Holloway Sanatorium - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Holloway Sanatorium was an institution for the treatment of the insane, located on 22 acres (89,030.9 m²) of parkland near the town of Virginia Water

Virginia Water

Virginia Water is an affluent village, a lake and, originally, a stream, the village being in the Runnymede Borough Council in Surrey and the bodies of water stretching over the borders of Runnymede, Old Windsor and Sunninghill and Ascot, England....

, Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

, within the boundary of the Greater London Urban Area

Greater London Urban Area

The Greater London Urban Area is the conurbation or continuous urban area based around London, England, as defined by the Office for National Statistics. It had an estimated population of 8,505,000 in 2005 and occupied an area of at the time of the 2001 census. It includes most of Greater London,...

, about 22 miles (35.4 km) south-west of Charing Cross

Charing Cross

Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...

.

It was conceived by the wealthy philanthropist Thomas Holloway

Thomas Holloway

Thomas Holloway was a patent medicine vendor and philanthropist from England.-Early life:Holloway was born in Devonport, a district of Plymouth in the county of Devon, the eldest son of Thomas and Mary Holloway , who at the time of their son's birth had a bakery business. They later moved to...

, designed in an elaborate Franco-Gothic style by W. H. Crossland

William Henry Crossland

William Henry Crossland was a nineteenth century architect and a pupil of George Gilbert Scott.-Principal works:Crossland's three most important commissions were:...

, and built between 1873 and 1885. It is a stunning building, particularly when seen from the M25 with its sister building, the Royal Holloway College; Sir Nikolaus Pevsner regarded these two buildings as the "summit of High Victorian design". In 1948 it was transferred to the National Health Service

National Health Service

The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...

. In the year 2000, after a period in which it had been neglected, it became a gated housing development with many of the original features preserved under the direction of English Heritage

English Heritage

English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

Brief history

The site of Holloway Sanatorium is the present 'Virginia Park' development in Virginia Water, on the west side of Stroude Road and to the north of the railway station. It was one of two important symbols of the vision of the Victorian multi-millionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist, Thomas Holloway

Thomas Holloway

(1800–1883): the other being the nearby Royal Holloway College in Egham

Egham

Egham is a wealthy suburb in the Runnymede borough of Surrey, in the south-east of England. It is part of the London commuter belt and Greater London Urban Area, and about south-west of central London on the River Thames and near junction 13 of the M25 motorway.-Demographics:Egham town has a...

, Surrey

Surrey

(now Royal Holloway, University of London) which was opened two years later. Like the College, the Sanatorium was an extraordinary and extensive building, founded and personally funded by Holloway as a 'Gift to the Nation', and it was the fruit of the partnership between Holloway and his principal architect William Henry Crossland

William Henry Crossland

William Henry Crossland was a nineteenth century architect and a pupil of George Gilbert Scott.-Principal works:Crossland's three most important commissions were:...

(1835–1908). The architecture was inspired by the gothic styles of the Cloth Hall

Cloth Hall, Ypres

The Cloth Hall , of Ypres, Belgium, was one of the largest commercial buildings of the Middle Ages, when it served as the main market and warehouse for the Flemish city's prosperous cloth industry. The original structure, erected mainly in the 13th century and completed 1304, lay in ruins after...

of Ypres

Ypres

Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...

in Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

with its conspicuous tower, and the Sainte-Chapelle

Sainte-Chapelle

La Sainte-Chapelle is the only surviving building of the Capetian royal palace on the Île de la Cité in the heart of Paris, France. It was commissioned by King Louis IX of France to house his collection of Passion Relics, including the Crown of Thorns - one of the most important relics in medieval...

in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

.

Work started on the building of the Sanatorium in 1873. The institution, 'a hospital for the insane of the middle class', was opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra) in 1885. There were 73 certified patients admitted in the first year, and the number increased steadily so that in 1892 it already exceeded its capacity for 600 patients. A board of trustees managed the Sanatorium until it passed to the National Health Service

National Health Service

in 1948. After becoming redundant to the NHS in 1981, it became derelict, vandalised and pillaged for the next 12 years. In 1994 the Sanatorium was re-developed, and to a great extent restored, to become in the year 2000 a gated residential estate.

