Detail of SW porch on S front Digital image of E 8558

Description Detail of SW porch on S front Digital image of E 8558

Date 21/4/2001

Catalogue Number SC 785518

Category On-line Digital Images

Scope and Content South-West Porch on South Front, Murthly Hospital, Perth & Kinross (closed 1984 and now demolished) This timber porch, with a slated roof and a door leading out into the gardens, was built into the south-west corner of the south front of the hospital. Designed to provide a sunny south-facing seating area for patients, it is shown here in the process of demolition. The asylum was planned on the philosophy that 'the sun and the air' should 'enter at every window', and that the 'view of the shrubberies and fields' should be 'unobstructed by shutters or bars.' Fresh air and sunlight were regarded as therapeutic for mental ailments, and patients were encouraged to exercise out-of-doors and to work in the gardens. Natural light was regarded as soothing to the troubled mind, and beneficial in effecting a cure. Murthly Hospital, designed by the Dundee firm of architects, Charles Edward & Thomas S Robertson, opened in 1864 as the Perth District Asylum for pauper lunatics. It was the second district asylum to open in Scotland, and in 1894 became one of the first to build villas within its grounds in an early attempt to provide accommodation for patients based on the colony or village system. The hospital closed in 1984 and is now demolished. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/785518

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap