I first became fascinated by urban exploration when i stumbled into west park asylum. That place amazed, excited and scared me all at the same time. It angers me that i only went there twice and only got inside once. Since it was converted into flats ive been searching for a place that excites me in the same way, every hospital i went to was either inaccessible or, like west park, made into flats.
The next one on my list was Harperbury Hospital.
The next one on my list was Harperbury Hospital.
but the thrill of west park did not return, i think i was about 5 years too late.
As i, legup and the misses found out Harperbury is now just a shell.
We looked round a part of the site that incircles the football pitch. Each of these buildings were the basicly the same, all completely gutted and falling apart. I got the feeling they're just waiting for this place to fall down.
The hospital opened in 1928 with eight male patients on the site of a first world war aerodrome.
By 1929 86 male patients were living and working on the site, several new buildings were constructed forming what would become Harperbury.
As 1931 started the first of these new buildings was opened and by December the institution housed 342 male patients.
when the work was finished the site could accommodate 1355 patients - male, female and children.
The hospital was completely self-sufficient. Patients worked in various jobs, male patients worked on the farm raising cows, chickens and pigs or in the workshops making clothes, shoes and upholstery for the hospital while females worked in the laundry or kitchens or cleaned wards
World War Two ended and the new labour government came into power and created the National Health Service. The NHS took over the hospital in 1948 and was remaned Harperbury in 1950.
The hospital grew in the 50's and had 1464 beds, four more patient villas were built along with another nursing home, a psychology department, the school was enlarged and a swimming pool was built.
In 1961 Overcrowding was beginning to become a problem. Harperbury had beds for 1,354 patients but by 1964 it was over quota by 233 patients and the overcrowding was so severe that nurses often had problems reaching patients in need of emergency intervention.
In 1965 a department to study clinical genetics and to diagnose chromosomal abnormalities was opened
Expansion at Harperbury continued right into the early 70s, the activity centre was enlarged and a new children's playground was added.
In 1973 the scaling down of harperbury had started the farm was closed and by 1974 patients had started to be discharged
by the 1990s plans were in place to close Harperbury hospital, however, in 1995 and again in 1998, Harperbury experienced a temporary influx of patients from two other institutions that were closing.
But the discharge program continued and by late 2001 there were only about 200 chronically sick patients in residence.
As interesting as harperbury is there isnt much left and most of the insides are totaled.
We didnt do the whole site as we didnt find the swimmingpool or padded room block, but as most of the hospital is still in use and the derelict parts mixed between it we did as much as we could.
My search for west parks equal continues...
