View from E Digital image of C 17681

Description View from E Digital image of C 17681

Date 3/11/1993

Catalogue Number SC 785469

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of C 17681

Scope and Content Carmont House, Crichton Royal Hospital, Glencaple Road, Dumfries, Dumfries & Galloway, from the east Carmont House, designed by the architectural firm, Sydney Mitchell & Wilson, was built in 1900-4 in the grounds of the hospital as a detached villa-type hospital block for male pauper patients. This tall, red sandstone east elevation is asymmetrical, with a swept roof and overhanging eaves. It has an impressive doorcase with sidelights and a parapet, and two-storeyed canted windows alongside. In the late 1890s the medical superintendent of the hospital, Dr James Rutherford, was responsible for developing a significant change in the way patients were housed. He had been impressed by reports of a continental system of asylum planning in which different categories of patients were grouped in different buildings. Rutherford, accompanied by the architect, Sydney Mitchell, set off on a study tour of Germany in 1897, to inspect for themselves how this 'colony' or 'villa' system operated. Both were impressed by the system which they saw in operation, and on their return to Scotland, Rutherford decided to introduce the continental 'colony' system at the Crichton Royal. Plans were drawn up by Mitchell for new detached blocks or villas, each designed for a specific group of pauper patient, which were built around the church in the form of a village community on the asylum site. Carmont House was the first villa-type hospital block to be built for male pauper patients. 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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File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap