Lancaster Moor Hospital, formerly the Lancaster County Lunatic Asylum and Lancaster County Mental Hospital, was a mental hospital in Lancaster, Lancashire, England, which closed in 2000 (the mental health departments left in 1991, but others remained).
The main building, which was designed by Thomas Standen, was opened as the First Lancashire County Asylum in 1816.[1] It was extended at various times until 1850, and is grade II* listed.[2] A further building, which was designed by Arnold W. Kershaw in the gothic style and known as "the Annexe", was completed in 1883 and is grade II listed,[3] as are its walls, railings, and gateways.[4] The hospital's chapel, which was designed by Edward Graham Paley, was built in 1866 and is grade II listed.[5][6]
A female doctor, Catherine Arnott, was one of the asylum's early resident Medical Officers.[7]
Campbell House, a facility for paying "gentlemen" patients, was completed in 1909 and the Ladies' Villa, a facility for paying "lady" patients, was completed in 1916.[8] The Ladies' Villa, also known as Ridge Lea, was large enough to be classed separately as a small Mental Asylum.[6]
The hospital was a pioneering site for the humane treatment of the mentally ill with the introduction of treatments such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).[9] The writer Alan Bennett describes his mother's treatment in the hospital in his memoirs.[9]
Following the introduction of Care in the Community in the early 1980s, the hospital went into a period of decline and closed in 2000; the Annexe and chapel have since been converted into apartments, and houses have been built in the grounds.[10][11] The Ladies Villa "Ridge Lea" has since been abandoned after closing in 2013. It is currently used as a dog training ground for Lancashire Police and is surrounded by metal fencing to deter Urban explorers as it is a prime area for exploring.[12][13]
The hospital was renamed as Lancashire County Mental Hospital in 1930, and as Lancaster Moor Hospital in 1948.[14]
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