Original post: Abandoned Hospital Hartwood - Sepetember 2011
After going to another location which wasn’t as successful we decided to visit the abandoned hospital in Hartwood. The remains of Hartwood Hospital, an 19th century psychiatric hospital with imposing twin clock towers, are the main feature of the village, even after its closure under the direction of the Lanarkshire Health Board in 1998. Like many other Victorian institutions in the area such as Gartloch Hospital, Stonyetts, Lennox Castle and Kirklands, the inception of the Community Care Act (1990) gave rise to a more community-based focus for long-term mental health care, and the consequent closure of long-term psychiatric hospitals.
The original hospital was overseen by Dr Archibald Campbell Clark, the medical superintendent, and was involved with the inception of modern psychiatric therapies such as occupational therapy, ECT and industrial involvement. In the hospital style of the time, Hartwood was entirely self-sustaining, with its own farm, gardens, reservoir, graveyard, staff houses, etc.
Walking around the grounds was very eerie and the weather was almost perfect for visiting an abandoned place. It was also the first time I had been out with my new camera, the Canon 600d which is a really great camera and I think have added to the overall quality of the videos.
Item by Abandoned Scotland - www.abandonedscotland.com -
Original post: Abandoned Hospital Hartwood - Sepetember 2011
Photos on flickr: Hartwood Hospital
Hi,
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say how touching yet sad this video is. I grew up in hartwood village, both my parents worked in that hospital. I used to attend chapel and visit the wards all the time. i remember the garden fetes every summer, firework displays every November and just the buzz and bustle of the place. It was more like a small town than a hospital. i left hartwood in 2003, 5yrs after it closed and it is so sad to see that that it is left in such a state. So much more could have been done with these magnificent grounds
Thanks to your account of the direct experience!
ReplyDeleteI visited a relation in hartwood hospital in the 80s. As a child I loved the outside of it. inside some patients played with me.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
ReplyDelete