Severalls Hospital
| Severalls Hospital | |
|---|---|
| Severalls Hospital (also known as the Second Essex County Asylum and Severalls Mental Hospital). | |
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| Geography | |
| Location |
Colchester grid reference TL991284, Essex, England, United Kingdom |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | County asylum, then NHS, closed in 1997 |
| Hospital type | Psychiatric |
| Affiliated university | None |
| Services | |
| Emergency department | No Accident & Emergency |
| Beds | Originally 1800 |
| History | |
| Founded | 1913 |
| Closed | 1997 |
| Links | |
| Website | Severalls Mental Hospital -[1] |
| Lists | Hospitals in England |
Severalls Hospital in Colchester, Essex, United Kingdom was a psychiatric hospital built in 1910 to the design of architect Frank Whitmore. It opened in May 1913.
The 300-acre (120 ha) site housed some 2000 patients and was based on the "Echelon plan" - a specific arrangement of wards, offices and services within easy reach of each other by a network of interconnecting corridors. This meant that staff were able to operate around the site without the need to go outside in bad weather. Unlike modern British hospitals, patients in Severalls were separated according to their gender. Villas were constructed around the main hospital building as accommodation blocks between 1910 and 1935. Most of the buildings are in the Queen Anne style, with few architectural embellishments, typical of the Edwardian period. The most ornate buildings are the Administration Building, Larch House and Severalls House (originally the Medical Superintendent's residence).
Psychiatrists were free to experiment with new treatments on patients seemingly at will, using practices now considered unsuitable such as the use of frontal lobotomy. The use of these treatments peaked in the 1950s. In her book Madness in Its Place: Narratives of Severalls Hospital, 1913-1997,Diana Gittins notes that often women were admitted by their own family, sometimes as the result of bearing illegitimate children or because they had been raped. As they would not always (or were unable to) carry out daily tasks, they were considered to be insane and some were even subjected to ECT and lobotomy. A change in management during the 1960s (and likely a change in social acceptance) saw reforms introduced including the creation of art and music therapy programs and the widespread use of drugs and medication.
In August 1942 the hospital was subjected to a bombing by the Luftwaffe. Three 500lb bombs were dropped on the West wing of the hospital and 38 patients were killed, many of which were buried in nearby Colchester Crematorium. Immediately after the bombing a 21-year-old nurse of the hospital, Murial Jackson, attempted to save patients and was able to direct doctors to the injured using just a torch.
The hospital closed as a Psychiatric Hospital in the early 1990s following the closure of other Psychiatric Institutions, as part of the change in approach to Psychiatric "Care in the Community". However, a small section remained open until 20th. of March, 1997 for the treatment of elderly patients suffering from the effects of serious stroke, etc., as a temporary building for nearby Colchester General Hospital which was in the process of building an entire new building for these Patients. "Willow House" (originally Male Acute Ward), which offered Care + Treatment for Patients in a Low-Secure Environment closed in 2013. A few of the other Satellite Buildings remained in use until 2016, when one of the last Buildings directly linked with Mental Health Care ("Birchwood Villa" - NEPFT's H.Q.), closed for good. Only "Chestnut Villa" (originally Children's Villa), which provides Laboratory Services for Colchester General Hospital, Severalls House (originally the Medical Superintendent's residence), and Headway (originally the Fireman's Bungalow) remain open and in use.
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