Liff, Scotland
Encyclopedia
Liff is a small hamlet
northwest of Dundee
in Angus
, Scotland
.
It is the site of Royal Dundee Liff Hospital, a large psychiatric institution situated in the grounds of an expansive estate. The hospital is the successor to the Dundee Lunatic Asylum which, in 1882, moved out of the town of Dundee
to new facilities built on the site of Westgreen Farm, Liff. In 1889 Gowrie House was built to the south of the asylum at Westgreen for private patients. From 1903 Westgreen was operated by the Dundee District Lunacy Board as Dundee District Asylum, while Gowrie House became the Dundee Royal Lunatic Asylum. Westgreen and Gowrie House were reunited in 1959 and in 1963 the facilities at Liff gained the name Royal Dundee Liff Hospital.
Parts of the hospital are closed and the area is now being developed as prime building land for up-market house building. The Acute psychiatric unit moved to a new building called the Carseview Centre, beside Ninewells Hospital
, in 2001. As at February 2009, 3 Buildings remain in use, Benvie House, Gourdie House, and Whitelawston House. Greystanes House having closed in 2001, and Gowrie House in 2005.
The placename features in the title of a bestselling book by Douglas Adams
and John Lloyd
, The Meaning of Liff
. It is defined there as "a book, the contents of which are totally belied by its cover".
The village is served by one primary school, which caters for children aged from 5 to 12. After Primary 7, most pupils attend Monifieth High School
in Monifieth
.
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
northwest of Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
in Angus
Angus
Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
It is the site of Royal Dundee Liff Hospital, a large psychiatric institution situated in the grounds of an expansive estate. The hospital is the successor to the Dundee Lunatic Asylum which, in 1882, moved out of the town of Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
to new facilities built on the site of Westgreen Farm, Liff. In 1889 Gowrie House was built to the south of the asylum at Westgreen for private patients. From 1903 Westgreen was operated by the Dundee District Lunacy Board as Dundee District Asylum, while Gowrie House became the Dundee Royal Lunatic Asylum. Westgreen and Gowrie House were reunited in 1959 and in 1963 the facilities at Liff gained the name Royal Dundee Liff Hospital.
Parts of the hospital are closed and the area is now being developed as prime building land for up-market house building. The Acute psychiatric unit moved to a new building called the Carseview Centre, beside Ninewells Hospital
Ninewells Hospital
Ninewells Hospital is one of the largest teaching hospitals in Europe, based on the western edge of Dundee, Scotland. It is internationally renowned for introducing laparoscopic surgery to the UK as well as being a leading centre in developing fields such as the management of cancer, medical...
, in 2001. As at February 2009, 3 Buildings remain in use, Benvie House, Gourdie House, and Whitelawston House. Greystanes House having closed in 2001, and Gowrie House in 2005.
The placename features in the title of a bestselling book by Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
and John Lloyd
John Lloyd (writer)
John Hardress Wilfred Lloyd CBE is a British comedy writer and television producer. He is the great nephew of John Hardress Lloyd.-Early life and career:...
, The Meaning of Liff
The Meaning of Liff
The Meaning of Liff is a humorous dictionary of toponymy and etymology, written by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd, published in the United Kingdom in 1983, and the USA in 1984....
. It is defined there as "a book, the contents of which are totally belied by its cover".
The village is served by one primary school, which caters for children aged from 5 to 12. After Primary 7, most pupils attend Monifieth High School
Monifieth High School
Monifieth High School, a comprehensive state high school in Monifieth, Angus, Scotland, was founded in 1976. Its current headmaster is Richard Coton. The school enrolls approximately 1100 pupils from a catchment area including Monifieth, parts of Barnhill, Birkhill and other rural areas of Angus...
in Monifieth
Monifieth
Monifieth is a town and former police burgh in the council area of Angus, Scotland. It is situated on the North bank of the Firth of Tay on the East Coast...
.