Hi all,
SEE PHOTOS PAGE FOR NEW STUFF!I spent an interesting Saturday photographing what I could of two
hospitals on Shooters Hill, SE London.
The Brook Hospital opened in 1896 as a fever hospital to deal with
the outbreaks of typhoid an other such diseases at the turn of the
century. This hospital closed in 1995 and is now-Like so many other
victorian hospitals is being turned in to luxury flats.
I arrived in the early after noon after a half hour walk from
Kidbrooke and the helpful directions from a Royston Vasey-esqu local.
There was very little remaining as you will see from my photos. Of the twenty odd wards in
several bulidings little was left apart from two small houses and a
huge tower. The old entrance and the other house were gutted and looked like they
may remain serving some capacity on the site. I don't know whether
the water tower will remain or whether it will be demolished also.
This building was surrounded by the modern crap dwellings made by
Persimmion homes.
There were another set of hospital buildings further along the road
but these were grey stone in contrast to the red brick of the water
tower. I don't know if they used to be wards or were nurses
accomodation. (Look to your right)They were also now luxury flats.
I carried on up Shooters Hill past Eltam Common to what I thought was
the abandoned Memorial Hospital. I was partially right. What from the
outside, looked abandoned, on closer insection was revealed to be run
on a day care/outpatients capacity.
Built in 1889 but expanded after WW1 in Memory of the war dead it was
built as a replacment for Woolich and Plumstead cottage hospital. See
http://www.ghtpath.dircon.co.uk/news&views/history/memorial/index.htm
The huge hospital is only partly used now to deal with psychatric
patients. I wandered around a bit and chatted to a woman who works at the onsite nursery selling plants grown by the patients.
Feeling a bit peeved at not actually being able to get in side and
have a look around I consulted my map and headed for what was marked
as Severndroog Castle in the common a little way from the hospital.
It tuned out to be a 5 storey tower which is closed up with steel
doors and not open to the public. The views from the top would be
among the best in London and although secluded- Gainning access would require a heavy handed approach and we don't condone that.
Offkilter
