Harperbury Hospital - July 16

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ReverendJT

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History from Wiki

Harperbury Hospital a mental health and learning disabiity site located in Hertfordshire, England, just southeast of the village of London Colney. Located on Harper Lane, Shenley, Herts WD7 9HQ, it was known as Harperbury Hospital for 61 years and has been a fixture of the area's mental health scene since 1928. It had two sister institutions, Shenley Hospital and Napsbury Hospital, within a few miles of its location.

Part of the site of Kingsley Green was occupied by the London Colney aerodrome in World War I. The Royal Flying Corps used the aerodrome. After the War the Middlesex County Council looked at the old site for use as a mental hospital. In 1924 the county council purchased Porters Park Estate, totalling 420 acres (170 ha). It is unclear through internet sites whether the aerodrome site was part of this purchase or a separate one. The area was to become the site of both Harperbury and Shenley hospitals.

On October 25, 1928, the Hangers Certified Institution was launched. The new mental hospital was named for the three remaining aerodrome hangers on the site. The first patients were eight males who were put to the task of cleaning out the hangers, which were converted into wards for use by more patients. Soon eighty-six male patients lived and worked on the site. In 1929 construction of new buildings for both the Harperbury and Shenley sites began. The new buildings of the Hangers Institution were arranged along three loop roads. The administrative building was at the front, just off Harper Lane.

The first of the new buildings opened in February 1931 and by December 1931 the Institution housed 342 male patients. Various buildings were built to provide for the daily operation of the complex. Dormitory buildings were built for the patients and the De Salis Recreational Hall was built to seat 700 people. A building to house nurses was built west of the administration building. Tennis courts and sports grounds were also built. When the complex was completed in 1936, it accommodated male, female and pediatric patients. It is said at times 700 persons were employed at a time in the construction of the hospital.

Once the new buildings were completed, the Institution was renamed Middlesex Colony in May 1936, when the facility was officially opened by Minister of Health Sir Kingsley Wood. Middlesex Colony was designed to house about 1,355 patients. Although nursing at mental institutions at the time was not highly regarded and the administration was very strict, the Colony always found enough nurses to work with the patients. Hospital staff were recruited from Great Britain and also from continental Europe, especially from Belgium.

Middlesex Colony was intended to be as self-sufficient as possible, with the desire that patients capable of working would work at various tasks. Many of the male patients provided the labour for the farming ventures of the institution. Fruits and vegetables were raised and cattle, pigs and chickens were raised. Milk was even sold to Shenley Hospital. Men also worked in workshops to provide needed goods for the hospital, such as clothes, shoes, brushes and upholstery. They also performed carpentry. Female patients worked in the laundry and kitchens and helped keep the wards clean. Even pediatric patients were given duties. A school was built for the children.

By the early 1970s seeds were planted to integrate patients back into society. Patients took part in day trips to visit the shopping areas at nearby St. Albans (see St Albans). Also, patients were taught skills that would help them cope once they became a part of the outside society. They were encouraged to take better care of their appearance and they were encouraged to participate in sports events at the hospital and to take part in various groups. Musical events were held at Harperbury and severely handicapped deaf patients were taught the Makaton sign language. The wards were redecorated to be more attractive.

In 1973 the scaling down process began. The hospital farm was closed. In 1974 a discharge programme was set up to help patients integrate into the outside communities. Patients began moving out of Harperbury and into the outside world.

The Kennedy-Galton Centre was moved out of Harpersbury and into another institution in 1987. By the 1990s plans were in the works to close the Shenley, Napsbury and Harperbury hospitals. Patients were moved out of all three that decade. However, in 1995 and 1998 Harperbury got a temporary influx of patients coming from two other institutions that were closed. By late 2001 Harperbury had only about 200 patients and Harperbury was officially considered closed

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The four of us (Big Dirk, Pizzblazer, Pringle and I) set off originally intending on visiting a different site which had significantly more security and boarding than we had expected, so undetered we headed for this place instead. I had visited a short time before on the way back from a training course and new I needed to come back more prepared, so here we were.

It was a chilled out affair on a blazing hot day, first we walked around the oldest buildings, finding access to the majority of the buildings we tried, before moving on to the newer buildings nearer the active buildings and security huts. I had already had a wander around and at first glance everything seemed pretty tight but a little perseverance paid off and we got in nearly everywhere. We saw a couple of other groups there (HI!) and security a few times, although it seems it was too hot for the security to come chasing us as we were there for over 3 hours.

Here are some of the pictures, I came away with 50 I was pleased with which is far more than I normally manage so I have cut them down a little. Album available here.

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Thanks for looking.
 

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