice of patients working was stopped for the following reasons:

a. The advent of the National Health Service.

b. It began to be felt that this could be considered 'slave labour' on the part of the management.

c. The Environmental Health Officers considered it unhygienic or unsafe for patients to be in the kitchen, and that they would not or could not be relied on to conform to safety procedures in other areas.

_The Wars_

During the 1st world war many of the staff were either called into Service or volunteered. This shortage of, mainly male, staff caused the then Superintendent to remark that it may become necessary for female staff to go into the male wards to help out. This was not recorded as actually happening, however.
The Medical Superintendent (Langton Hanbury) and the Junior Assistant Medical Superintendent (l Harvey Cuthbert) both went into Service. Langton Hanbury was killed in action on the 27th July 1916. Dr. Cuthbert returned after the end of the war, though he was wounded in action in Salonica. Dr. Shaw was Acting Medical Superintendent in Dr. Banbury's absence, and took over permanently on his death. Other than this the Hospital carried on much as before.

The 2nd world war was different, with Goodmayes in the direct line taken by the German bombers on their raids of London (the docks in particular) and the Hospital and the surrounding area very much affected. Doctors Larkin and Riordan, Deputy and Assistant Medical Superintendents, served in this war, both returning to duty when it was over.
A record was kept of air raids on the area, along with notes as to the patients being accounted for. There was a move to knock down the water tower and chimney as it may have been used as a marker for the bomber pilots. The hospital estate was hit many times - 700 incendiary bombs, 22 High Explosive bombs, 4 oil bombs, 1 parachute bomb, 2 V1's and 3 V2's all landed within the estate.

These Photographs show Acacia Ward after bombing






Also during the 2nd World War there was an Emergency Base Hospital which was run, and staffed, by the London Hospital. This took over the Ml, M2, Fl and F2 Ward5. Records show that over 8,000 patients, both military and civilian, were treated at Goodmayes. Many of the Service personnel who were sent there stayed on after the war. 

For some years the records show 'Service Patients' as a separate category on the returns.

One comment made in the Annual Report of the time is that, contrary to expectations, the number of people being admitted dropped during war time. This was attributed to people being fully employed - unemployment being one of the main reasons people turned to drink, got into financial trouble, had family trauma etc., which were some of the, then, main causes of mental illness.

The patients and staff in the Hospital were fortunate to have a continuing supply of fresh food from the Hospital Farm throughout both the wars, and it is commented that, for many, this was better fare than they could have expected had they remained in their own homes.
The Farm and the Grounds

In between the wards, and in the immediate vicinity of the buildings, the grounds were planted with flowers, shrubs and trees. Land which was not taken up for the buildings, the airing courts, gardens and roadways were left to be cultivated as the hospital farm. Livestock was kept and most of the vegetables, fruit, eggs, milk, pork and bacon needed for the hospital were provided by the farm. The first year of the farm shows a potato crop and a hay crop.

The early records of the Farm mirror the situation on any farm at that time, with blight and other diseases destroying crops, illnesses in the livestock which produced either poor offspring or death, and the viability of the operation varying wildly from year to year (some years making large profits, others just as large losses). This continued for all its lifetime, and when the farm was finally closed down it was making a loss again. However, the success was not only measured in financial terms, but in the therapeutic value to the patients of working in the open air. The main crop throughout the life of the Farm was pigs. They were bred and then the surplus were sold at the nearby Romford Market.

Several things lead to the closing of the farming activities :-

1) The Ministry of Health decided that hospitals should no longer farm livestock

2) The barley crop was burned by vandals as it became ripe

3) Patients were withdrawn from both farm and garden labour

4) The farm was making a loss anyway.

The farmhouse and barns were demolished in 1978/9, after vandals broke in and caused extensive damage to the farmhouse. Also a barn full of straw was set alight and burned down, along with others near it. These buildings were, then, unsafe and were pulled down. When the area is viewed from the air you can still see where the farm buildings stood. Greenhouses were used to grow all the plants and flowers which were used for decorating the wards.






