Interior -entrance lobby -detail of floor mosaic Digital image of C 17659 CN

Description Interior -entrance lobby -detail of floor mosaic Digital image of C 17659 CN

Date 3/11/1993

Catalogue Number SC 785452

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of C 17659 CN

Scope and Content Detail of Floor Mosaic in Main Entrance Lobby, Easterbrook Hall, Crichton Royal Hospital, Glencaple Road, Dumfries, Dumfries & Galloway This splendid floor mosaic in the main entrance lobby of Easterbrook Hall bears the coat-of-arms of the hospital and the motto 'God send grace'. At the top is a green winged dragon, spouting fire, and below, a shield bearing a blue lion rampant and three fetterlocks, heraldic representations of D-shaped fetters or shackles which were used to tether a horse by the leg. The coat-of-arms of the hospital was obtained in 1933 by a grant from the Lord Lyon King of Arms, and was based on the coat-of-arms of Dr James Crichton of Friars' Carse which was used by the institution from 1840 to 1933. Dr Crichton, who amassed a huge fortune in service with the East India Company, left £100,000 to his wife and trustees to be spent on 'charitable purposes'. Mrs Crichton's first wish was to found a university at Dumfries, but the money proved to be insufficient. In 1833 she decided that the funds would be more beneficially employed in establishing an institution for the mentally ill, illustrating an immense shift in attitudes at the time towards the plight of the insane in Scotland. The foundation stone of the asylum was laid in 1835, and the first patient admitted in June 1839. Crichton Royal Hospital, a large complex set around a church within immaculately maintained gardens, was for many years Scotland's premier mental hospital, housing patients from all over the country whose families could afford the substantial fees for private accommodation. It opened in 1839 as the Crichton Royal Asylum for Lunatics with a single large building, Crichton Hall, designed by the architect, William Burn (1789-1870), that was intended to stand alone. Major expansion in the late 19th and early 20th centuries included the building of Crichton Memorial Church in celebration of the institution's 50th anniversary, and a number of large villas within the grounds, each designed for a specific category of pauper patient. In 1938 Easterbrook Hall was built to provide recreational facilities, including a swimming pool and gymnasium. The late 20th century brought about a move towards provision of psychiatric care in the community and a lessening of the hospital's residential function, resulting in closure of some of the buildings. Much of the original site is now a campus for the Universities of Glasgow and Paisley. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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