Thomas Holloway’s philanthropy

Thomas Holloway

was a Victorian

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

entrepreneur who made a fortune from the sale of his patent medicines, pills and ointments, designed to cure all ills. Where Holloway differed from other 'quack medicine' vendors was that he was one of the earliest entrepreneurs to appreciate the value of advertising: he spent huge amounts of money promoting his cures throughout the world and, as a result, reaped huge rewards.

Looking for ways in which to spend his fortune, Holloway turned to philanthropy, and became a champion of progressive mental health care. George III's madness had excited public opinion about the correct and humane treatment for the insane. Therefore on 19 April 1861 Holloway attended a public meeting at the London Freemasons’ Hall in which Lord Shaftesbury, sincerely concerned with mental health, made a magnificent speech, crusading for funds for the foundation of an asylum for the middle-class insane. Lord Shaftesbury appealed for £5,000 and received immediately contributions totalling £760, though none from Holloway. But Holloway was impressed, and Shaftesbury must have been surprised to receive a letter from Holloway’s solicitor three years later announcing “a gentleman who is possessed of nearly a quarter of a million” and wished to see him with a view to disposing of that sum “for charitable uses”. The outcome was meeting between Holloway and Shaftesbury on 25 May 1864, when he resolved to spend out some of his fortune on the establishment of a Sanatorium for the mentally sick of the middle classes “the professional breadwinner whose income ceases when he is unable to work”. While pauper asylums gave refuge for the insane of the poorer classes, and care at private establishments could be bought by the rich, the middle classes neither deserved the former nor could afford the latter. Charity for the poor demeaned its recipients: as far as possible people should be assisted to help themselves. The proposed asylum was not intended for the permanently insane, but as a refuge in which the temporarily deranged should be assisted to resume their working lives. At that meeting Holloway told Shaftesbury that he intended to spend his fortune on a single building and in a single benefaction.

Holloway initiates the design

It was not until 1872 that Holloway had a meeting with the Commissioners in Lunacy, who entered warmly into his plans and promised every assistance to produce a model building. Whilst he seemed to have had some quite fixed feelings about architectural style he was no expert, and he was assisted by Professor Donaldson and T. H. Wyatt (who were architects for the Commissioners in Lunacy). Thomas Leverton Donaldson (1795–1885) was one of the foremost members of the architectural profession, the first Professor of Architecture at University College London

University College London

University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...

, co-founder of the R.I.B.A., and its President in 1863-4. Thomas Henry Wyatt

Thomas Henry Wyatt

Thomas Henry Wyatt was an Irish British architect. He had a prolific and distinguished career, being elected President of the Royal Institute of British Architects 1870-73 and awarded their Royal Gold Medal for Architecture in 1873...

(1807–1880) was another distinguished architect, who had been President of the R.I.B.A. in 1870. Both Donaldson and Wyatt received some recompense for their services, the former 100 guineas and the latter 25 guineas. Holloway had a third advisor, George Godwin

George Godwin

George Godwin FRS was an influential architect, journalist, and editor of The Builder magazine.He was one of nine children of the architect George Godwin senior and trained at his father's architectural practice in Kensington where he set up in business with his brother Henry Godwin .Encouraged...

, the editor of The Builder.
Holloway's initial idea was that the design of the building should be purely Italian, modelled on the river frontage of Somerset House

Somerset House

Somerset House is a large building situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, England, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The central block of the Neoclassical building, the outstanding project of the architect Sir William Chambers, dates from 1776–96. It...

. However, by October 1871 he had had a change of heart and wrote to Donaldson: “You will see that I have gone into the grand old Flemish style. I know that your taste is classical and which I greatly admire, but perhaps all things considered the Gothic would be most appropriate, as we can get red brick in the neighbourhood and a large building in the Italian style ought, I believe, to have stone facings”.

Competition for the plan

The Commissioners suggested that the best results would be obtained by submitting the plans to a competition of a limited number of architects. In September 1871 Holloway held the competition with the result that ten architects submitted eleven plans for the asylum. The architects who responded to the invitation to submit designs for the asylum were Crossland, Salomons & Jones; Alfred Smith; T. Roger Smith; Richard Phene Spiers; J. P. Seddon

John Pollard Seddon

John Pollard Seddon was an English architect.He was a pupil of Thomas Leverton Donaldson and C.F.A. Voysey trained under him....