The Gardening Department, as they are now called, also produce most of the bedding and other plants for the grounds at Chadwell Heath, at King George Hospital and at Dagenham Hospital, and keep the gardens so well that they have won prizes for them (usually 1st prizes!) for many years. Not that winning prizes was anything new for the farm/grounds staff, animals also won prizes at local shows from the very earliest years the farm was run

Some of the original hospital land has been sold. The Hospital owned all the land between Barley Lane and Aldborough Road, from beyond the A12 to the boundary with Douglas Road including the areas which are now the Ambulance Station in Aldborough Road, the Ford Motor Company sports ground, Seven Kings Park and the Downshall Infants School (the school stands in what was the orchard).

The roadways of the Hospital itself were lined with many shrubs and trees. In 1908 a line of trees was planted against the boundary with Barley Lane to afford protection for (and from) the new houses which bad been built, in Barley Lane, opposite the female wards. The main roadways within the grounds were cleared of most of the shrubbery soon after the 'open door' policy was put into effect. In the photographs we have of the grounds before this clearance it is clear that the undergrowth was very thick. This shrubbery afforded protection for the patients against curious onlookers, and visitors from unwanted attention from patients. It also helped to continue the practice of 'hiding away' those who were mentally ill.

The grounds around the wards were planted as individual gardens, some sunken. Staff in charge of the wards helped care for the garden around their ward, and so did patients. Some of the wards which were given names of trees or shrubs had them outside in their gardens.






_The Royal Visits_

There have been two visits by members of the Royal family. On the 28th October 1953 the Duke of Edinburgh made a private visit, and on the 22nd October 1957 the Duke of Gloucester came to open The Gloucester Occupational Therapy Centre.

The Duke of Edinburgh's visit was a 'private' one. During his visit the Duke toured the wards, operating theatre, departments, Chapel and grounds, the administration buildings, kitchens and works yard. He also saw for himself some of the treatments being used at that time. The whole of the Management Committee, as well as many other local dignitaries were introduced to him.

Crowds lined the local pavements, and relatives of the staff lined the driveway and roads in the grounds, in the rain, to wait for his arrival. His visit lasted a whole day, from 11am to 3.30prn.

In his speech at the luncheon he said:

_"... Particularly this hospital interested me as an individual because it is seeing what is really the beginning of a revolution - the revolution from care to cure. When I say 'beginning' it is in a particularly relative sense. I am not decrying the efforts so far being done now - I mean what is being done now is enormous, but the progress which can be made is even greater, and it is not altogether surprising that this has developed latest because - I know you will agree - that it is certainly the most complicated science. I have heard a lot about the problems and difficulties which confront the Mental Health Service, and about the age of buildings, over-crowding and the lack of staff. So that to me makes it all the more impressive what it is you are achieving at the moment, and I hope very much that the Minister of Health will be in a position to ease or solve very soon some of your most urgent problems. I have also heard quite a lot about the methods of treatment and cure, and it strikes me that it must be a source of very great satisfaction to doctors and nurses in this service to know that they are making or doing a positive good in the healing of the mentally sick. This is a satisfaction which the rest of the medical profession have had for a very long time, but which the Mental Health service has only really begun to start ......."
_

The Duke of Edinburgh, with staff and committee members, outside the front entrance to the hospital






The Gloucester Occupational Therapy Clinic






_The Chapel_

The chapel opened Easter 1902. It was built of the same materials as the rest of the Hospital, i.e. red and cream bricks, and had a seating capacity of 600. It was situated at the front of the Hospital, opposite the main entrance. The Hospital has been served continually by various chaplains, Church of England, Catholic and Free Church. Services have been held every week for those of the major faiths, with special visits and services from time to time for folk of other faiths.






