St Lawrence's Hospital was a mental health facility in Caterham, Surrey.
| St Lawrence's Hospital | |
|---|---|
 The nurse's home at the hospital | |
  Shown in Surrey | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Caterham, Surrey, England |
| Coordinates | 51°17′10″N 0°05′59″W / 51.2860°N 0.0997°W |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | National Health Service |
| Funding | Public hospital |
| Type | Mental health |
| History | |
| Opened | 1870 |
| Closed | 1994 |
| Links | |
| Lists | Hospitals in England |
History edit
The facility was commissioned by the Metropolitan Asylums Board and designed by John Giles.[1] It opened as the Metropolitan Asylum for Chronic Imbeciles in 1870.[1] A nurses' home was added to the asylum in 1889[1] and it became Caterham Mental Hospital in 1920.[2]
In 1928 Joey Deacon, the author and television personality, was admitted to the hospital where he remained for the rest of his life.[3] London County Council took administrative control of the facility in 1930.[2] A nurse was killed when a bomb fell on the hospital in November 1940 during the Second World War.[1] It was renamed St Lawrence's Hospital after the local parish in 1941 and it joined the National Health Service in 1948.[2]
In 1981 Silent Minority, a documentary film made by Nigel Evans for ATV, highlighted the conditions of mental patients at the Borocourt Hospital near Reading, Berkshire and at St Lawrence's Hospital in Caterham.[4]
After the introduction of Care in the Community in the 1980s the hospital reduced in size and closed in 1994.[1] Most of the buildings have been demolished but the nurses' home has been converted into flats.[1]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f "St Lawrence's Hospital, Caterham". Lost hospitals of London. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
- ^ a b c "St Lawrence's Hospital, Caterham". AIM 25. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
- ^ "The Imbeciles Asylum, Caterham". Retrieved 10 July 2014.
- ^ "Deception row over hospital TV film". Glasgow Herald. 10 June 1981. Retrieved 17 June 2011.