Roundway Hospital
| Roundway Hospital | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Established | 1848 |
| Opened | 1851 |
| Closed | 1995 |
| Current Status | Preserved |
| Building Style | Corridor Plan |
| Architect(s) | T.H. Wyatt |
| Location | Devizes |
| Alternate Names |
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History
The first patients were admitted to the The Wiltshire County Lunatic Asylum, later Roundway Hospital, on 19th September 1851. It was for pauper lunatics too. Owing to a disinclination on the part of the county authorities to spend too much money the asylum was too small from the time it was built, and there were extensions and new buildings in just about every decade except the 1940s. There were 350 patients by 1860, 449 by 1870 and 976 in 1910. John Thurman, who was also a noted local archaeologist, died in 1873. He had set the pattern for compassionate care and also recognized that many people sent by parish authorities were not insane but had other problems.
At first it could take 250 patients, although it was too small from the start and there were new buildings and extensions in nearly every decade, apart for the 1940s. The hospital was closed in 1995 and a new Green Lane Mental Hospital was built on Green Lane; it is managed by the Avon and WiltshireTrust. The grade 2 listed buildings of the old Hospital have been beautifully converted to modern apartments which are are on the private market. The owners have the advantage of high ceiling accommodation set in beautiful parkland. Nearby Drews Pond Wood Nature reserve is nearby and this incorporates the former burial ground and some of the estate.
