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An Innocent Enough Looking Building
Within the walls, the secrets of its past
The atmosphere is deeply calm but the cold store slabs remind
you that this place must at times have resembled a production line. Especially in times of epedemic.
There was a mortician who had a deformed hand
which became a sort of trade mark. As a hobby he used to do amateur photography and in the late seventies took to attending
the hopsital social club to 'pick up ' young students nurses on the promise of getting their glamour photos featured in print.
The only thing was, his wife worked at the asylum, and he had nowhere to carry out his work. So he used to photograph them
on the slab in the mortuary!
Apparently when he died just prior
to the closure of the hospital, his wife was asked to come and collect some of his belongings from the mortuary. And guess
what she found in a box in one of the cupboards? Lots of photos.
The developers plans are to convert the mortuary into a House, on the plans the
coffee table is placed in a similar location to the table that sits there now. New build apartments are already being built
a stones throw away.
One story tells of two maintainance guys
who were closing the supplies off in the mortuary one of the fellas decided to jump up on the slab and
reckoned to re-enact the glamour photo shoots.
Later that day he dropped
dead in the main hall.
The blackboard placed near the body store, some one has chalked the motto found
on the stained glass in the admin building.
One of the ante rooms within the building, there is also a waiting/viewing room
for relatives and a chapel of rest.
This is the small chapel located at Buckle
Lane on the burial site, this site was for patients unclaimed by relatives. Although there are 2858
people buried here there are only 3 grave stones.
In a Local graveyard there are another 1000 patients
buried again, in unmarked graves.
The small chapel sadly succumbing to nature
The memorial plaque
Resting by moonlight
Rumour/local
knowledge has it that the cadavers were buried cheaply and the graves filled in with quicklime which, if true, suggests that
the soil condition will be alkaline and of very poor quality. There are some paths, set in quarter-fashion,
of a roughly compacted gravel or shale material.
At the front of the chapel is an area of tarmac which had been overgrown by moss to a significant depth. Bordering this,
onto Buckle Lane, are the stone pillars and wrought iron gate forming the entrance to the site.
The chapel is in a state of disrepair but it would
not be fair to call it dereliction: the roof tiles are slipping but the substructure looks solid – although it will
obviously not remain in that condition unless repairs are effected.
The
gutters are gone and water runs down the walls or the remnants of drainpipes.
The
walls are solid York stone in a fair condition, although pointing is required and large alder and other trees are starting
to grow around the footings (or are already quite large) and will in due course undermine the foundations.
The windows have not been protected against forced entry and it is apparent
that the premises have been entered but, apart from the glass in the windows, not too much damage appears to have been done.
There is nothing inside to cause damage to!
The entrance portico
is partly secured by another iron gate, and some solid oak doors. The keystone above the arch has slipped slightly, but can
be repositioned. There is some stucco work inside the portico needing repair but, overall, the entrance
remains quite impressive.
This selection of text
written by Alan D Elsegood
Copyright all images. www.silverstealth.co.uk
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