The former Royal Derwent Hospital complex in the township of New Norfolk was the longest running institution housing mentally ill patients from the early 1800's until it closed down in 2000. I have spent many years documenting the site before it large parts of it were demolished to make way for new redevelopments. Many of the buildings I've documented from the 20th century have been demolished.
The Royal Derwent Hospital boiler room stands imposingly, it's red brick fortress like facade so typical of Post War design. The towering chimney stack also adds to the sense of dominance. Some years ago there was a for sale sign on the building, I reckon it would make an interesting home conversion. This building still stands today, but is currently in a disused state.
I am in the process of reviewing all my photographs I've taken over the years of the entire Royal Derwent Hospital complex with the idea of editing photographs I've previously shared on my website as well as adding several new images I've not published before. This way there will be a consistency in the style of images over the many years I've documented the site. I have an immense collection of photographs so this will take some time, but if you are interested let me know by way of comment here, or leave a comment on my facebook page here
I think that would be interesting and a good record.
ReplyDeleteThanks Andrew, yes I think so too, especially now that many of the buildings have been demolished. Will get to work on editing the series!
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