Eventually the chapel fell into a state of disrepair until one chaplain complained of the "personal hazards, faced by chaplains, associated with birds". Much of the lead from the roof had been stolen, and this exposed the roof beams which became rotten. Also the building stood over unsafe ground and the electricity supply was problematical. The cost of repairing/restoring the building became prohibitive. There was a plan to turn the chapel building into a "noisy recreation area” for the patients, but the costs of making the building safe enough for these pursuits lead to the plans being abandoned.

The chapel was finally demolished in 1980. The site is now grassed over and is the oval shaped area around which people park their cars. Before it was pulled down many of the fixtures and fittings (especially the oak pews and chairs) were sold, so that some of this lovely building was saved. Some of the rockeries have special additions from the rubble.

The current chapel is situated in the main building, in what was the female Visiting Room. This was opened on 20th May 1972, much to the relief and appreciation of the chaplains.

_Sport and Recreation_

From the beginning there were facilities, for both staff and patients, for various sports and recreations to be played. Both cricket and football teams were set up immediately and played regularly. There was a hospital band and an orchestra, comprising of members of staff which played both for dances and concerts. All the activities were organised and run by members of staff, and, as these were on top of their normal duties and they got paid a small amount extra for doing them.

For Coronation Day 1901 there was a Sports Day organised. Throughout the following summer the bands played in the airing courts twice a week, and in the winter there were dances, concerts, theatrical performances and even a Patients' Ball and Christmas tree.

In 1919 another sporting occasions - the "Peace Fete" was organised, and the programme for the day showing the various races run and the side shows which were provided.
Here’s a copy of the program for that day






The annual Sports Day was the highlight of the year in many ways, with every patient who was not confined to bed taken out onto the sports field, either to watch or participate. An area was roped off for the Visiting Committee and other visitors as well as relatives, and they were served with strawberry and cream teas. The kitchen would prepare sandwiches and cakes for the patients to have their tea at the event. In the evening a small stage and floodlights were erected and the hospital band would play for a dance in the open air.

In every annual report there is a section on recreation and the "Asylum Eleven” cricket team, football teams and other sporting events, are mentioned as being both successful and of great benefit to patients and staff alike. Each ward had both a darts board and a snooker table, and would form a team for each and hold in-house tournaments.

Regular theatrical events were performed, again with both staff and patients participating as well as watching. Once a year a "variety" show was held, for which each ward had to "do a turn" (which could comprise of anything at all), at the end the best would win a shield, to be kept for a year. Annual Balls, Dances and Dinners were held for the staff, and were one of the few occasions when male and female staff was allowed to mix.

_Additions and Extensions_

In 1906 there were additions made to the existing buildings, and in 1907 a further 50 acres of land, Little Heath House Estate, was acquired to the north of the existing site (now across the A12). The additions made in 1906 were mainly extra accommodation and were of a comparatively minor nature. More land was purchased in 1925, to build extensions, which consisted of Hargreaves Farm and Browns Farm and on the 5th February 1934 the new extensions were opened by the Mayor of West Ham Alderman Rumsey - the foundation stone was laid by Aldennan J.T. Scouldiog in 1932 and is situated by the front entrance to the Nurses Home - the stone commemorating the opening is on the front wall of Hunter Ward.

They comprised of:

4 Male Villa Blocks (Magnolia, Hawthorne, Acacia & Cherry Tree) 3 Female Villa Blocks (Rosemary, Lilac, & Somerville)

2 Semi-infirm Wards (Linden & Lavender) 2 Admission Wards (Hunter & Gregory)

A House for the Deputy Medical Superintendent (Glancy House)

The Nurses Home Additional Married Quarters (131 - 121 Barley Lane)

Improvements to the Laundry, telephones and Heating Electrical Wiring for the whole hospital

An extra artesian well

The cost of these extensions was £229,000. The additional accommodation raised the capacity of the Hospital to around 1,300.

There must have been much speculation in the press of the time about mental illness being on the increase because in his speech at the opening ceremony for the extensions Mr. L.G. Brock, the Chairman of the Board of Control said....

