Napsbury
Encyclopedia
Napsbury is a residential area
to the West of London Colney
in the district of St. Albans in Hertfordshire. It was formerly the site of a major psychiatric hospital
.
or Roman
activity is indicated by cropmarks to the east of the railway in Napsbury hospital grounds; and again on the north side of the hospital. Documentary evidence suggests the existence of a lost medieval settlement
. Early Napsbury is mentioned in the Domesday Book
: it had a house called Tylehouse which was associated with tile
and brick
workings. It is known that there were people settled there with tofts, smallholding
s or farms, since tithe
s were payable in the 14th century.
style by architect Rowland Plumbe to house 1,200 residents, although further buildings including nursing homes were added later. The grounds were designed by William Goldring.
The hospital was used as a military hospital
during and after the First World War
.
builders.
Residential area
A residential area is a land use in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas.Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single family housing, multi-family residential, or mobile homes. Zoning for residential use may permit...
to the West of London Colney
London Colney
London Colney is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. It is located to the north of London, at Junction 22 of the M25 motorway....
in the district of St. Albans in Hertfordshire. It was formerly the site of a major psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
.
Early history
The presence of prehistoricPrehistory
Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
or Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
activity is indicated by cropmarks to the east of the railway in Napsbury hospital grounds; and again on the north side of the hospital. Documentary evidence suggests the existence of a lost medieval settlement
Abandoned village
An abandoned village is a village that has, for some reason, been deserted. In many countries, and throughout history, thousands of villages were deserted for a variety of causes...
. Early Napsbury is mentioned in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
: it had a house called Tylehouse which was associated with tile
Tile
A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops...
and brick
Brickworks
A brickworks also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock often with a quarry for clay on site....
workings. It is known that there were people settled there with tofts, smallholding
Smallholding
A smallholding is a farm of small size.In third world countries, smallholdings are usually farms supporting a single family with a mixture of cash crops and subsistence farming. As a country becomes more affluent and farming practices become more efficient, smallholdings may persist as a legacy of...
s or farms, since tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
s were payable in the 14th century.
History of the hospital
The Middlesex County Asylum was founded in 1898, and open from 1905 to 1998. It was designed in a country estateEstate (house)
An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...
style by architect Rowland Plumbe to house 1,200 residents, although further buildings including nursing homes were added later. The grounds were designed by William Goldring.
The hospital was used as a military hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
during and after the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Redevelopment
Following the closure of the hospital, the buildings were renovated and a new development created by Crest NicholsonCrest Nicholson
Crest Nicholson is a British housebuilding company based in Chertsey, Surrey.-History:The Company was founded by Bryan Skinner in 1963 as Crest Homes and floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1968. One of the characteristics that differentiated Crest from most other housebuilders of the time was...
builders.