Kingsley Green

Kingsley Green is a mental health and learning disability site located in Hertfordshire, England, just southeast of the village of London Colney. Located on Harper Lane, Shenley, Herts WD7 9HQ, it was known as Harperbury Hospital for 61 years and has been a fixture of the area's mental health scene since 1928. It had two sister institutions, Shenley Hospital and Napsbury Hospital, within a few miles of its location.

Part of the site of Kingsley Green was occupied by the London Colney aerodrome in World War I. The Royal Flying Corps used the aerodrome. After the War the Middlesex County Council looked at the old site for use as a mental hospital. In 1924 the county council purchased Porters Park Estate, totalling 420 acres (170 ha). It is unclear through internet sites whether the aerodrome site was part of this purchase or a separate one. The area was to become the site of both Harperbury and Shenley hospitals.

On October 25, 1928, the Hangers Certified Institution was launched. The new mental hospital was named for the three remaining aerodrome hangers on the site. The first patients were eight males who were put to the task of cleaning out the hangers, which were converted into wards for use by more patients. Soon eighty-six male patients lived and worked on the site. In 1929 construction of new buildings for both the Harperbury and Shenley sites began. The new buildings of the Hangers Institution were arranged along three loop roads. The administrative building was at the front, just off Harper Lane.

The first of the new buildings opened in February 1931 and by December 1931 the Institution housed 342 male patients. Various buildings were built to provide for the daily operation of the complex. Dormitory buildings were built for the patients and the De Salis Recreational Hall was built to seat 700 people. A building to house nurses was built west of the administration building. Tennis courts and sports grounds were also built. When the complex was completed in 1936, it accommodated male, female and pediatric patients. It is said at times 700 persons were employed at a time in the construction of the hospital.

Once the new buildings were completed, the Institution was renamed Middlesex Colony in May 1936, when the facility was officially opened by Minister of Health Sir Kingsley Wood. Middlesex Colony was designed to house about 1,355 patients. Although nursing at mental institutions at the time was not highly regarded and the administration was very strict, the Colony always found enough nurses to work with the patients. Hospital staff were recruited from Great Britain and also from continental Europe, especially from Belgium.

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