Inverness, Leachkin Road, Northern Counties District Lunatic Asylum Interior -view of ward Digital image of E 3043

Description Inverness, Leachkin Road, Northern Counties District Lunatic Asylum Interior -view of ward Digital image of E 3043

Date 12/6/2000

Catalogue Number SC 776626

Category On-line Digital Images

Scope and Content Ward, Craig Dunain Hospital, Leachkin Road, Inverness, Highland (now closed) This ward, built in 1898-1901, was one of two wards, one for males and the other for females, which were constructed to the designs of the architects, Ross & Macbeth, as additions to each end of the main asylum building. It is rather austere with wood panelling to above bed-height, and large, 12-paned sash windows which flood the room with natural light. It was designed to accommodate a row of beds on either side of the room. The hospital was originally designed to accommodate patients, mainly pauper lunatics, in single rooms. However, by 1892 the number of patients had increased to such an extent that it was necessary to convert other accommodation into dormitories. Between 1898 and 1901 a new male and a new female ward were added, both designed on the principle of allowing 'the sun and air to enter at every window' and where the views were 'unobstructed by shutters or bars'. However, one complaint about the new wards seems to have been about the cold. Until 1902 when a central heating system was installed, the heating was provided by coal fires in the main building, and a system of hot air driven through ventilators into the wards. Despite this, at the beginning of the 20th century, the temperature in the wards was recorded as 32°F (0°C), the freezing point of water. Craig Dunain Hospital, designed by the Aberdeen architect, James Matthews (1808-98), opened in 1864 as the Northern Counties District Lunatic Asylum with accommodation for 250-300 patients in single rooms. It was the third District Asylum to be built in Scotland, and occupies a splendid hillside site above Inverness. Additions were made in 1898-1901 to include male and female wards, and further expansion in the 1920s saw the construction of a recreation hall. The last major building scheme before the hospital closed in 2000 included the construction of a new chapel which was completed in 1963. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/776626

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap