St Margaret's Hospital (Great. Barr Park Colony)

The large mansion on site, Great Barr Hall, had its beginnings in the 17th Century, but was extensively remodelled both by Joseph Scott in 1777, and in the 19th century by various occupants.

The Lunar Society, an infomal group of leading engineers, industrialists, scientists and thinkers of the day met here in the early 1800s.

The Hall and its grounds were purchased in 1911 by the Walsall and West Bromwich Joint Board, and hospital colony for those with severe learning difficulties was opened after the first world war. Originally known as Great Barr Park Colony for the mentally defective, it was later re-named St Margarets Hospital.

The hospital authority moved out of the Hall in 1978, and the rest of the hospital was closed some years later.

Current condition is poor, many buildings have lost their rooves, and the already dillapidated hall has suffered a recent fire. (see: here )
Any redevelopment of the hospital is a thorny issue, but looks set to go ahead anyway.

update The hospital is now demolished and largely replaced by housing although the hall remains.


other websites:
http://www.nobodythere.co.uk/barr.shtml
http://www.sub-urban.com/marg.htm
http://www.simoncornwell.com/urbex/hosp/stm/e281004/index.htm

Great Barr Idiot Colony (St Margarets) Visit 08-01-06

After a heavy few weeks, I decided against a full blown explore, however we decided to take a wander over to great barr to check out St margerets again, to fully see the place, get good pictures and to check on security situation.

The place now has NO security...there used to be a guard and alsations, however today we noticed that they were not on site, and the portakabin looked very "un-used".

Here are a few pictures, if your in the area definately check this place out, its trashed, however its such a unique location, It has a main hall, engineering, V.stubby water tower, clock tower, and is also Home to Great Barr Hall...


(main "courtyard" area)


(main hall)


(burnt out ward block spiral stair)


(dilapidated ward block)


(engineering)


(great barr hall "chapel style" billiard hall)


(main hall in great barr, huge staircase room...)


(how could the government allow this to happen to such a wonderful building?)

The site has been acquired for building firm "bovis" and they are to demolish all buildings apart from the great hall, and they are to renovate this in the future. The colony is of a villa style set in huge parkland, this is soon going to be home to 700 "luxury" homes and apartments...

if your in the area, visit this place before its gone..

turk

Re: St Margaret's Hospital (Great. Barr Park Idiot Colony)

Hey Turkey!

I really like Great Barr Hall, but I was pretty uninspired by the hospital itself. It's a pretty weird mix of buildings isn't it and with the layout of the place and the utterlty battered state it is in I found it interesting but not particularly exciting. That said if I was in the area I'd go just to see Great Barr Hall, I spent more time in the Hall than the hospital. Got chatting to a couple of old local fellas, early 60s, who were also there to have a look around inside, UE knows no age boundries!

I'm sure someone mentioned that the Hall was going to be kept by Bovis but only as a maintained ruin, rather than any type of conversion or restoration?

Cheers,

JD

Re: St Margaret's Hospital (Great. Barr Park Idiot Colony)

Yeah...totally agree, you get the odd "oohh thats cool" moment, but most of the buildings have been ruined by vandals...plus by the removal of the security can only get worse before demolition.

The hall is a fantastic building, which would have been far more impressive before the NHS got their grubby little mits on it...the clock tower and the wonderful bay windows that are now flat square windows...

Ive just heard about the "stabilised ruin" thing...absolutely ludicrous, what they mean is...they'll keep chipping away at it underhand until it falls down "naturally" then they fit another 50 homes on the site...shameful.

turk

Re: St Margaret's Hospital (Great. Barr Park Idiot Colony)

I'm in the process of finding out, spoke to a guy from bovis today. He was a wanker but I was in a foul mood anyway and kept on at him. To cut a long story short he would not tell me anything about the hall at all (suspicious dont you think?) Anyway, I re-rang up and got the number of his gaffer for tomorrows attempt.
I was under the impression there was a deal to build 400 homes if they restored the hall?? We shall see. That stabilised ruin bollocks is a waste of time, they might as well bulldoze it.

Re: St Margaret's Hospital (Great. Barr Park Idiot Colony)

Bovis update: Rang the guy back, got passed around no less than 5 people before getting on to the "Technical Director". He was a tosser, with no time for me once I told him I was not going to buy a grey panelled box (Sorry... I think they are known as "houses")
Anyway he pissed me off from the word go so I kept on at him. He eventually told me what I already knew. Bovis have some how fobbed off the Hall's responsibility to someone else!!!
So the whole "400 homes in exchange for the renovation of the hall" was bollocks. I asked him why no one at Bovis gives a shit about the rich history they are building all over... he hung up on me.
I rang back and pulled a 'Chris Moyles' on him... hanging up on him as soon as he answerd.

Pettyness aside, I am on the case for more info.

I have rang up an industrial museum in Birmingham, and they are going to house and possibly restore the clock workings from St Margaret's tower as it was made by a local clock smith in Smethwick

So I know its a small success. Its better than it going for scarp.