; J. S. Quilter; T. H. Watson; E. W. Godwin (two designs); F. & H. Francis and Thomas C. Hine. The winning entry, with a first premium award of £200, was by Crossland, Salomons and Jones. Alfred Smith was awarded the second premium of £100 and all the others received £50 for their trouble, except Hine, a Nottingham architect, who received only £25: possibly he had not actually been invited to submit a plan. The moneys were paid out in July 1872, and in August 1872 the plans were placed on exhibition in the Regent Street gallery of E. Freeman.

Architect: William Henry Crossland

William Henry Crossland

William Henry Crossland was a nineteenth century architect and a pupil of George Gilbert Scott.-Principal works:Crossland's three most important commissions were:...

later recalled that he had not wished to go into the competition on his own and had sought the assistance of the distinguished Irish architect John Philpot Jones. Edward Salomons (1827–1906) practised in Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

where he and Jones had designed the Reform Club in 1870. It is possible that the two had met in Rochdale in 1866 when Crossland was engaged on the Town Hall and Salomons on the town's theatre. Crossland planned it to look like the Cloth Hall

Cloth Hall, Ypres

at Ypres

Ypres

(having tried this design the previous year in the building of Rochdale Town Hall

Rochdale Town Hall

Rochdale Town Hall is a Victorian-era municipal building in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. It is "widely recognised as being one of the finest municipal buildings in the country", and is rated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building...

) and the Great Hall was designed in the style of the gothic La Sainte-Chapelle

Sainte-Chapelle

in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. Jones, who had most of the work on the asylum design, died soon after the foundation stone was laid and Crossland records that most of the work then fell to him, Salomons being in Manchester. Crossland received commission of £7,620 – without travelling expenses for himself or his staff.

Site: Virginia Water

In Victorian times many hospitals were built on spacious grounds in urban as well as rural locations, not only because more land was available, but also because space had therapeutic and practical value: "An asylum should be placed on elevated ground and should command cheerful prospects, should be surrounded with land sufficient to afford outdoor employment for males, and exercise for all patients, and to protect them from being overlooked or disturbed by strangers." This was the view of the Commissioners in Lunacy, quoted by an architecture researcher from York University, Robert Mayo, in a report for the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

A site was chosen, north of the town of Virginia Water

Virginia Water

, high on St. Ann’s Heath, part of his own land. Holloway wanted the Sanatorium to be visible from a railway: it certainly was, between Stoude Road and the straight northbound track from Virginia Water railway station. Work on the building began in the Spring of 1873, when a clerk of works was appointed. Holloway’s wife, Jane, laid the first brick. Crossland received his first commission payment of £300 on 2 March 1874. Once started, Holloway was determined that building should go forward apace. When his plan for the use of Portland stone in place of ornamental brickwork was not allowed to stand, Crossland had to set aside all his carefully planned working and detail drawings and hurriedly draw up alternatives as they were required by the masons.

Building the Sanatorium

The first clerk of works was J. P. Featherstone who had been a tenant farmer under Holloway: he was appointed in April 1873 and resigned on 24 December 1876. Among the contractors were: Sharpington & Cole, London (Masons); W. H. Lascelles, Finsbury (Joiner); George Burfoot, Windsor (Paving); Pontifex & Wood, London (Lead); Wilson W. Phipson (Heating); J. Gibson, Battersea (Landscaping); J. D. Richards, London (Furnishings). Ancillary works included the gas works at a cost of £1,950, six cottages and a workshop, and the sewage works which were constructed by John Thompson of Peterborough at a cost of £1,500.

There was a very large workforce on the site. The building accounts include costs of advertising for masons, not only locally in Surrey and Berkshire, but from as far as Birmingham and Manchester. Holloway worked supervising the project closely until prevented by illness: unfortunately he died on Boxing Day

Boxing Day

Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...

1883, eighteen months before the Sanatorium was opened.
By the time the institution was ready to admit patients, new regulations had come into force, and Crossland had to revise the internal arrangements to comply with the new safety regulations. Interior decoration was lavish: the great recreation hall with its magnificent beamed roof designed by Crossland was decorated by the Scottish architect and designer John Moyr Smith

John Moyr Smith

John Moyr Smith was a British artist and designer, noted for his work on ceramic tiles.An example of his work is the interior of the Great Hall of the former Holloway Sanatorium, now in Virginia Park, an exclusive housing development near Virginia Water, Surrey, England.-External links:* designed...

at a cost of £400.

