Whitchurch Hospital

To start the second half of our ‘101 Things’, I thought we could look at one of the most prominent buildings remaining in the village, Whitchurch Hospital

We all know where it is, the splendid water tower is one of the village landmarks, and yet few of us know much about it. Even now, there is something of a stigma in even mentioning the place. Edgar Chappell in his authorative book on the village has just 2 passing mentions in over 240 pages!

The ariel photograph below gives a flavour of the hospital in its early years

It opened in 1908 and is now well over one hundred years old, and even though it’s been neglected and boarded up for years it is still very important to the village and worth knowing more

Built by Cardiff Corporation as a Lunatic Asylum (outside the town boundaries because of the stigma), it was designed with 10 wards to accommodate 750 patients (5 male wards and 5 female) and with a staff of 150

The design with its ‘echelon’ plan form was considered cutting-edge at the time, with each ward have large windows open to the sun and sky. Beds could be taken outside in the summer months

The hospital was huge, with a footprint of 5 acres. It boasted its own theatre, gymnasium and 2 miles of corridors! It even had its own fire station. Opposite was its own chapel (with seating for 900 people) and extensive outdoor sports and bowls facilities

Ty Clyd Farm to the north was part of the site, so that the hospital could be self-sufficient. The whole thing extended to over 115 acres (including the contentious Northern Meadows!)

Around the hospital, the grounds had been landscaped by William Pettigrew, who was the first Chief Parks Officer for Cardiff. Many of his trees remain today

Arranged around the wards were 6 octagonal seating pavilions, and there was even a bandstand. In the early days, the hospital boasted its own orchestra too

The whole thing was designed to have the appearance of a grand stately home. Ironic really as Velindre (the nearest Whitchurch had to a grand house), had been demolished as part of the development

The very first medical superintendent was Edwin Goodhall, and it was he who insisted that the place be called ‘Whitchurch Mental Hospital’ rather than ‘Cardiff Lunatic Asylum’. Edwin remained in post for the first 20 years

Gwawr Falconbridge and the Friends of Whitchurch Hospital have worked tirelessly to better inform us of how the hospital grew and changed over the years. The have an incredible archive and they are to be saluted

Many of the patients at Whitchurch remained for long periods, some for their entire lives, so its surprising to realise that although there was a large chapel on site, there is no graveyard. So where were the patients (often with no families) buried when they died? Does anyone know?

There’s so much more to tell; how Whitchurch received its first public park, what happened during 2 world wars, and what’s happening now. We’ll come back again to try to answer some of this

In the meantime, if you have any history of the hospital you would like to share, please get in touch

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