Towers Hospital

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Towers Hospital
The former Towers Hospital, Humberstone (geograph 5453753).jpg
Original main block with superintendent's residence above, Towers Hospital
Leicestershire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Shown in Leicestershire
Geography
Location Humberstone, Leicestershire, England
Coordinates 52°38′59″N1°05′28″W / 52.6498°N 1.0911°W / 52.6498; -1.0911
Organisation
Care system NHS
Type Specialist
Services
Emergency department N/A
Speciality Psychiatric Hospital
History
Former name(s)Victoria House, George Hine House
Opened1869
Closed2013
Links
Lists Hospitals in England
Other links https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIvozSRZA3c

The Towers Hospital was a mental health facility in Humberstone, Leicestershire, England. The administration building, which became known as George Hine House, is a Grade II listed building. [1] The property, which was originally a home on a family estate owned by the Broadbent family was transformed into what would become the hospital after being sold to the Leicestershire Council in 1862. [2] Adjacent to the main building is Benjamin Court which is named after the original owner, Benjamin Broadbent. [3]

Contents

History

Broadbent ownership

The site chosen for the hospital had previously been occupied by Victoria House (of which the main block still remains), the former home of Benjamin Broadbent, a leading businessman, master builder, and architect, whose works were well renowned across the Midlands at the time. [2] He built a house on the site in the late 1850s, and moved in in early 1860. [3] Following his death in 1862, his son Benjamin Jr. sold the house and 30 acres of land to the Leicestershire Council for £8,000. The house had to be demolished due to dry rot, and the grounds were used for the Leicester Towers Hospital. [2]

The Hospital

The hospital, which was designed by Edward Loney Stephens using a corridor layout with compact arrow additions, opened as the Leicester Borough Lunatic Asylum in September 1869. [4] An extension to the male ward, designed by George Thomas Hine, was completed in 1883 and a corresponding extension to the female ward, also designed by Hine, was completed in 1890. [4] A bath house, also designed by Hine, was added in 1913. [4] The facility became the Leicester City Mental Hospital in the 1920s. [4] Three detached villa properties, built in the 1930s, were made available to the Emergency Medical Service during the Second World War. [4] The facility joined the National Health Service as the Towers Hospital in 1948. [5]

After the introduction of Care in the Community in the early 1980s, the hospital went into a period of decline and closed in April 2013. [4] The administration building, which became known as George Hine House, was converted for use as a Sikh free school in 2014. [6] Several of the other buildings, including the original main block with superintendent's residence above, have been redeveloped for residential use. [4]

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References

  1. Historic England. "Former Towers Hospital (1376811)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 "The Early Years". Leicestershire County Council. 12 August 2013. Archived from the original on 8 September 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  3. 1 2 "The Broadbents". www.reginaldstanley.com. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Towers Hospital". County Asylums. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  5. "Towers Hospital". National Archives. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  6. "George Hine House to become Leicester Sikh free school". BBC. 30 December 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2019.