_"... the extensions had for the first time, given the West Ham Mental Hospital the full right to the name of "hospital". Many people present must have asked “Is insanity really on the increase? Can we do nothing for it? What is the necessity for all this constantly increasing expenditure”. The answer to the first question was easy and reassuring. There was no evidence that he could find - and he had been to some pains to look - of any actual appreciable increase in the incidence of serious mental disorder. It might be that the noise and stress and pace of modern life had resulted in some increase of mental disorders, he could not say; but there was no evidence in support of the alarming statements they read in the Press about the tremendous increase in mental disorder.
There was a steady increase in the persons under care, but that was due to a number of causes, one of which was the length of time the patients remained alive ... Another cause was the much greater willingness of people today to seek institutional care.
The real test of whether mental disorder was increasing was not the number under care but the number of first admissions.... If they look at that they would find that over a period of years the variation... was comparatively small and the admission rate was consistently steady.
What you read about the alarming pace of modern life, said Mr. Brock, is just pure tosh"_

In the 1950's the Industrial Therapy Unit was opened, and gradually grew until it comprised of four buildings. Unfortunately these burned down in 1984, and were never replaced.

In 1957 the Gloucester Occupational Therapy Unit was opened by the Duke of Gloucester. This new Clinic, and its equipment, was a gift from the King Edward's Hospital Fund for London.

This picture shows the extensions that were added and opened in 1934.






_The National Health Service_

After the "appointed day" in 1948 the West Ham Mental Hospital became part of the new National Health Service. At first the Hospital kept its own separate Management Committee, but in 1964 this was amalgamated into the new Ilford & District Management Committee.

During this time the name was changed for the last time. It was changed because it was no longer used just by West Ham Borough, but by Ilford as well, so a new name area was sought. The names Chadwell Heath Hospital, and Brookside Hospital, were considered, but as the Hospital was located in Goodmayes this was the name eventually chosen. Also the word 'Mental' was finally dropped from the title.


A photo from the 1940’s of the patients library







_The Explore_

I thought it was about time I finally wrote this one up after many many visits and many 1000’s of pictures lol

Don’t worry I won’t post them all

I first visited Goodmayes back in early 2014, it was a simple rock up, take some externals and fail to find a way in. A few weeks later I headed back and found a way in albeit through what appeared to be a live office. 
Luckily it was the weekend and nobody was about. On this visit I managed the main corridors but the real good stuff like the main hall and the wards were simply not to be.

In the last four years I’ve visited Goodmayes loads more times and each time I’ve managed to uncover a little more Goodness (pun intended). I’ve been lucky enough to have enjoyed the company of @Disco_Kitten @katia @Lowrijenbate @Slayyaaa @Candid @UrbanDiaries @Rolfey and @Rubex on these many visits and even bumped into @clebby & @speed and had as many fun times and laughs as can be had in an old Asylum…

I’ve taken many friends there as this place just seems to leave people stumped as to how to get in. Along with the many rumours of the security being on the ball and cameras etc. You’ve just got to have your wits about you.

Goodmayes is a wonderful wonderful place, from its stunning corridors, to it wards in various states of decay, to its amazing main hall and the accompanying balconies and projector room. Goodmayes is easily my favourite complete Asylum.

That and I have a small family connection to Goodmayes, My Late Grandad was a patient here just after the war. 

The family legend goes that his ship was damaged at the end of the war and sunk. He was the sole survivor and was at sea in a lift raft alone for a while. He had officially been reported dead, so much so that his younger brother had already pinched his uniform and was out on the town chatting up the ladies. So you can imagine the surprise when he turned up back in Canning Town after being recovered. The story goes on that a local scoundrel had been chatting my Nan up and trying to get in her knickers. Evidently my Grandad took offense to this and promptly went round and shot the guy. It’s unsure whether he killed him or not but rather than go to prison they sent my Grandad to Goodmayes for 6 weeks on the pretence that he was of unsound mind. We reckon he just played on it to stay out of jail. It wouldn’t surprise me as right up until he died in his 80’s he was always as bright as a button.

