View of towers of main block from W

Description View of towers of main block from W

Date 17/11/1993

Catalogue Number SC 776409

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of C 17840

Scope and Content Twin Towers, Hartwood Hospital, Shotts, North Lanarkshire, from the west (now closed and mainly demolished) These large square towers, with crenellated parapets and corbelled-out angle stair-turrets, rise to the east and west of the rear of the main block of the hospital. The towers, now well established local landmarks, served as water towers, each holding an elevated tank containing 9,000 gallons of water. The east tower (left) has a large clock face, 3m in diameter, on each of its elevations, and the west tower has a similarly sized circular weathervane with bar dials set into each of its four sides. The different function of each tower was not at first fully appreciated by the residents of the nearby town of Shotts who had watched their construction at a distance. One resident complained to an official at the asylum that he failed to understand why the hospital had 'sae mony clocks if they dinna keep the richt time'. He observed that while the clock on the east tower read half-past six, the time on the 'ither (tower) was only three o'clock'. 'Oh' replied the official 'One shows Greenwich time, and the other Shotts time'. This explanation apparently satisfied the resident, and the incident marked Hartwood Hospital's arrival and acceptance into the community. Hartwood Hospital, a large Baronial-style building with imposing twin towers, was designed by the architect, John L Murray of Biggar (d.1909), and occupied one of the largest hospital sites in Scotland. It was built as the District Asylum for Lanark and opened in 1895 with accommodation for 500 lunatic patients. Between 1898 and 1916 additions included two large ward blocks, each linked to the rear of the main building by a covered corridor, a sanatorium for the isolation of patients suffering from tuberculosis, and a new admission hospital. In 1931 a new nurses' home, designed by the architect, James Lochhead (1870-1942), opened to the south of the complex, and in c.1935, a new site was developed at nearby Hartwood Hill in response to the growing need for accommodation for mentally handicapped adults. The hospital is now closed and mainly demolished. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/776409

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