Banstead Hospital
Banstead Hospital, also known as Banstead Asylum, was a psychiatric hospital in the village of Belmont, Sutton, adjacent to Banstead.
| Banstead Hospital | |
|---|---|
 Banstead Hospital | |
  Location within Sutton | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Belmont, Sutton, London, England, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51.3355°N 0.1897°W |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | NHS England |
| Type | Mental health |
| Services | |
| Emergency department | No Accident & Emergency |
| History | |
| Opened | 1877 |
| Closed | 1986 |
| Links | |
| Lists | Hospitals in England |
History
The hospital was commissioned by the Middlesex Court of Magistrates, as the Third Middlesex County Asylum. The hospital was designed by Frederick Hyde Pownall[1] and opened with accommodation for 1,700 patients in 1877.[2] Two more blocks were added in 1881, and in 1889 it came under the auspices of London County Council.[3] Spurs to two of the blocks, based on a design by George Thomas Hine,[4] were added in 1893.[2]
The facility became the Banstead Mental Hospital in 1918[5] and, after a nurses' home was added in 1931, it became Banstead Hospital in 1937.[2] It joined the National Health Service in 1948.[2] In 1967 it split into the Downview Hospital, a facility for adult mental disorders, and the Freedown Hospital, a facility for tuberculosis treatment.[2] It closed in 1986 and was largely demolished in 1989.[2] The site is now occupied by HM Prison High Down.[2]
Notable patients
- Margaret Fairchild (1911-1989), inspiration for The Lady in the Van (2015)[6]
- Vincent Crane (1943–1989), English keyboardist, best known as the organist for The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and Atomic Rooster.[7]
References
- "Obituary". The Tablet. 9 March 1907. p. 25. Archived from the original on 9 October 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
- "Banstead Hospital". Lost Hospitals of London. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
- Sparkes, Roland (2009) Belmont: A Century Ago.
- "The asylum architects". Simon Cornwell. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
- "The National Archives | Search the archives | Hospital Records| Details". www.nationalarchives.gov.uk.
- "The Lady in the Van" (PDF). The Script Savant. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- "Vincent Crane". ColinHarper. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
Further reading
- Edwards, Gareth (1959). The Story of Belmont Hospital 1853-1959.