Let’s get on with the pics.

For those that missed it up there /\/\/\

Here’s the original layout taken from the Goodmayes 100 year history booklet






Sadly when the hospital was knocked about to make room for the new King Georges hospital the Female Chronic and Female Epileptic blocks were removed. This was to make way for the new accommodation blocks, easily spotted by the red roof toppings.






So I’ll start off with some externals of this marvellous place and then beginning at the bottom of the map, with the admin area I’ll work my way through the various wings, the hall and then end up at the water tower and 
boiler house.

Here we go

_The Externals_

In its typical “asylum style” red brick Goodmayes is as stunning from the outside as it is from within, Luckily I managed to snap these pictures before the garish “prison” style fencing went up.














































Moving on from the externals

_The Administration block_

Admins always fairly decent in most Asylums/hospitals and Goodmayes is no exception. Although here you will find the sites securities base camp. Always on the ball and always willing to tell you to piss off at the slightest hint of you talking a picture of the front of Admin. Regular cat and mouse games have been played in here with this friendly chap and it has even been known to walk straight out the front door just to confuse the poor chap.


























Just inside admin is this old aerial photo from the days before King Georges was built.






This Staircase leads up to one of the few live parts of the building, the first floor nursery.






Beyond the staircase the corridors beckon and inside we go






_The Corridors_

In the earlier days of my explorations into Goodmayes the corridors could be freely roamed but more recently extra doors with key coded locks or swipe cards have made this a little harder. The corridors themselves are brightly painted with various murals. These help take the drabness away from the building.
























































The corridors consist of two parallel corridors linked with two diagonals forming a trapezoid layout with the various wards running off of the diagonal sides. The hospital was split into male and female sides, with the male side being located off to the left hand side.

An old news article I found a few years back written by a journalist who had been a patient in Goodmayes describes his time in there quite well. What really got my attention though was the mention of the triangular padded cell at the end of a ward.

https://thejohnfleming.wordpress.co...itted-to-a-mental-asylum-when-i-was-newly-18/

Needless to say and signs of a padded cell or padded cells are long gone, however there are some odd shaped cupboards dotted around the place, maybe? Maybe not? I guess we will never know.

_The sick and Infirm Blocks_

These were the areas of the hospital were the ill and weak patients were treated and looked after until they were well again.

_The Male Side_

The male side is pretty boring and is still used as office spaces still, along with being the home of the Redbridge Alzheimer’s unit.

Not much to see here really.






_The Female Side_

Now the female side of the Sick and Infirm block is much more interesting.

Let’s start with the upper floor. The upper floor is showing some great signs of decay in its main corridor area.











At the end of the corridor is what appears to have been a ward but maybe later in life a games room, hence the pool table and the table tennis bats.











The final upper ward of the Female Sick and Infirm block appears to have been modernised at some point and made into a male and female rehabilitation unit. Known as the Bridge Rehabilitation centre with the male side being painted blue and the female pink. No gender issues here..





















The lower floor of the Female Sick and Infirm block is pretty cool. Having previously been very dull it had more recently been converted into a film set for the forthcoming TV Drama Dark Heart.

_“Dark Heart is a British television crime drama series, based on the Will Wagstaffe novels by writer Adam Creed, that first broadcast in November 2016. DI Will Wagstaffe, is a police detective haunted by the unsolved double murder of his parents when he was just sixteen years old. Following strong audience reception, a series of six hour-long episodes was commissioned in December 2017 and filming began in Spring 2018.
Due to the closure of ITV Encore in March 2018, the series will transmit on the main ITV network, alongside a number of other projects originally set for broadcast on Encore. The series will begin in late October 2018 with eight episodes." _

Keep your eyes on the TV kids”

If you didn’t know this was a film set you could easily be convinced otherwise.



















































_The Acute Blocks_

The Acute Blocks in Goodmayes would have been were patients would have been initially taken in and housed until assessed. Again these blocks have been split into Male and Female/

_The Male Side_

With the ground floor being made up of a few used offices plus secure storage for stuff from King George’s, it’s down to the upper floor to give us an idea of what Goodmayes would once have looked like.

