View from SW Digital image of C 17670 CN

Description View from SW Digital image of C 17670 CN

Date 3/11/1993

Catalogue Number SC 785458

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of C 17670 CN

Scope and Content Easterbrook Hall, Crichton Royal Hospital, Glencaple Road, Dumfries, Dumfries & Galloway, from the south-west Easterbrook Hall, a long red sandstone building in plain Art Deco style, was designed in 1934-8 by the hospital's Clerk of Works, James Flett, to provide recreational facilities for the patients and staff. It was constructed on a rectangular plan, with a large two-storeyed central block topped by a small cupola, and single-storeyed lateral wings. The hall, named after Dr Charles Easterbrook, medical superintendent of the hospital from 1908 to 1937, was the last major building to be constructed on the site. It was jointly planned by Easterbrook and James Flett, and was the culmination of Easterbrook's grand plan to increase the hospital's facilities. It provided a whole range of educational and therapeutic facilities for patients, including a canteen, library, squash courts, gymnasium, hall and a small swimming pool. 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.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/785458

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