Urbex: North Wales Hospital (Denbigh Asylum)

Being the first lunatic asylum in Wales, the North Wales Hospital (Denbigh Asylum) was built between 1844 and its opening in 1848. The need for the asylum had been of pressing importance, as with no formal mental facilities in Wales there was a severe lacking in sufficient care for mental patients of welsh origin and more importantly, welsh only speakers.  The location of the site was decided by the donation of some 20 acres by an anonymous benefactor, who later was revealed to be Joseph Ablett, and further donations from royals and others helped to fund the project throughout the building phase.

Initially the hospital could only house 200 patients, though through pressure of over crowding and numerous expansions the final capacity was 1,500 all of whom would be supported by 1,000 staff, many of whom were from the nearby Denbigh itself.

Denbigh has the unfortunate fame of being one of the main hospitals visited by Enoch Powell in 1960 prior to his notorious Water Tower speech the following year, which marked the beginning of the end for the asylum as mental health moved away from lunatic asylums and more towards care in the community.

Due to the size and population of the hospital a 10 year plan was put in place in 1987 for the closure, and various parts of the hospital were closed in stages up until 2002, though the main building was closed in 1995.

The buildings are Grade II listed and were further placed under the protection of the Phoenix Trust by Prince Charles in 2004 to prevent their demolition.  Although there are plans to convert the site into housing, parts of this development have been brought into question after suspicious fires were started in the great ballroom of the asylum in November 2008.

Corridor in Denbigh Asylum

Looking down through a broken window

Scales at the abandoned Denbigh Asylum

The rest of the album can be seen in my gallery by clicking here.

~Shepy