Consisting mainly of this dodgy wallpapered corridor the upper floor is in a rather heavily decayed state, with some lovely peeling paint.





















The corridor has a toilet block and kitchen area leading off of it and at the end has a large windowed ward. Kinda reminiscent of the large wards at Severalls.
















A door from this room leads into a brightly painted dormitory.
















_The Female Side_

With the ground floor again being used for storage and the occasional live office the Female Acute sides glory, just like the Male side, is in the second floor.

Again in this side we see a main corridor in a very derelict state, with not only paint peeling from the walls but also dropping from the ceiling onto the linoleum covered floors.





















At the end of the corridor can be found a small office to the right






A green painted ward dead ahead






And a pink ward to the left, it’s worth noting there is handy fire escape in the corner of this ward should a quick escape be needed.







_The Epileptic Block_

This block was used purely for the treatment and care of patients suffering with epilepsy. The Female Side has long been demolished, so I’ll concentrate on what’s left, the Male Side. This side consists of a two story block with a smaller ward just located and the end of corridors full of small storage rooms. The lower floor being the very modern Lavender wards which appears to have been used as a training school in later life.

The real nice part of this block is the upper ward. With a few smaller rooms containing patient records dating back to the very early days of the hospital. It’s a shame that these have been left there and as far as the Goodmayes Trust is concerned they don’t exist.






At the end of the corridor is what’s left of a pretty cool ward that’s also been used as storage, however it has some great fixtures and fittings left, as can be seen in the pictures.































_The Chronic Block_

Sadly nothing to do with the Dr Dre album of the same name. The Chronic blocks were used for more long term patients. Patients that had more serious issues or problems.

Again the Female Side had long been demolished, so I’ll concentrate on the Male side.

The upper floor is modern and stripped apart from a sever unit and a few bare bedrooms.






The lower floor is a little odd, It’s a full on pathology lab.

But not a real one, I can’t decide if it was set up for training or for another film set. All the tiles and fixtures you can see in the pictures are simply fixed to sheets of plywood and put up over the existing walls. 

Still it made for a good few hours of confusion.









































With all the blocks covered I’ll move on to the last part of the main building.

_The Main Hall_

The crème de la crème of Goodmayes is the main hall, it has often been said by many that Goodmayes has by far the best main hall of any UK asylum. You can judge this for yourself but I’m afraid I would have to agree. It’s awesome. From its masonic coloured decoration, to the upper seating area, the stage and finally the projection room. The main hall is amazing!

Pretty well preserved the hall is now used for storage for the local health services, a shame really as to see it clutter free would be amazing.





















At the far end of the hall is a raised seating area, a great choice of lunch location on many of my visits here. Accessed by a pair of matching staircases the steel framed, wooden seats look down on to the main hall in the direction of the stage.





















At the opposing end of the hall you can find the stage, a typical asylum/hospital stage set up with a lighting rig, curtains and various backdrops
















But what’s under the stage is also pretty cool and dare I say it probably forgotten about by all at Goodmayes.


























Yup original asylum shoes as made by and for the patients, original beds and some great signage.

_The Projection Room_

As seen at other main halls the hall at Goodmayes has a projection room at either end, Sadly the one behind the stage has been long stripped, The one at the opposite end however…..

Well the Floor inside is a mixture of rotten patient records and dirt and smells great lol

The protection room contains 2 Kale projectors both in a bad way but both showing some nice features. The film rewinding equipment is in one half of the room, along with various old reels and a shit load of patient records. Having had a look at the records they appear to be mainly related to the payments received for the patients up keep.






















































































Awesome huh?

The main hall is pretty special and probably Goodmayes finest asset.

However there is still the boiler room and a water tower to contend with.

