Guest Post about Hartwood Hospital in Lanarkshire, Scotland by SirHiss
I wasn’t aware that the exhilarating and mysterious pursuit that is ‘urbex’ even existed until the turn of this year. My closest friend suggested that I accompany her to an abandoned psychiatric asylum called Hartwood Hospital in the Lanarkshire area of Scotland to explore and take photographs. I duly accepted her offer and now I am smitten by the whole urbex scene.
Hartwood Hospital is an abandoned 19th century psychiatric hospital in the village of Hartwood, North Lanarkshire in Scotland. Originally known as Lanark District Asylum, Hartwood Hospital was opened to patients in 1895 and was completely self sustaining; it had its own farm, gardens, cemetery, railway line, staff accommodation, power plant and reservoir.
Dr Archibald Campbell Clark, the hospital’s original medical superintendent, aimed to “cure where possible and give the best possible care when a cure cannot be found.” So dedicated to his work, his body was interred in the hospital cemetery in 1901. More controversial therapies carried out included seclusion, electroconvulsive therapy, and it was the first place in Scotland to perform the lobotomy; a surgical procedure which left patients in a lifeless, vegetative state. By the 1950s, Hartwood was the largest asylum in Europe and one of the most overcrowded in the UK, with over 2,500 patients. Hartwood Hospital began closure in 1995 as a result of the Community Care Act 1990, which resulted in the closure of many Victorian institutions as a more community-focused treatment for mental health care was introduced.
On my first visit to Hartwood I was struck by the imposing nature of the clock towers rising above the remainder of the building.
The approach to Hartwood Hospital.
Nearing the building there are reminders dotted about of the nature of the business of this once grand structure.
An item of clothing on the ground on the approach to Hartwood Hospital.
Looking along a corridor.
One of the clock towers as seen from inside.
A bed perhaps?
Quite a creepy shot but the best photos had to be from the morgue.
The door has come off in the morgue.
This was used to store bodies in the morgue.
Another view of the storage facilities in the morgue.
A wheelchair left abandoned outside the hospital.
As much as these items were fascinating we knew the most prized photographs would have to come from inside the building…..but we would first have to get past the 10 foot high metal fence. This would be a challenge but one we were not to be outdone by! So after a substantial period of time negotiating the fence, getting cut, soaked and covered in mud we were in the grounds and ready to explore! I think I’ll let the photos do the talking from here.
Disclaimer: Although it is a great place to explore and photograph, Hartwood Hospital is in quite a state of dereliction. There was a fire, set deliberately, a few years ago and this has added to the danger of walking about an already crumbling building. A protective mask is also advised.
Abandoned: 1995
My Papa was there circa 1997, named Robert Mcstay. He says “Shit hole of a place, if your weren’t insane going in you were when you going out, but the food was good.” As his grandchild I say this man should have never been let out and should have received a lobotomy.
my Dad Dr MacGregor was the GP for Hartwood in the 1940s/50s -we lived in Shotts 197 station road-I worked there for a few weeks during univ holidays (Greenshields was the boss there)quite an experience-overall the nurses were fine but a few bad ones-witnessed a lobotomy-not pleasant-patients were fine (heavily drugged) and in general accepted their surroundings and circumstances-did feel sorry for them but what was the alternative in those days-pictures do not give the whole story
My gran was a matron at Hartwood in 50s and 60s. My granda was a nurse. Margaret and James Learmonth. My mum (Anne) later worked there as a nurse. She had a few scary stories of growing up there and working there!
My Grandparents, Johnny and Margaret Brown worked there re that time. In fact, I was born in Lanark as my parents were visiting Hartwood.
Heading there this week, can anyone recommend any particular but that we could gain access to the building at please? Thank you
I was there yesterday and it really is like going back in time
Is hartwoodhill hospital a different hospital to hartwood and if so how far is hartwoodhill hospital from hartwood hospital?
Could not see any cemetery is that maybe down near the nursing station?
Dont know about the cemetry but there was a morgue and a area to put the bodies before burial which was the mortuary next to the hartwood hospital building as for HARTWOODHILL it was closer to me i lived up the hill from that hospital it is flattened to the ground but there were some weird stories i have heard from that place from patients who i have spoken to who were in hartwoodhill once upon a time seeing spiders and rats is just the start of what they were seeing by gosh i will let u suss the rest some of it very harsh and hard going for the patients but thats what happens when u drink alcohol and abuse drugs
Hartwood Hill came under the wider jurisdiction of Hartwood Hospital itself. It was part of the same administration. Its wards were newer and certainly not Victorian in appearance, and the admission wards for acute patients were there. To get there, you had to turn left from the main entrance to the hospital and walk for just under a mile, and it was up there on the right. Hartwood Hill closed down much later than Hartwood main hospital.
