# St Francis (Sussex Asylum) - Haywards Heath



## Sectionate (Feb 25, 2010)

Whilst everyone else was barreling there way up north, I ran in the opposite direction to avoid the carnage (actually, I had other commitments) to see my brother. And we decided to see Haywards Heath as it was only round the corner from where he was staying, and it is a stunning building!

History:


> With the passing of the County Asylums Act in 1845, the counties of England and Wales were required to provide accommodation for their pauper lunatics. It took nine years for the Sussex county to begin planning there asylum, being the last county in the country to do so, due to the political wrangling between the East and West division. The County finally decided in building their Asylum roughly in the middle of the County, at the small village of Haywards Heath. It was positioned on the South Downs, at the site of Hurst House Farm, which was purchased for £5,750 and contained 120 acres.
> 
> The County next appointed the architect H.E.Kendall JNR of Brunswick Square in London, who had previous experience designing the Essex Asylum at Warley, and was also the cheapest for tender. The Asylum was designed on a typical Corridor plan, and was able to accommodate 400 patients, with the females to the East. Work on the building begun in Easter 1857, with works being completed on the 25th of July, 1859. Within five years of the hospital opening it was already suffering from overcrowding and an extension was required. The two storey ward blocks at either end of the building were expanded and extended to house an extra storey, dining rooms were also built for the male and female wards. The next extension involved moving the superintendents house to the west of the site and expanding facilities into the old residence, this included a recreation hall. An isolation hospital was also built on the edge of the site.
> 
> ...




The main entrance






The 'new' water tower





The chapel










Nurses accomodation, taken straight from Brighton promenade





Super's house - cherry knowle, claybury anyone?





The main block from the southside

























And a restored Airing court shelter, most of which had become places to store bikes




​
S8 

More photos here: http://www.thetimechamber.co.uk/sites/Hospital/HaywardsHeath/StFrancisHaywardsHeath.php


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