Wordsley Hospital
Encyclopedia
Wordsley Hospital was a NHS-owned
hospital
located in Wordsley
, Stourbridge
, which is in the West Midlands
of England
.
in 1903, and became a hospital after the Great War. It was substantially expanded between 1930 and 1990 and even includes a separate hospital - Ridge Hill Hospital - which specialises in learning support and social care, without providing casualty or out patient facilities.
The most recent addition to Wordsley Hospital was a maternity unit that cost £6million to build and opened in May 1988 after three years of construction work. It replaced the maternity wings of the existing Wordsley Hospital as well as the 60-year-old maternity home at Burton Road Hospital
. It stood on the site of an old hospital building and tennis courts. The maternity unit was officially opened by The Princess Royal
on 24 November 1988.
However, in the early 1990s
plans were unveiled for Wordsley Hospital, Dudley Guest Hospital
and parts of the Corbett Hospital
to be closed and the services relocated to an expanded Russells Hall Hospital
. There was later a change of plan which would have seen maternity services kept at Wordsley and the remaining services transferred to Russells Hall, but in 1998 it was decided to close down Wordsley completely and keep only in-patient services and Dudley Guest and Corbett.
The first phase of Wordsley Hospital's closure took place on 7 January 2005, when the maternity unit closed after just under 17 years in use and was relocated to Russells Hall. The last services at Wordsley were relocated on 22 April 2005.
The sale of the site was agreed in March 2005 (when some services were still at the hospital) when Mar City Developments purchased it for £14.75million with a view for redeveloping it for housing.
Vandalism and metal theft plagued the hospital buildings after they fell into disuse.
Surprisingly, the maternity block (which was less than 20 years old) was also demolished - despite earlier plans for it to be converted into a care home for elderly people. However, an arson attack on the building in February 2007, combined with the extensive vandalism and theft of metal, affected the building's condition and would have increased the cost of keeping it for other uses.
However, some of the older buildings at the site were retained due to their listed status, and are being converted into flats. The first residents moved into new houses on the site during August 2008, and all new housing is expected to be completed during 2011, including the refurbished clock tower which has been converted into apartments.
A new facility at Ridge Hill Hospital was officially opened on 18 October 2006 by local MP Ian Pearson
. Some of the original Ridge Hill Hospital buildings are still in use, although others were demolished in 2007 and several are still standing disused. The road link to Wordsley Hospital was severed when the bulk of the Wordsley buildings were demolished in 2007.
12 homes on Ashdown Drive, which had been built in the 1960s
and houses doctors and nurses at the hospital until its closure, were finally put up for sale by the local health trust in December 2010, nearly six years after the hospital closed.
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...
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....
located in Wordsley
Wordsley
Wordsley with Buckpool is a village south of Kingswinford although is the most northern suburb of Stourbridge in the West Midlands, England. Wordsley still retains its rural character because it abuts open countryside...
, Stourbridge
Stourbridge
Stourbridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historically part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass making, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, Norton, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston, Wollescote and Wordsley The...
, which is in the West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Overview
Wordsley Hospital was built as a workhouseWorkhouse
In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
in 1903, and became a hospital after the Great War. It was substantially expanded between 1930 and 1990 and even includes a separate hospital - Ridge Hill Hospital - which specialises in learning support and social care, without providing casualty or out patient facilities.
The most recent addition to Wordsley Hospital was a maternity unit that cost £6million to build and opened in May 1988 after three years of construction work. It replaced the maternity wings of the existing Wordsley Hospital as well as the 60-year-old maternity home at Burton Road Hospital
Burton Road Hospital
Burton Road Hospital was a National Health Service hospital situated in Dudley, West Midlands, England.It originally existed within the Sedgley Urban district until that became part of Dudley in 1966...
. It stood on the site of an old hospital building and tennis courts. The maternity unit was officially opened by The Princess Royal
Anne, Princess Royal
Princess Anne, Princess Royal , is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
on 24 November 1988.
However, in the early 1990s
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
plans were unveiled for Wordsley Hospital, Dudley Guest Hospital
Dudley Guest Hospital
The Dudley Guest Hospital is a hospital located in Dudley, West Midlands, England.-Victorian origins:It is situated in Tipton Road, Dudley and the buildings were originally constructed in 1849 by the Earl of Dudley to accommodate miners blinded in the numerous local coal mines...
and parts of the Corbett Hospital
Corbett Hospital
Corbett Hospital is a National Health Service hospital located in Amblecote, Stourbridge, West Midlands, England. The current hospital is an out-patient centre which opened on 25 May 2007 in a ceremony conducted by Tony Blair as part of his farewell tour before resigning as Prime Minister.The...
to be closed and the services relocated to an expanded Russells Hall Hospital
Russells Hall Hospital
Russells Hall Hospital is an NHS-owned hospital located in Dudley, West Midlands, England.It is situated on the A4101 main road which connects Dudley with Kingswinford, and lies narrowly within Dudley's boundaries just outside Brierley Hill...
. There was later a change of plan which would have seen maternity services kept at Wordsley and the remaining services transferred to Russells Hall, but in 1998 it was decided to close down Wordsley completely and keep only in-patient services and Dudley Guest and Corbett.
The first phase of Wordsley Hospital's closure took place on 7 January 2005, when the maternity unit closed after just under 17 years in use and was relocated to Russells Hall. The last services at Wordsley were relocated on 22 April 2005.
The sale of the site was agreed in March 2005 (when some services were still at the hospital) when Mar City Developments purchased it for £14.75million with a view for redeveloping it for housing.
Vandalism and metal theft plagued the hospital buildings after they fell into disuse.
Redevelopment
Two of the old hospital buildings on the east side of the hospital site were demolished in the autumn of 2006, but the bulk of the demolition did not take place until the following summer.Surprisingly, the maternity block (which was less than 20 years old) was also demolished - despite earlier plans for it to be converted into a care home for elderly people. However, an arson attack on the building in February 2007, combined with the extensive vandalism and theft of metal, affected the building's condition and would have increased the cost of keeping it for other uses.
However, some of the older buildings at the site were retained due to their listed status, and are being converted into flats. The first residents moved into new houses on the site during August 2008, and all new housing is expected to be completed during 2011, including the refurbished clock tower which has been converted into apartments.
A new facility at Ridge Hill Hospital was officially opened on 18 October 2006 by local MP Ian Pearson
Ian Pearson
Ian Phares Pearson is a British Labour Party politician who was a Member of Parliament from 1994 until 2010, representing Dudley West from 1994 until 1997, and then Dudley South from 1997 until his retirement from the House of Commons at the 2010 general election...
. Some of the original Ridge Hill Hospital buildings are still in use, although others were demolished in 2007 and several are still standing disused. The road link to Wordsley Hospital was severed when the bulk of the Wordsley buildings were demolished in 2007.
12 homes on Ashdown Drive, which had been built in the 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
and houses doctors and nurses at the hospital until its closure, were finally put up for sale by the local health trust in December 2010, nearly six years after the hospital closed.