Warley Hospital was a hospital for the mentally ill located in Brentwood, Essex

Brentwood, Essex

Brentwood is a town and the principal settlement of the Borough of Brentwood, in the county of Essex in the east of England. It is located in the London commuter belt, 20 miles east north-east of Charing Cross in London, and near the M25 motorway....

, 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...

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History

The hospital was originally destined for Chelmsford

Chelmsford

Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...

 and plans were drawn up as early as 1819, for a hospital for the mentally ill, serving south Essex.

Warley Hospital was built in Victorian High Gothic style using red and black bricks, had stone mullion

Mullion

A mullion is a vertical structural element which divides adjacent window units. The primary purpose of the mullion is as a structural support to an arch or lintel above the window opening. Its secondary purpose may be as a rigid support to the glazing of the window...

 windows, and octagonal tower

Tower

A tower is a tall structure, usually taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires....

s. It has a medieval appearance.

Opening

Warley Hospital was opened in on the 1853 (believed to be on 23 September) as the Essex County Lunatic Asylum serving the whole county.

Renaming

By 1858 the hospital had 450 patients and in 1920 it became known as Brentwood Mental Hospital, being renamed again in 1953 as Warley Hospital. It was used as a long-stay psychiatric hospital, but in its later years most patients seemed to be ordinary people who had suffered breakdowns. It was closed in 2001, with the patients and staff moving to other areas.

Underground tunnel

It is an ubran myth that in order to provide discreet access to and from the hospital the builders included an underground tunnel from the town's railway station up the hill to the hospital; this tunnel was alleged to be accessible to hospital staff as recently as 1990 although the railway end had long been closed down. In truth, no such tunnel ever existed.
However there are disused tunnels under the hospital, what purpose these serve is still a mystery.

Current usage of site

Much of the area has now been redeveloped as a residential area with 300 homes, although some of the architecture of the original asylum still stands.

External links

• History & Photographs of Warley Hospital