# Highlands and South Lodge Hospitals, Winchmore Hill



## Pete (Feb 4, 2007)

Another nostalgic report, for interest more than usefulness. Again i'd love to hear from anyone else remembering it.

Highlands hospital was huge and really two hospitals in one. The older part was originally the Northern Hospital built by the Metropolitan Asylums Board for people convalescing after being treated in the main fever hospitals. The newer hospital was built around 1898 to the north and was the isolation hospital for Enfield and Edmonton. It was later known as South Lodge Hospital. Aftter WWII the Northern hospital was renamed Highlands and merged with South Lodge in 1966 to form a district hospital for Oakwood, Southgate and surrounding areas. Despite this, most locals still identified both parts separately. By 1984, the writing was on the wall for Highlands and the A&E was closed 'temporarily' but never re-opened. It was a colossal site and all the buildings were spread over a huge area on a valuable site and many services were resited at Chase Farm hospital. 

The location on 'Worlds End' Lane was a often a cause for concern for patients and Pav. 13 was renamed 12a to avoid superstition. The naming of the hospitals before 1948 also caused confusion as South Lodge hospital was located to the _north _of the Northern Hospital!

I explored the older part whilst it was still in part use around 1992 when my parents were visiting a friend there. Many wards were boarded up even then and i was tempted by obvious points of entry but turned by ankle on a grass bank and had to sit in the car! 

I did a complete photographic recording of the hospital between 1994 and 1996 whilst the hospital was literally dying, although i have none of the interiors as i was using a crap free camera. 

Nearly everything of Highlands is now converted to housing, but South Lodge was demolished completely and is replaced by flats and a supermarket. 

Even up to last year one ward pavilion (No. 6) survived unconverted and is included on Sam's Nobodythere site from when we visited in 2004. This is also being converted now and has no roof or floors at present.

The main part of Highlands (ex-*Northern Hospital*) was by far the bigger and had a large admin block on the main drive with a tower. The wards and departments were sited in pavilions (styled as villas) nubered 1- 18 around a pear-shaped loop. Those at the back (pavs. 7a+b, 8, 9, 15, 16 and 17) had closed a long while before the others. 






Dead milkfloat in the old ambulance station.









the admin block and tower









The yard and sewing rooms/laundry





The loop road looking towards admin from the operating theatres.





Pav. 3, the old casualty department.





Pav.4 and 5.





Pav. 7a being demolished.





Pav. 9, formerly the wages offices.





Pavilions 17 and 8





Pav. 18 the operating theatres block

*South Lodge* was smaller than the main part of Highlands, but in itself was still extensive. It had its own admin block, recreation hall and nurses home but all the wards were single storey. The district mortuary was also built here in the 1970's.

The wards were numbered pavilion 21 to 31 but some still also had names from before the two hospitals had merged, to add an already complicated arrangement.





admin block, boiler house and lodge cottage.





Philip ward (pav.23)





Sterile stores department (adapted from pav. 29)





A view across the site towards the tower from the old pav.28.


----------

