Saxondale Hospital was a psychiatric hospital near Radcliffe-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire, built to replace the Sneinton Asylum in Nottingham.
| Saxondale Hospital | |
|---|---|
 Saxondale Hospital | |
  Shown in Nottinghamshire | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Upper Saxondale near Radcliffe-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, England, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 52°56′44″N 1°00′08″W / 52.9455°N 1.0021°W |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | Public NHS |
| Type | Mental health |
| History | |
| Opened | 1902 |
| Closed | 1987 |
| Links | |
| Lists | Hospitals in England |
History
edit
The foundation stone was laid on 25 July 1899 by Lady Belper, wife of the chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council.[1] The new building – designed by architect Edgar Purnell Hooley, better known as the inventor of Tarmac – was two stories high, cost £147,000 and had accommodation for 452 patients (226 of each sex). The 130 acres (0.53 km2) surrounding the hospital cost £6800. It was officially opened as the Radcliffe Asylum by Lady Elinor Denison on 24 July 1902.[2] In 1913 extensions were made for 148 patients, which cost £29,833. It was used as a military hospital in the later stages of the First World War, from August 1918 to October 1919, to care for shell shocked soldiers.[3]
The hospital underwent a strike and occupation in April 1922, when the staff members of the National Asylum Workers' Union were resisting a reduction in wages.[4][5] In 1932, two further blocks were erected, each to accommodate 50 female patients. It became known as Saxondale Hospital in 1947 and joined the National Health Service in 1948.[1] Further villas were built in the grounds in the 1950s and 1960s.[6][7]
A woman alleged that Jimmy Savile lifted her skirt when she was at a disco at the hospital and then aged 14. She was a local resident rather than a patient. Savile had a fundraising association with Saxondale Hospital from 1972 to the early 1980s.[8] The official report on the incident stated, "There was no reason to doubt that she gave an honest and truthful account of the incident as she recalled it."[9]
Closure
editThe hospital closed in 1987 and was partly demolished before the site was redeveloped. It is now a housing area known as Upper Saxondale.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b "Nottingham Hospital History". Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- ^ "Saxondale Hospital". National Archives. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- ^ "Military hospitals". Retrieved 10 August 2007.
- ^ Collins, Rosemary (2023). "1922 Nurses Strike at Nottinghamshire County Mental Hospital". The Bulletin of the UK Association for the History of Nursing. 11: 1.
- ^ "Earnest Tom Franklin (1886–1953)". Radcliffe on Trent. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- ^ a b "Index of English and Welsh Lunatic Asylums and Mental Hospitals". Middlesex University. Archived from the original on 18 July 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2007.
- ^ "Saxondale Hospital". County Asylums. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- ^ "Jimmy Savile and the NHS". BBC. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
- ^ "Jimmy Savile's hospital abuse: the full dossier". The Guardian. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2017.