Contemporary account

A contemporary account of the sanatorium is of interest. It is probable that much of the content came from Crossland and Holloway: the latter must have been pleased with the report for he subsequently sent a monetary gift to the author.

On alighting at the Virginia Water Station of the London and South Western Railway the traveller becomes aware of a tall tower recalling to his mind the outline of the famous belfry tower of Ypres. In guide-books the magnificent tower of Les Halles in the old Flemish town which is said to have given its name to "diaper" fabrics, is comically referred to as "reminding one of the Victoria Tower, Westminster." As a matter of fact the Ypres tower is of very fine thirteenth-century work and has served as a model for many towers of later construction, including that of the Holloway Sanatorium. The chief difference between the latter and its prototype is that it is of red brick with stone dressing, while the ancient tower which looks down on the grave of Jansenius is of stone throughout. Built on the top of a slight eminence the Holloway Sanatorium, with its tower standing in pleasure grounds 22 acres (89,030.9 m²) in extent, is a conspicuous object in the richly-wooded country which inspired Sir John Denham
John Denham (poet)
Sir John Denham was an English poet and courtier. He served as Surveyor of the King's Works and is buried in Westminster Abbey....

with some of his finest verses.

Commenced some seven years ago by Mr Thomas Holloway, the Sanatorium for Curable Cases of Mental Disease was originally intended by the founder as a gift to the nation, perfect and complete as it stood. Mr Holloway has resolved not only to make a gift of the building, but to invest an additional £50,000 as an endowment, which will raise the cost of the whole foundation to £350,000. The purpose for which it is designed is clearly defined by the founder to be the succour of persons of the middle-class afflicted with mental disease. In selecting this object he has been guided by the consideration that rich people so unfortunate as to suffer from mental disease need no monetary assistance; and the poor in a similar mental condition are already cared for in public asylums. Put broadly, the scope of the Holloway Sanatorium includes the doctor, lawyer, artist, clerk or any professional bread-winner whose work cannot, like an ordinary business, be carried on by deputy, and whose income ceases absolutely when he is unable to work. This definition has not been arrived at without due care and ample investigation. Mr George Martin, at the instance of Mr Holloway, and sometimes accompanying him, has visited the principal establishments for the cure of mental disease in Europe and America, and the opinion has been gradually formed that many curable cases among the middle class are allowed to become uncurable from lack of means or opportunity to secure proper treatment. Slight cerebal attacks, if dealt with promptly, may, it is well known, be cured, and a recurrence of them guarded against with considerable success, while if neglected they increase in frequency, until the patient becomes entirely incapacitated from pursuing his calling. It is simply as a curative institution that the handsome structure at Virginia Water has been founded, one of the conditions being that no patient will be allowed to remain more than twelve months. By this regulation it will be prevented from becoming an asylum and losing its more important character. It was, as already stated, originally intended to be an entirely self-supporting institution, but Mr Holloway has finally determined to help it with an endowment.
The extremely handsome appearance of the exterior is amply borne out by the interior decorations and arrangement of the building, which when furnished will be ready at once to receive patients. Built of red brick, dressed with stone, in the style called indifferently Tudor or Early English Renaissance, the effect of the structure is highly creditable to the Architect, Mr W. H. Crossland, whose handsome town hall at Rochdale proves him a worthy pupil of Sir George Gilbert Scott
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...

. The front elevation recalls in its general features some of the finer models of the Tudor
Tudor style architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...

period, such as Littlecote built before the stern dignity of the Gothic had quite yielded to the grace of the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

. The interior decorations have been designed and executed by various hands, under the direction of Mr George Martin. With the exception of the massive grey marble top of the balustrade, the whole of the entrance hall and staircase is painted and gilt over the stone. This was an afterthought of kindness towards the persons for whom the building is intended, and four hundred of whom it is planned to accommodate. Cold grey columns and walls even if enlivened by sculpture, would, it is thought, sit heavily on a mind diseased, and it was resolved to make the principal apartments one blaze of gold and colour. The hall is accordingly lavishly decorated with figures and designs arabesque
Arabesque
The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements...

and grotesque
Grotesque
The word grotesque comes from the same Latin root as "Grotto", meaning a small cave or hollow. The original meaning was restricted to an extravagant style of Ancient Roman decorative art rediscovered and then copied in Rome at the end of the 15th century...

