High Royds Hospital County Lunatic, now mental hospital. 1884-1888 with C20 alterations by Vickers Edwards.

 

Contractors Whitaker Bros. (Horsforth) for the West Riding County Asylum Board. Rock faced stone with ashlar dressings; Westmoorland slate roofs. 2 and 3 storeys with single storey linking corridors.

 

Echelon plan, having long corridors projecting at an obtruse angle to either side of the central administration block upon which wards range outwards.

 

The administration block is fronted by the  entrance range; behind this is the former ballroom; and beyond that the service blocks (workshops, kitchens, storerooms, laundry and fire station). The wards (3 on each side) face the front and are progressively stepped outwards ( so they all receive maximum light).

 

The different blocks have;- offset plinths, grions bands; projecting bays under hipped or gabled roofs; broad shouldered and corniced cross ridge and lateral stacks; tall pyramidal roofed towers (formerly water towers) with 3 light pointed arched windows, the lights with cuped heads, under hoodmoulds, carved and iron finials to roofs, some of the towers with louvred stages breaking the roof slope. Windows are tall; paired, triple sashes, or the small paned upper sash, but many are now sashes or c20 pivoting casements.

 

 The single storey corridors are stepped to accommodate changes in ground level. C20 infil buildings and additions are not of special interest.

 

Entrance Range; symmetrical; 3 storeys, 7 bays with 2 storey, 2 bay side wings set back. Windows mostly paired and transomed on ground floor. Centre block has alternate bays gabled. Central bay is flanked by offset, gabled buttress, and has paneled double door up steps with flanking windows all under stepped hoodmould; three first floor windows, 4 to second floor, and stepped 3 light window to gable which has shaped kneelers and roll moulded coping.

 

Bays 1 and 2 has canted, parapeted, ground floor bay windows. The gables of bays 2 and 6 treated as central gable, but each rises above projecting, corbelled, 2nd floor and has paneled band below occlus. Roof hipped with decorative iron finials has central tower (former water tower) which has 2 transomed windows to lower stage; clock in painted arched recess of several orders to upper stage; and machigolated, embattled parapet (formerly surmounted by timber framed, gabled water tank).

 

Side wings each have projecting outer bay under decorative timber framed gable, the left wing with paneled door on right.

Ballroom taller, with round arched, wooden, mullioned and transomed windows at high level; stepped raised verge with corniced stacks; two louvred ridge cupolas with ogee metal roofs. Similar ridged louvers to other ranges. Workshops have segmental arched windows.

 

The former fire station has three tall archways on one side. The front right-hand ward block has verandah; the equivalent left hand ward altered by two additions (not of special interest).

Interior; good quality contemporary décor survives.

 

Administration block: panelled board room with egg and dart dentilled cornice compartmented ceiling. Stone Tudor-arched fireplace, coloured glass windows with painted bird roundels; decorative cornices and compartmental ceilings to meeting room and reception area; panelled doors in decorative architraves; good moulded stair with newel and pendants up to first floor offices.

 

Main corridor has decorative terrazzo floor with floral motifs and borders; Burmantoft tiles to walls and to elliptical arches with decorative tiles piers and surrounds; elaborate cornice and cored ceiling with decorative plasterwork windowed sectioning corridor which has coloured glass windows in glazed detail architraves.

 

Secondary corridors have terrazzo floors , tiled walls, some painted over and collared rafter roof trusses (much of roof now underdrawn). Less important corridors have brick walling with decorative tile bands at dado level. All have archways to form lockable doorways. Ballroom, now coffee bar, imposts; cored paneled ceiling with elaborate moulded and dentilled cornice. Storeroom; metal columns supporting longitudinal girder; decorative openwork braces to cross-beams; walls boarded and lines with storage shelves.

High Royds Hospital was one of the four West Riding County Asylums of the period. It is important in the pioneering use of the echelon plan, for it was only the second asylum in the England to be built to this design.

 

The use of the echelon plan meant that all wards could have south-facing views.

 

It allowed the segregation of patients in to different classes (sick, acute,epelectic) in seperate buildings, without the hospital becoming unmanageably large.  As a result the plan was widely adopted for large asylums between c1884 and c1900.

 

One side of the hospital catered for men, the other for women, and they had separate kitchens.

 

Wards for the sick and infirm were in the centre for ease of nursing, epileptics were to the sides where they could be the least disruptive, and incurable patients were at the rear.

 

The hospital was completely isolated when it was built, and it functioned as a virtually self sufficient community.