Royal Albert Hospital

The hospital was built between 1868 and 1873, and designed by the local architect E. G. Paley. Its original name was "Royal Albert Asylum for idiots and imbeciles of the seven northern counties".[1] An additional building, the Winmarleigh Recreation Hall was built at the rear of the hospital and designed by Paley, Austin and Paley (E. G. Paley in partnership with his son, Henry, and with Hubert Austin).[1] In 1898–1901, following the death of E. G. Paley, the practice (now Austin and Paley) designed a new south wing, named the Ashton wing.[2]

The hospital was established under the Lunacy Act 1845, at a time when there was little understanding of the difference between learning disability and mental illness, to provide care and education for children with learning disabilities. It took patients from the seven northern counties of England between the ages of 6 and 15. It was a voluntary hospital, whose financial provision came entirely from public subscription.[3] The foundation stone was laid in 1868. The first patients entered the hospital in December 1870, and in August 1871 the first girls were admitted. By 1874 it had 196 patients. In 1884 the hospital was renamed as the "Royal Albert Asylum for the Care, Education and Training of Idiots, Imbeciles and Weak-Minded children and Young Persons of the Northern Counties". By 1909 there were 662 patients in residence, 85 per cent of whom were aged under 15. During the following year the hospital was renamed again, this time to "The Royal Albert Institution, Lancaster".[4]

Following the Mental Deficiency Act 1913, the nature of the hospital changed, as it was determined that no more than 10 per cent of its patients should be under the age of 16. In 1948 the hospital became part of the National Health Service, and its name was changed to "Royal Albert Hospital".[4] By this time it had 886 patients, of whom 45 per cent were aged over 35, and only 12 per cent were under 15.[3] In 1958 two new blocks were built, each containing 54 beds, to accommodate the increasing number of patients. By the middle of the 1960s the hospital contained over 1,000 patients. From the 1980s, Care in the Community legislation led to the relocation of patients into the community, so that by 1990 only about 500 patients were still resident. Further relocation of patients led to the closure of the hospital in 1996.[4] The building was acquired by Jamea Al Kauthar Islamic College for use as an educational establishment for Muslim girls.[5]

The main part of the hospital was designed as a Grade II* listed building on 30 November 1970,[6] the same date the west lodge was listed at Grade II.[7]

Since 1996 the building has been used as the Jamea Al Kauthar Islamic College, an academic establishment aiming to educate girls over the age of eleven in a safe, secure, happy and Islamic environment".[5] Originating with 60 girls, as of 2011 it has about 400 residential students on its roll. The students attend Islamic theology courses in the morning in the college, and in the afternoons travel to Preston Sixth Form College to study other subjects.[5]

• Grade II* listed buildings in Lancashire
• List of non-ecclesiastical works by E. G. Paley