warley hospital | kendall and pope's original plans (1853)
Last update: 22|07|04
Warley Hospital


The main plans - click for a far bigger version

Here we have the plans for Essex County Lunatic Asylum, the first and grandest building to be built on the site, and the last to remain standing unaltered.

Kendall and Pope used the corridor style for this ayslum - placing all central services (including a well) in the middle of the buildings, with wards sweeping out along orthogonal corridors either side. An attempt to separate normal hospital traffic with wards and dayrooms was made with the Gallery Of Communication which cuts along the middle of the structure.

However, it's the sheer amount of elorate garden design and the heavily landscaped airing courts that really catches the eye. Warley must've been a beautiful sight when it was first build and the gardens planted.

Women on the left (south side) with their drying court, and men on the right (north side) with their working court.

Over the years, as the site grew with more buildings, the main block was heavily added on-to, and the symmetry, the airing courts, the courtyards, and the open spaces in the building gradually disappeared.

Here's an attempt at the key:

  1. Gallery 12 feet wide.
  2. Day and Dining Room.
  3. Dormitory.
  4. Single Bed.
  5. Attendent.
  6. Bath.
  7. Scullery.
  8. Lavatory.
  9. Store.
  10. Assembly Room.
  11. School Rooms. (The Chapel is over 10 and 11)
  12. Distribution Room.
  13. Cooks' Room.
  14. Servants' Hall.
  15. Coals.
  16. Kitchen Offices.
  17. Bake House.
  18. Flour Store.
  19. Passageways.
  20. Engineers.
  21. Weighing Room.
  22. Matron's Rooms.
  23. Surgeons' Rooms.
  24. Superintendent's Rooms
  25. Committee Room.
  26. Clark's Room
  27. Hall.
  28. Porter.
  29. Receiving Rooms.
  30. Open Yards.
  31. Arcade.
  32. Wash House and Laundry.
  33. Brewhouses and Workshop.
  34. Sun Shades.
Anyway, here’s the bigger, before you ruin your eyesight on the one above:
  • 7739x4891, 10.4MB: So large... you can see each individual flower..



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