What South Wales hospital is among the top 10 most endangered Victorian buildings?
Some of the Victorian architecture on this list is rather stunning
Last updated 14th Dec 2021
Whitchurch Hospital in Cardiff has made it onto the 2021 list of most endangered Victorian buildings in England and Wales.
The hospital, a Grade 2 listed structure which first began being built in 1902, initially opened as 'Cardiff Lunatic Asylum' in 1908.
Once among the most modern buildings of its time, the hospital was designed as a self-contained community, complete with a farm, powerhouse, water supply and fire station.
Only closing its doors to patients in 2016, Whitchurch Hospital has since fallen into ruin, and plans to convert the area to residential, commercial and leisure grounds expired in 2020.
Griff Rhys Jones, Victorian Society President, said: “Whitchurch hospital has so much potential for repurposing. It covers a site of five acres with a diverse range of buildings that could easily be re-opened as offices or converted into housing and commercial spaces...
"…Its prime location on the edge of Cardiff must surely make it very appealing to developers with big plans and a passion for heritage...
"… We hope that a buyer can be found soon who recognises the unique potential of this once self-contained community and bring it back to its former grandeur.”
See the top 10 most endangered Victorian buildings in England and Wales:
Coal Drops, Halifax
Halifax Coal Drops were built for the Ovenden and Halifax Junction Railway Co. in 1874 and are an important part of the town's industrial history.
Horncliffe House, Lancashire
Horncliffe House was originally built in 1869 as a private dwelling for Henry Hoyle Hardman, a local mill owner and businessman,
Healings Flour Mill and Warehouses, Tewkesbury
Healings Flour Mill and Warehouses was designed by W.H. James of Tewkesbury for Samuel Healing and Son and was built circa 1865.
Icknield Street School, Birmingham
The Icknield Street School was designed by J.H. Chamberlain of Martin and Chamberlain in 1883 who created several of Birmingham's now listed or lost Victorian buildings.
Indoor Market, Burslem, Stoke on Trent
Burslem indoor market's gothic design and ironwork that was built in 1897 is reminiscent of King's Cross station in London.
Jones & Higgins Department Store, London
The Jones and Higgins Department store opened on the corner of Rye Lane and Peckham High Street in 1867 and formed a key part of a 'Golden Mile' of shops that rivalled Oxford Street. The clock tower was designed by Southwark architects Henry Jarvis & Sons.
Minley Home Farm, Hampshire
The Minley Home Farm was completed circa 1896 to the designs of Arthur Castings, associate to the renowned George Devey, who worked on other buildings in the estate.
Oldham Equitable Cooperative Society (Hill Stores), Oldham
Oldham Equitable Cooperative Society (Hill Stores) commissioned Thomas Taylor to build what would be one of the largest buildings in the area, it was then completed in 1900.
Church of St Helen, Biscathorpe, Lincolnshire
The Church of St Helen, Biscathorpe was rebuilt on the site of the old church in 1847 by W.A. Nicholson in a fanciful Gothic style.
Whitchurch Hospital, Cardiff
Architects Oatley and Skinner of Bristol designed the hospital with its ornate interiors in 1902. It first opened in 1908 as 'Cardiff Lunatic Asylum', in the typical style for medical facilities.