, the latter displaying almost inexhaustible fertility of invention. If it be sound doctrine that surfaces of wood or stone should be gilt or painted, as the late Mr William Burges
William Burges (architect)
William Burges was an English architect and designer. Amongst the greatest of the Victorian art-architects, Burges sought in his work an escape from 19th century industrialisation and a return to the values, architectural and social, of an imagined mediaeval England...

ARA., and some other authorities have more or less rigidly maintained, the rich decorations of the Holloway Sanatorium are correct enough. They are certainly gorgeous as well as cheerful and ingenious. The great lecture or recreation hall is remarkable for a splendid gilded roof, and for a profusion of gilding and other decorative work on the walls and behind the platform - the latter being very remarkable. Portraits of distinguished persons by Mr Giradot and other artists form part of the decoration scheme, and add interest to it. In the refectory also - a splendid apartment - the adornments consist of a series of paintings in the style of Watteau forming a frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...

, above which are smaller groups in lunettes. Here the scheme of ornament, if hardly so coherent as in the hall, has the advantage aimed at throughout this unique building. Dominated by the idea that a cultivated person whose mind is affected will never be cured if surrounded by vulgar idiots or grim accessories, Mr Martin has endeavoured to introduce as many objects as possible to awake and stimulate the trained intelligence for the moment over-strained. In the smaller but still ample parlours and living rooms the same idea of cheerfulness and suggestiveness is carried out. It is endeavoured above all things to avoid leaving a dimmed intelligence opposite to a blank wall. All the internal arrangements are admirably planned as well for maintaining general health as for isolating special cases of disease, for providing that attendants shall live unobtrusively close to the patients confided to their charge and for conveying an idea of freedom combined with active surveillance. The kitchen is a wonder, and deserves a visit from all interested in the mystery of cooking food for five hundred or more persons at once. To make all complete there is a model laundry in an entirely separate building and pretty red brick houses have been built for such of the staff of the establishment as are not obliged to sleep in the main building. Just of late a change has been made in the original plan by which it was contemplated to use the immense and beautifully decorated hall as a place of worship; but Mr Holloway has decided on building a distinct chapel, the designs for which have been prepared by Mr Crossland. Thousands of shrubs and young trees already fill the pleasure grounds. Almost every known hardy variety is represented. Through those well-planted shrubberies winding walks conduct to pleasant points of view and back to an extensive terrace on which patients may sit or promenade, and enjoy the sunshine and pure air.

Opening - a contemporary account

The Sanatorium was officially opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra) in 1885. The Prince brought a party of friends over from the Ascot Races for the ceremony.

Mr. Martin-Holloway, who delivered the opening address, was Thomas Holloway's brother-in-law George Martin (1833–1895), who had married Sarah Anne Driver the sister of Jane Holloway. George and his brother Henry assisted Thomas Holloway in the foundation of the Sanatorium and Royal Holloway College. After Thomas Holloway died George assumed the additional name of Holloway, and was knighted in 1887. Henry assumed the name Driver-Holloway.

The Illustrated London News reported:

...the building containing about 600 rooms, disposed on four floors, and capable of accommodating about 250 patients. The expense hitherto incurred is about £300,000.

The opening ceremony was in the large hall, which is to be used for concerts and other entertainments. The Royal party having taken their places on the platform, Mr. Martin-Holloway delivered a brief address, explaining that all the internal arrangements of the Sanatorium are planned for maintaining general health, for isolating special cases of disease, for enabling the attendants to live unobstrusively close to their patients, and for giving the patients an idea of freedom combined with active surveillance. The Prince of Wales briefly replied; and the guests dispersed to enjoy the hospitality of their host in dining-rooms and tents. The arrangements, which were in the charge of Mr. Trendell, were perfectly successful. The Sanatorium is ready for immediate occupation; and we believe that some patients were in the establishment this week. It is available only for curable cases of insanity; and the fees paid by patients will depend upon the amount of accommodation they require. Applications for half the possible number of admissions have been already accepted, and by the end of the year it s expected that the Sanatorium will be full.

Staff and patients

The first medical superintendent was Dr. Sutherland Rees Phillips.

