Cane Hill Hospital (above, taken in 1912), was designed by architect Charles Henry Howell, whose other designs included those for County Hall and Brookwood Asylum, was opened in 1883, designed as a mental asylum. It's intention was to house the patients from suburban areas in a countryside location to help their recovery. However, in those days, once you were put in a place like this, it was highly unlikely that you'd ever get out, which pretty much held true until it's almost complete closure in 1990. The only open part is the secure unit, a new building separate from the old hospital. There is much history surrounding the hospital, but unfortunately, due to restrictions and incomplete records it is almost impossible to say exactly what happened during the century it was open. Only a small A4 box folder exists, holding all the records, which are vague at best. The blueprints, planning applications, and nearly everything else appear to have been "lost". And obviously, the medical records are still private and unobtainable.

I managed to dig this out of the 1985 BBC Domesday Project :- "Cane Hill is now owned by Bromley Health Authority. There are 643 patients with 300 nurses in 40 wards. These are named after famous people in the nineteenth century. There are many separate buildings for the different functions such as a swimming pool, launderette and hairdressers. There is also a large church. The hospital used to have a large farm where the patients worked with hens, cows, horses and sheep. Now the patients are gradually being integrated into the local community, as Cane Hill may be closing in the 1990’s. Coulsdon's residents are very concerned about this possibility."

Cane Hill Hospital has also had it's fair share of celebrities and their families over the years - most notably Terry Burns, David Bowie's brother. It inspired Bowie to write an number of songs - click here to learn more.

Today, more than a decade of neglect has left the hospital in a dilapidated state, with many of the buildings suffering badly from exposure to the elements and serious vandalism. worse still the last couple of years have seen the hospital suffer from several serious arson attacks, causing widespread damage and a strain on the resources of the firefighters. The fires prompted the owners to erect a new perimeter fence. It's one of the high spiked metal slat versions, topped with razor wire. In some respects it would have been prudent to have installed this ten years ago, which hopefully would have preserved the hospital more or less intact. The instability of the gutted buildings has also accelerated the process of redevelopment of the complex, meaning that Cane Hill may not be around much longer, which will be a great historical loss.

The Hospital from the air - Click picture for larger image

The hospital is located in Coulsdon, near Croydon, in South London. It is just to the west of the A23 which runs from Croydon to Brighton. Although it is so close to London, this is one of the points where the land becomes less urban, Coulsdon being a small town, with downs and farmland to the south. This is where the hospital is, on top of a hill opposite the Farthing Downs.

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