High Royds Decline april 08

Love it or hate it High Royds is etched on the map as one of the best examples of the broad arrow echelon corridor system in the country. The admin displays some of the finest victorian craftmanship with truly beautiful attention to detail.

Imagine taking a relative there a hundred years ago to be seen by a doctor and entering the main corridor upon seeing the mosaics and glossy tiles you could not have failed to be in total awe.

This hospital is of massive architectural importance and is seeped in history. For a 120 years thousands of people have lived and died in its isolated community.

Everyone you speak to regarding High Royds has a different take on the place, everyone has their own interpratation and I have come to respect that. True many bad things happened to people in there but on the other hand many people found it a place of safety.

These establishments served a purpose but sometimes this purpose was abused with the morals of the day dictating what was deemed as a good reason to remove an individual from society.

You sometimes get the impression that the large psychiatric hospitals were basically a human skip, people incarcerated in misery and appalling conditions but then you hear touching stories of care and commitment from the staff.

Hospitals like high royds served the local community, small towns local to them became large towns through employment at the asylum. For example in Menston and Guisley any long standing family will have had at least one member of their family or close friend employed there.

I believe high royds was built on the firm foundation of honourable intentions but sadly along the way many of these honourable intentions were sometimes lacking.

A few more bits.

silverstealth said:

This hospital is of massive architectural importance and is seeped in history...Everyone you speak to regarding High Royds has a different take on the place...

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Hundred per cent agree with those statements, Silverstealth! As someone who's freaked out by hospitals or asylums, my approach is from an aesthetic/architectural/photographic point of view, and High Royds has always had the 'wow' factor for me because of it's beautiful arched corridors, fireplaces, tiles, stained-glass windows, etc. I don't see how we can be dismissive at the loss of such craftsmanship and attention to detail instead of the cost-cutting that churns out such banality nowadays. Tis very sad.

Really gone to town bricking up the old doorway arch

blocking stuff up, just madness, and making it look pretty bad, also shows whats getting demo'd like

I think your photoprocessing has made it look the worst, but it has genuinily degraded so much!


personal views + feelings aside, its a fantastic building (least it was) and such greatness and grandour will never again be incorporated into a public building in the future.

BrickMan said:

blocking stuff up, just madness, and making it look pretty bad, also shows whats getting demo'd like

I think your photoprocessing has made it look the worst, but it has genuinily degraded so much!


personal views + feelings aside, its a fantastic building (least it was) and such greatness and grandour will never again be incorporated into a public building in the future.

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Here they are unprocessed.

processed or unprocessed, its still looking pretty grim

Looks like an awesome place, i hate the way these places are left to rot. Still, take some comfort in the fact that the place has been very well documented by people who care about it, and want to show it at its best, even in its current state.

well done to everyone who has taken pics in there, the place may be demolished/converted soon but at least they are going to do SOMETHING with it, rather than let it fall in on itself, like cherry Knowles up here.

I think the processed pictures make it look fire damaged, and give a distorted view of the place.

yes your right, I agree after seeing the 2 together.