With closure looming in 1994, SAVE were bleak in their assessment of the buildings: "There
is an expectation of planning permission for hundreds of new houses which probably does not include
retention of any of the old buildings." Whilst this looked like a distinct possibility after the
institution's closure in 1998, the grounds were listed by English Heritage as a
Grade II Historic Park and Garden in 2001, and as an additional stroke of luck, sympathetic developer
Crest Nicholson purchased the site and started the restoration and
conversion of the unused buildings.
Their work was so thorough that a cursory glance at satellite images of Napsbury
suggests the hospital is still there. The main buildings have been converted, the water tower is
still extant, and the echelon wards are still all standing in formation, now homes.
Whilst the whole site has been spruced up, cleaned and tidied to the point that it feels like a
extremely high quality new-build, the derelict hulk of the former recreation (first floor) and
dining room (ground floor) sited slap bang at the base of the arrow formed by the echelon wards
is the last tangible evidence of the hospital as it was.
