From Asylum to Abandoned: The Haunting Story of Hartwood Hospital
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- Опубликовано: 10 апр 2023
- My visit last year to Hartwood Hospital, used in "The Batman" film, as Gotham's Children's Orphanage.
Join me on a journey to the heart of Scotland, where a grand architectural marvel with a rich history awaits. Nestled in the picturesque village of Hartwood, near the town of Shotts, stands the renowned Hartwood Hospital. With its distinctive Scottish Baronial design, marked by striking clock towers gracing its North-Western corners, this hospital has a story to tell that is as intriguing as it is haunting.
Opened in 1895 and operational for a century before its eventual closure in 1998, Hartwood Hospital was the brainchild of the self-taught architect and mechanical engineer, John Lamb Murray. Murray's vision was grand, as he designed the hospital to be self-sufficient, with its own farms, gardens, and even a railway line. Dr. Campbell Clark, the hospital's first superintendent, left an indelible mark on the field of medicine by implementing pioneering training schemes for the medical personnel, ensuring the best possible care for the patients. Back then, the hospital was known as Lanark District Asylum, and Dr. Campbell's innovative practices gained widespread support from the Medico-Psychological Society, which issued certificates to those who successfully completed his training.
In 1901, Dr. Campbell passed away and was laid to rest in the cemetery at Hartwood. The same year saw the hospital's first extension, including the addition of a washhouse and a laundry, followed by the construction of new cottages, a caretaker's house, and a nurses' home three years later. However, amidst its growth and progress, Hartwood Hospital also had a darker side. It gained infamy as the first place in Scotland to perform lobotomies, a notorious procedure that often left patients as mere shells of their former selves. Electroshock therapy was also frequently employed, reflective of the primitive scientific understanding of the human brain during that era.
Despite these grim practices, Hartwood Hospital continued to flourish, becoming one of the largest medical institutions in the European Union by 1950, with a patient population reaching as high as 2,500. The hospital expanded so much that it earned the moniker "hospital-village," complete with its own dancehall and bowling green, a testament to its prominence and influence in the region. However, in 1990, the advent of the Community Care Act shifted the focus from institutional care to community-based care, resulting in the closure of many asylums across the country, including Hartwood Hospital, which closed its doors in 1995. Today, only the abandoned administrative buildings stand as a poignant reminder of its storied past, echoing with the untold stories of its patients, staff, and the changing landscape of mental health care.
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Many thanks x
Thank you from Jacksonville, Florida U.S.A
And Thank YOU for watching.
I look after a mental hospital built in 1913, have had the job for six years. This was a beautiful hospital. So much history behind the walls. When people ask me if the hospital I work at is haunted, I just tell them that I've made a lot of new friends. Love this video, thanks
Brilliant reply. Thanks for sharing. I bet it's an interesting place for sure.
This building looks like it could be many ghosts and much more...
Thank you it is such a shame this is a beautiful building!
I loved it !
Thankyou Margaret.Appreciated.
The walkway was the old railway bridge from hartwoods siding
Thanks Ian.
Fascinating. Thank you 🙏 ps. The JCB was bizarre !
Thank YOU for watching. Appreciated. Yes the poor JCB had certainly seen better days.
Trained as a nurse there in 1994
The shell of it looks solid. Why dont they renovate it into something useful. Its beautiful . Its historical too. Shame . Thank you. You can see it from the train I think .
Yes it's right next to train station and yes I agree. It's sad to see buildings like this, just left to rot.
@@Glenfunnyman When I passed by it on the train I did not know what it was. I know. Hartwood used to be a difficult place to get to, so I never thought it was Hartwood. I asked someone on the train. They confirmed it. It was spooky looking in the evening going by. Thank you for doing this video. Thank you for answering so quickly too. Greetings from NY. (Former Bellshillian) Missing Scotland a lot.
Any chance you would be near Mauldslie Castle and the old stables and bridge. My uncle would take us to see the horses. There's a plane in a field nearby which I think is a hairdressers. Also the old Dalziel castle stables. So many great memories. Thanks again😃
Can u get in?
No.Steel shutters on everything on downfloor.With a ladder to first floor maybe but fire has made unsafe.