_The Water Tower_






The water tower sits on top of an artesian well which has been sunk to a depth of 415 ft. (127 metres). Its pump was capable of pumping 12,000 gallons of water per hour up to the main tank in the water tower. The water tower and boiler room are still currently in use, with the laundry, water tower and boiler house providing services also for the newer King George Hospital.

Access to these was a pain in the arse and I must have cheeked them a dozen times, until one night we hit lucky. The door was open and in we went, carefully winding our way through the boiler room whilst trying not to be seen through the hugs glass windows.





















We found the access door for the tower and then climbed up pigeon shit city to the top. The views were ace but alas every time I’ve tried it since it’s been secure.































Well that’s me done, Hope you’ve enjoyed the report​


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## KPUrban_ (Oct 27, 2018)

Brilliant Report there. Some of those hallway shots look somewhat like the asylums in the USA, loving the photos of this.


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## BikinGlynn (Oct 27, 2018)

Wow that's what u call a report, Ill read it properly when I have a spare hour lol.
Some seriously nice pics though & gorgeous architecture Thanks for sharing


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## krela (Oct 27, 2018)

Cracking report, thank you.


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## Derelictheart (Oct 27, 2018)

What a fantastic report, chapeau!


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## HughieD (Oct 27, 2018)

Ah, man. That's the most comprehensive (and arguably best) report of the year. Amazing. The main hall is a wonder, the projection room fascinating and that spiral staircase in the water tower, well...

Fanatstic. Thank you for sharing all your hard work, research and perseverance.


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## UrbandonedTeam (Oct 27, 2018)

Wonderful stuff, really good write-up and well covered.


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## Sabtr (Oct 27, 2018)

Damn that's an incredible report. So much history, old photos and then the buildings.
Really liking the effort that's gone into this.


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## wolfism (Oct 27, 2018)

One of the best asylum reports I've seen in the past few years - well done. The hall is very impressive, despite the junk..


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## Silverlight (Oct 28, 2018)

That is far and away the most detailed report and image set I’ve seen here. Thank you so much.


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## smiler (Oct 28, 2018)

Gobsmacked,


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## rockfordstone (Oct 29, 2018)

that was in depth. some great finds there


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## prettyvacant71 (Oct 29, 2018)

11 outa 10


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## JadeFlack (Oct 30, 2018)

What a report! I love'd all of the history. Looks like you could get lost in that place for hours


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## Rubex (Oct 30, 2018)

Excellent report Mockney! I really enjoyed my visit here


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## mockney reject (Oct 31, 2018)

Rubex said:


> Excellent report Mockney! I really enjoyed my visit here



you were more than welcome


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## Rolfey (Nov 5, 2018)

Well this report is speechless loads of detail and info on this mockey! Some amazing picture could not of done better job! Had a bangin day out with you guys!


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## mockney reject (Dec 20, 2018)

cheers dude, it was a good day out


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## Hayman (Apr 28, 2021)

Having read through the report, I was ready for the photos - but they were not there, just the captions. What has happened? Can they be put back to be seen?


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## mockney reject (Apr 28, 2021)

I had a flickr disaster, bear with me and ill try and sort it out


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## mockney reject (Apr 28, 2021)

@krela would you mind making this so I can edit it again please?

Thanks


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## Hayman (Apr 28, 2021)

Thanks, Danny. I found the other site and the photos. Some of the rooms are really magnificent. Shame about the film projectors. My family at one time lived at Hellingly in Sussex. Nearby was the great Hellingly asylum, another great mental hospital. It had its own railway connection with the local branch line.


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## Wrench (Apr 28, 2021)

mockney reject said:


> @krela would you mind making this so I can edit it again please?
> 
> Thanks


Ayup, 

Krela is no longer around. 

@Angie is who you need


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## SARAH79 (Sep 2, 2021)

This report is so detailed and interesting.

I am really looking forward to seeing your photos as I know they are going to be great as well.


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## Gingerviking (Nov 22, 2022)

That was a fantastic read Great work


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## Lone Explorer (Jan 6, 2023)

Shame photos missing.


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