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Stone House Hospital, formerly the City of London Lunatic Asylum was founded in 1962, opened in April 1866 and closed in November 2007 ending 141 years of mental health care on this site.
Stone House was originally constructed between 1862 and 1866 at the behest of the London Commissioners in Lunacy to provide for the pauper lunatics from the London area.
The buildings were designed in a Tudor Revival architecture style by James Bunstone Bunning, and the facility accommodated 220 patients. The asylum grounds, at first were 33 acres and later expanded to 140 acres which included a working farm.
Additions to the original buildings were made in 1874, 1878, and 1885, including an expanded female wing and a separate hospital building for patients with infectious diseases.
After 1892, the asylum was able to take "private" patients. The influx of private patients resulted in a budget surplus, and enabled expansion and improvements of the asylum's facilities. In 1924 the facility was renamed the City of London Mental Hospital.
In 1948 it was taken over by the new National Health Service and became known as Stone House Hospital. A 1998 assessment by Thames Healthcare suggested that the hospital was not suited for modern healthcare and plans for the hospital's closure were initiated in 2003 by West Kent NHS.
Stone House was originally constructed between 1862 and 1866 at the behest of the London Commissioners in Lunacy to provide for the pauper lunatics from the London area.
The buildings were designed in a Tudor Revival architecture style by James Bunstone Bunning, and the facility accommodated 220 patients. The asylum grounds, at first were 33 acres and later expanded to 140 acres which included a working farm.
Additions to the original buildings were made in 1874, 1878, and 1885, including an expanded female wing and a separate hospital building for patients with infectious diseases.
After 1892, the asylum was able to take "private" patients. The influx of private patients resulted in a budget surplus, and enabled expansion and improvements of the asylum's facilities. In 1924 the facility was renamed the City of London Mental Hospital.
In 1948 it was taken over by the new National Health Service and became known as Stone House Hospital. A 1998 assessment by Thames Healthcare suggested that the hospital was not suited for modern healthcare and plans for the hospital's closure were initiated in 2003 by West Kent NHS.