Storthes Hall
Encyclopedia
Kirkburton
Kirkburton is a village, civil parish and local government ward in the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England, south east of Huddersfield, in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, 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...
. A heavily wooded area, it comprises a single road, Storthes Hall Lane, which links Kirkburton with the nearby villages of Farnley Tyas
Farnley Tyas
Farnley Tyas is a small village in West Yorkshire, England situated 3 miles south east of Huddersfield. It is located on a hilltop situated between Almondbury, Castle Hill, Thurstonland and Honley...
and Thurstonland
Thurstonland
Thurstonland is a small rural village in the Civil Parish of Kirkburton of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. It has a population of almost 400.Thurstonland urban district was created in 1894 and merged with Farnley Tyas urban district in 1925...
. To the immediate north is North Spring Wood. Boothroyd Wood occupies the area to the south whilst Myers Wood
Myers Wood
Myers Wood is a wooded area in the village of Kirkburton, West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of a heavily forested area to the west of the village, occupying the rise in the valley leading up to Storthes Hall and beyond. It can be found directly west of the main Penistone Road, opposite Riley...
can be found to the east. Myers Wood is the site of a medieval iron working site.
A 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...
operated at Storthes Hall from 1904–1991. It was founded as an asylum
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...
and was previously called the Storthes Hall Mental Hospital (1929–1938), the West Riding
West Riding
West Riding could refer to:Areas:*West Riding of Yorkshire, England*West Riding of Lindsey in Lincolnshire, England*West Riding of County Cork, Ireland*West Riding of County Galway, IrelandTransport companies:*West Riding Automobile Company...
Mental Hospital (1939–1948), and Storthes Hall Hospital (1949–1991). A former mill owner's house, Storthes Hall Mansion, can be found further down the road heading towards the village centre. This too was a psychiatric hospital, the Mansion Hospital, and operated separately to the one further up the road. It too closed in 1991. It is now a private residence. A book, Storthes Hall Remembered, is available and tells the story of Storthes Hall, written by a nurse who worked there.
The area has some private housing, however the University of Huddersfield
University of Huddersfield
The University of Huddersfield is a university located in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England.- History :The University traces its roots back to a Science and Mechanic Institute founded in 1825...
supplies most of the occupants due to the campus
Campus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...
that occupies part of the site of the former psychiatric hospital, the Storthes Hall Park Student Village. Recent planning permission was granted to a retirement village on the remainder of the hospital site. The site also provides training facilities to Huddersfield Town FC.
Most of the hospital buildings on the Storthes Hall site have been reduced to rubble, however one, the administration building, remains upright but is heavily graffitied inside and is run down and dangerous to enter. This building is surrounded by fencing and barbed wire due to its unstable nature. The bar serving the student village, "the Arboretum
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
" is an original building which once housed difficult to manage patients. The hospital's mortuary is still intact.