Whitchurch Hospital - 3

Last time we looked at Whitchurch Hospital during two world wars. This time we’ll look at what’s happened since

July 1948 was the watershed when the NHS started. In Wales we are so proud of Aneurin Bevan and his burning zeal to provide free healthcare for everyone

I don’t think Whitchurch Hospital changed much over the following years (but I’m sure Gwawr and the Friends of Whitchurch Hospital will have different views!). there was rationing and unemployment and then years of governments with differing views on state healthcare

The Victorian hospital hardly changed, but many poorly-constructed buildings were added all round

At some time, the farm was abandoned; does anyone know when this might have happened?

The hospital continued to provide an important role in metal health, and patients were encouraged to work and undertake recreation. Local artisans were often employed to teach skills, and the hospital sports teams continued

I’m sure many long-term residents of Whitchurch will recall seeing ‘lost souls’ wandering around the village (seemingly, part of their therapy), and I know of many interesting conversations held between these patients over the years

Belatedly, in April 1994, the hospital and ground were listed Grade II by CADW, considered to be the best example in Wales of a large mental hospital

However, poor maintenance continued, and medical attitudes to long-term care were changing with patients moving into the community instead. From the 1980s, the hospital went into a period of further decline, and was finally closed in April 2016. The Friends of Whitchurch Hospital held a celebration and exhibition just before closure

Since then, the local NHS Trusts have not been able to decide what to do with this 19th century legacy

Over the past 10 years, Cardiff & Vale NHS Trust has been seeking to obtain planning permission to redevelop the hospital, and a masterplan entitled ‘Whitchurch Green’ was published. They say it has no planning status, but envisages the old hospital site as a new community for housing, commercial and light industrial uses. Planning permission has already been granted to build houses on various parts of the site and at Ty Clyd

All the time, the old buildings continue to deteriorate, bringing the risk of demolition ever closer. I know that our local councillors, MS and MP are really concerned, and have been pressing for something to happen

The truth is, the vulnerable parts of the site are almost beyond saving already, and unless something happens within the next few years the whole site will be flattened

Don’t we deserve better? What do you think?

I’d like to think that parts of the old hospital could be used for local community use. As well as the old chapel, there’s a magnificent theatre and numerous buildings suitable as studios and workshop spaces. The old hospital could make a wonderful arts facility for the whole of the north of Cardiff and the adjacent valley communities (a ‘Chapter Arts’ for the north!). Other buildings could be adapted for residential use and for work/live spaces for all sorts of artistic uses. All that would be needed is a group of enthusiasts with a passion to save this iconic place. It would take ten years of hard work to design and fundraise for such a project, and it’s not too late. I’m up for it, but we’d need 20-30 similar-minded local folk ready for the fight. What do you think?

The sketch shows the splendid main entrance to the hospital and how it could look as the entrance to a wonderful arts facility. I think it’s too good to lose

As a postscript, in 2021, the Victorian Society added Whitchurch Hospital to its ‘most-at-risk’ register, noting that it had now fallen into such disrepair it is now one of the most endangered buildings in the UK!

 

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