In the early years of the sanatorium, nurses and domestic staff lived on the premises. There were 73 certified patients admitted in 1885, the first year. The 1891 census shows that Dr. Phillips was superintendent, listing 314 patients (including boarders) and 147 resident staff (medical, attendants and domestic). In 1901 the superintendent was Dr. William David Meares, and there were 384 patients and 210 resident staff . In 1911 the numbers were 368 inmates and 227 resident staff, with chief medical officer Dr. Thomas E. Harper and steward Jacob Jarvis Robertson. The censuses do not record non-resident staff.

Case Books were kept, with each patient being given a reference number. For the 40 years 1885-1924 there were 4902 female patients, and for a similar period there about the same number of male patients.

By 1929 the number of patients and staff had increased so much that a Nurses’ Home was built in nearby Sandy Lane at a cost of £22,000.

In 1934 the steward (administration manager) was Jacob Jarvis Robertson and his assistants Mr. Harrison and Philip Bishop; they were responsible for general management, provision of food and the keeping of household inventories.

Wards

The functions of wards and sections of wards changed according to administrative needs and the needs of patients treated, also influenced by the financial wealth of patients. For example, prior to nationalisation, Connolly ward, which was a small ward on the ground floor at the back of the hospital in 1972, had previously been incorporated with an equivalent floor space on the two floors above into a luxury suite for one patient only.
The wards were named as below from the time the hospital was taken over by the NHS. Many of the less familiar names are of pioneering psychiatrists. Wards in other nearby hospitals, e.g. Brookwood Hospital

Brookwood Hospital

Brookwood Hospital at Woking in Surrey, was established in 1867 by Surrey Quarter Sessions as the second County Asylum, the first being Springfield Asylum in Tooting...

in Woking

Woking

Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station....

, were similarly named.

The following names have been found for wards as of 1975. Wards are classified according to security required and further in to Assessment

Psychiatric assessment

A psychiatric assessment, or psychological screening, is a process of way of gathering information about a person within a psychiatric service, with the purpose of making a diagnosis. The assessment is usually the first stage of a treatment process, but psychiatric assessments may also be used for...

, Rehabilitation

Psychiatric rehabilitation

Psychiatric rehabilitation, also known as psychosocial rehabilitation, and usually simplified to psych rehab, is the process of restoration of community functioning and well-being of an individual who has a psychiatric disability...

and Elderly Care

Elderly care

Elderly care or simply eldercare is the fulfillment of the special needs and requirements that are unique to senior citizens. This broad term encompasses such services as assisted living, adult day care, long term care, nursing homes, hospice care, and In-Home care.-Cultural and geographic...

.

Assessment:

Campbell Clarke
David Moore
Jackson
Rush

Security (now referred to as "P I C U", Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit) (Locked):

Clouston

Rehabilitation:

Henderson
Pinel
Sherrington
Tuke

Elderly Care Assessment:

Craig
Dale
Gillespie
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...

Long term Elderly Care

Elderly care

Connolly
Dorothea Dix
Dorothea Dix
Dorothea Lynde Dix was an American activist on behalf of the indigent insane who, through a vigorous program of lobbying state legislatures and the United States Congress, created the first generation of American mental asylums...
Jane Holloway
Thomas Holloway
Thomas Holloway
Thomas Holloway was a patent medicine vendor and philanthropist from England.-Early life:Holloway was born in Devonport, a district of Plymouth in the county of Devon, the eldest son of Thomas and Mary Holloway , who at the time of their son's birth had a bakery business. They later moved to...
Marie Curie
Marie Curie
Marie Skłodowska-Curie was a physicist and chemist famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes—in physics and chemistry...

Day Hospital:

Lister
Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister
Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister OM, FRS, PC , known as Sir Joseph Lister, Bt., between 1883 and 1897, was a British surgeon and a pioneer of antiseptic surgery, who promoted the idea of sterile surgery while working at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary...

2

E.C.T. suite:

Elizabeth Casson
Elizabeth Casson
Elizabeth Casson was the first female doctor to graduate from the University of Bristol. She set up a residential clinic for women with mental disorders at Dorset House in Bristol in 1929...

Unused:

Lister
Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister
Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister OM, FRS, PC , known as Sir Joseph Lister, Bt., between 1883 and 1897, was a British surgeon and a pioneer of antiseptic surgery, who promoted the idea of sterile surgery while working at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary...