I think the cemetary was close to the dairy farm, not near the nurses home. The building that housed the nurses home also accommodated the nursing school.
My great grandmother was a patient there – on her death certificate it states she had delerious mania for 17 days. She received electric shock treatment and from this she died of a cardiac arrest. She was 35 years old. This was in 1924. Very grim.
My great grandmother, Mary (Russell) McEwan was also there and her death certificate says she died there in 1935. It looks like a very grim place.
My grandparents were nurses there.
I have a great Uncle buried in the cemetery there. His name was Daniel McMullan, It must of been a visitation because there was a group working to bring dignity to the ransacked burial ground and I was just in time to donate the amount to go over their target in a go-fund-me. It is a mysterious place this world
I worked there when I was a student psychiatrist nurse and was appalled at the treatment of the patients. I am glad that it has gone.
I worked and trained there and the patients were treated well and with respect.
hi janis, im doing a bit of research of this hospital and would love to hear from you, my research is about how mental health patients where treated by then and how things have changed, if you coudl email me that would be great to ask you some questions on it to add in
thanks
[email protected]
WELL I KNEW SOMEONE WHO WAS IN HARTWOOD HOSPITAL WITH THE NAME OF BILLY MCALLUM HAD A KILT RUCK SACK VERY MUCH INTO WALKING AND WAVING TO CARS PASSING BY WELL HE WAS FROM SHOTTS VERY DECENT BUT QUIET GENTLEMEN USE TO BEABLE TO DO VERY NICE ART WORK OF THE TWIN TOWERS AND EVERY AREA IN HARTWOOD HOSPITAL HE ALSO SHOWN HE A WORK OF ART OF THE TV MAST OVER IN SALSBURGH AREA HE WAS A VERY GOOD ARTIST AND VERY FIT WALKER SMOKING I SUPPOSE DIDNT HELP THE MATTER BUT NO HE WAS MAYBE THIN BUT WAS AS FIT AS A FIDDLE DIDNT KNOW MUCH ABOUT HIS YOUNG DAYS WHETHER HE WAS A BIG DRINKER WASNT SURE IF HE WAS YOU HEAR STORIES BUT YOU DONT KNOW WHICH ONE WAS CORRECT OR IF ANY BUT I KNEW HE WOULD HAVE A WHISKY NOW N AGAIN ONCE IN A BLUE MOON BUT YEAH I KNEW PEOPLE WHO WORKED IN THE LAUNDRY A MARGRET STORRIE AND A MARGRET FRIEL AND I ALSO KNOW JOHN AND MICHEAL AKA MICKY KELLY FAE SHOTTS THEY WERE NURSES AND I ALSO KNEW GILLIAN K MULVEY A NURSE AS WELL N SOME OF THE MCSEVENEYS AND MCAULEYS WORKED THERE TOO THEY TOO WERE ALL FROM SHOTTS WHICH IS WHERE I WAS BORN AND BREAD BUT YEA I KNEW SOME OF THE NURSES AND PATIENTS IN THIS PLACE
.yes after 50 years the awful memories witnessed to patients still remain vivid I was a student nurse.
I’m from Colchester and we had a similar establishment there called Severalls Hospital. It was another of these vast, Victorian-style asylums (although built in 1913) and I spent a year working there in linen services in the 1980s. It finally closed in 1997 and was allowed to go to rack and ruin, spawning lots of photographs similar to yours of Hartwood (YouTube has numerous videos for anyone interested). Now all that’s left is the water tower, which has a preservation order on so can’t be knocked down. The rest is under a giant residential development called Maplehurst Road which I don’t reckon will ever have anything like the history of Severalls.
Thanks for that. Will look into it. Sounds fascinating.
My cousin Eleanor worked in Severalls for many years as admin.
Hello, I was at hartwood today and I was just wondering how exactly you got in and into the building as well as everything I saw on the building seemed to be sealed up all the bottom windows etc. Could you tell me how you guys went in ?
the easiest way in is from the railway station.go over the railway bridge.and turn right.lots of tracks about.but the FOUR CLOCKS can easily be seen for miles…oh the cemetery is at the home farm road entrance…
What is the railway station called we have been b4 and could walk in but now gates are locked