1
Harvey
William Harvey
William Harvey was an English physician who was the first person to describe completely and in detail the systemic circulation and properties of blood being pumped to the body by the heart...

From the late 1960s on the hospital followed the national trend toward "open door" policies. Physical security, locks, fences etc., were changed arbitrarily by "trial and error" rather than by consultative planning and reference to research. As in other psychiatric hospitals this proved difficult to implement safely, especially for elderly patients.

Life in the sanatorium

The sanatorium was run along the lines of an English country house at the turn of the century. There was elegant furniture in the rooms and corridors, the grounds were laid out for strolling, tennis, croquet and cricket; on summer afternoons a band would play for the entertainment of staff, patients and visitors; and there were concert parties in the evenings.

In 1903 lightning struck the roof, causing a small fire and £1,500 worth of damage.

Holloway Sanatorium was ahead in some of the new developments in the mental health field, such as the use of occupational therapy for recovering patients. It was also one of the first hospitals to include photographs of patients with their case notes.

St. Ann's Hospital

The Sanatorium expanded in time by buying other properties. In 1891 Hove Villa, Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

was purchased by the Governors as a home where patients could benefit from the fresh seaside air. In 1909 the Scottish architect Robert Weir Schulz (1860–1951) was asked to design a permanent seaside home for the Sanatorium, and so in 1910 St Ann's Hospital

St Ann's Hospital

St Anne's Hospital is a psychiatric hospital located in the Canford Cliffs area of Poole, Dorset. It was designed by Robert Weir Shultz and opened in 1912 at a cost of £46,500.00....

at Haven Road, Canford Cliffs

Canford Cliffs

Canford Cliffs is an affluent suburb of Poole in Dorset, England. The neighbourhood lies on the English Channel coast midway between Poole and Bournemouth...

, Poole

Poole

Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...

in Dorset, was built and replaced Hove Villa. Named after St. Ann's Heath, the site where Holloway Sanatorium was built, it was opened in 1912, on 14 acres (56,656 m²) of land, with a porter's lodge and later cottages for the chauffeurs. In 1948 Holloway Sanatorium and St. Ann's, both then psychiatric hospitals, formed a group of the South West Metropolian Region of the National Health Service

National Health Service

, but in 1960 the hospitals finally dissociated into different administrative groups.

St. Ann's Hospital is a Grade II listed building.

Lyne Place

Lyne Place, an imposing Regency house with gardens, is located two miles (3 km) south of Virginia Water at Wentworth Park. Lyne Place had been the home of the Russian philosopher P. D. Ouspensky

P. D. Ouspensky

Peter D. Ouspensky , , a Russian esotericist known for his expositions of the early work of the Greek-Armenian teacher of esoteric doctrine George Gurdjieff, whom he met in Moscow in 1915.He was associated with the ideas and practices originating with...

between 1930 and his death in 1947. It was acquired by the Sanatorium and originally intended to be used for members of staff but was adapted for patients' accommodation in 1950.
It has now been developed into luxury apartments.

After World War II

The management of the Sanatorium passed to the National Health Service

National Health Service

on 5 July 1948, and it continued as a hospital with a catchment area including Weybridge, Walton, Chertsey, Egham and Virginia Water. To maintain revenue for an interim period until 1974 private patients continued to be admitted into a limited number of "amenity beds", paying for the relatively aesthetic surroundings, but receiving standard NHS treatment. In 1968 it became administratively part of the nearby St Peter's Hospital, Chertsey.

On 8 February 1978 a disastrous fire broke out on the stage of the cinema. The fire spread rapidly, fanned by a strong easterly wind. The patients were calmly escorted from the building and there was only one minor injury. The cinema and three wards 'Clouston', 'Jane Holloway' and 'Thomas Holloway' were completely gutted and the electro-convulsive therapy department and sewing rooms were badly damaged.

The Sanatorium was closed in December 1980 and the remaining patients transferred to St Peter's Isolation Hospital at Staines which became a psycho-geriatric unit (Holloway Unit). On 21 July 1981 there was a sale "contents of Holloway Sanatorium: antique and period furniture" at Wentworth Auction Galleries. The site was sold by the NHS to a property company which planned to convert it to 120000 sq ft (11,148.4 m²). of offices. After the buildings had passed through three owners and two public enquiries, ending up in the hands of a receiver, they remained empty and vandalised for 12 years, becoming completely derelict. Thieves stripped lead from the gutters, resulting in water damage. Development on the cricket pitch at the front of the main block and the demolition of the Medical Superintendent’s House were controversially allowed in the early 1990s, facilitating a rapid start on a restoration and development project by Octagon.

The main building was used in several early episodes of Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse (TV series)
Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis. Dexter makes a cameo appearance in all but three of the episodes....

, including the very first episode, The Dead of Jericho. Inspector Morse is seen on the main staircase, and the Dining Hall is used in the opening scenes. The facility was also utilized as a location for several music videos in the early 1980s, for artists including Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne

John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...

, Adam Ant

Adam Ant

Adam Ant is an English musician who gained popularity as the lead singer of New Wave/post-punk group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring ten UK top ten hits between 1980 and 1983, including three No.1s...

, The Cure

The Cure

The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...

, Bonnie Tyler

Bonnie Tyler

Bonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer, most notable for her hits in the 1970s and 1980s including "It's a Heartache", "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart".-Early life:...

and Alphaville

Alphaville

Alphaville may refer to:* Alphaville , French science fiction film directed by Jean-Luc Godard* Alphaville , German music trio* Alphaville, São Paulo, neighbourhood on the western edges of São Paulo, Brazil...

. The 1986 slasher film Slaughter High

Slaughter High

Slaughter High is a 1986 slasher film written and directed by George Dugdale, Mark Ezra, and Peter Litten.-Plot:The day begins with a popular student, Carol Manning , jokingly asking Marty Rantzen , the school nerd, to have sex with her in the women’s locker room...

was also filmed there. The Main Hall (Recreation Hall) was used in the Michael Caine

Michael Caine

Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....

TV Movie/Mini Series Jack the Ripper (1988 TV series)

Jack the Ripper (1988 TV series)

Jack the Ripper is a 1988 four-part television movie/mini-series portraying a fictionalized account of the hunt for Jack the Ripper, the unidentified serial killer responsible for the Whitechapel murders of 1888...

when Chief Inspector Frederick Abberline

Frederick Abberline

Frederick George Abberline was a Chief Inspector for the London Metropolitan Police and was a prominent police figure in the investigation into the Jack the Ripper murders of 1888.-Early life:...

questions the beggars.

Development

In the early 1990s, Royal Holloway College looked seriously into the possibility of converting the Sanatorium into a major new hall of residence. The plans would have given the College two of England's greatest Victorian buildings, but building regulations made this too costly.

In 1994, under the guidance of English Heritage

English Heritage

English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

, a scheme by Octagon Developments to salvage this Grade I architectural wonder for the nation was accepted. Octagon spent six years in a punctilious art restoration and conversion project. Craftspeople in various disciplines returned the buildings to very near to the original. The Grand Hall was restored and the main building converted into 23 three- and four-storey town houses. The site became “Virginia Park”, a gated and walled development including 190 new houses and apartments, a spa complex, gymnasium, multi-purpose sports hall and an all-weather tennis court. It was described by English Heritage as one of the largest art-conservation projects in Europe. The entrance hall, now fully restored, is a riot of brilliant colours, patterns and grotesque imaginary creatures, and the Dining Room is now a recreation hall housing a swimming pool beneath its hammerbeam roof.

External links

Every Square Mile Holloway Sanatorium: 19th century philanthropy makes provision for mental health care. Chertsey Museum.
Dorset Health Care St. Ann's Hospital - see page 6 for history of its link with Holloway Sanatorium.
Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL The Holloway Sanatorium Scandal of 1895.
National Register of Archives Holloway Sanatorium: collections at Surrey History Centre and Wellcome Library.
Edward Law Buildings of William Henry Crossland, Architect. Holloway Sanatorium 1871-1885.

Photographs

Photoeyes Over 80 beautiful photographs of the sumptuous Victorian gothic buildings of Holloway Sanatorium - now Virginia Park - taken in 2007
Photo by Francis Frith Holloway Sanatorium c1955
Photo by Francis Frith Holloway Sanatorium c1960
Archimage Interiors Interior of Holloway Sanatorium
English Heritage ViewFinder Chapel of Holloway Sanatorium
English Heritage ViewFinder The hammerbeam roof of the Great Hall of Holloway Sanatorium

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