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Middlewood Hospital


Sheffield History

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Guest cargen

Thank you for retaining the images so close to my heart. As a student nurse and later staff nurse at the hospital, I spent many years working there with some of the most wonderful patients and staff of my professional career. It was in many ways a shame that the Victorian buildings had to be demolished, but their legacy of limited treatment and side effects of instituionalisation of the residents, had to come to an end sooner or later. My memories of those days will live in my heart and mind until I die.

Things are not the same now, nursing the mentally ill has changes beyond all recognition.

It was nice hear from Dorothy Rowe, the Australian psychologist with whom I had contact in my working years, and for whom I had the greatest respect.

I knew the staff listed earlier on the site, many of whom are still around.

Best wishes to them.

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Guest Trefcon

hi all,

wondering if anyone knows the whereabouts of the 20'x 6' WW1 roll of honour that use to hang in there?

Thanks.

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Some were also there because they had been born there.Also some of the women were there because they had children out of wedlock

I have just found this sight and am researching my late Grandmother any information on the hospital I would be gratefull for many thanks

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Guest Trefcon

hi all,

wondering if anyone knows the whereabouts of the 20'x 6' WW1 roll of honour that use to hang in there?

Thanks.

i think i have tracked the memorial down, i have been told its in the care of sheffield galleries.

which gallerie though?

more searching to be done!

Dean.

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saw him in Hillsborough on Friday - hasn't changed

I used to work with Walter in the bakehouse during my apprenticeship (if this is the same Walter). He used to walk down to the bookies at Leppings Lane just about every day for a bet. he was a really likeable fellow. I was based at Middlewood but also worked at the Infirmary (before it was knocked down), Northern General, Lodge Moor and a short spell at Thundercliffe Grange learning my trade. I was taught Butchery at Middlewood with a great bloke called Harold Ford. All the staff were great whilst I was there especially Minnie Guest and Ken Ward who both took me under their wings whilst I was doing my training.

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That belongs to you, me, and everyone. Should be available to public view. Same with the Norfolk Knife, Year Knife. We should be proud of these items and display them, or at least allow decent, modern high quality photos of 'em to be shared with those of us not currently resident in Sheffield, and for "Pure" Sheffield-folk also; Admin, go get 'em !!!!!

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Guest silverstealth

I am currently doing a lot of research into High Royds the former pauper lunatic asylum in West Yorkshire. In my research I came across the brief history of Middlewood hospital covering 1872-1895.

I have created 2 web sites for High royds. www.highroydshospital.co.uk and www.highroydsarchive.co.uk

Be warned there are tons of pictures and loads of history, staff accounts etc and will take hours to look at properly.

Anyway here is the complete scan of the book for your enjoyment.

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Guest Rowlinson

I worked in the supply department in 1967. There was a well stocked library in the grounds for the use of staff and patients and a butchers shop in the hospital where fresh meat was prepared for patients and staff. Many of the patients were free wander the grounds and some of them used to go for a pint in the Middlewood Tavern. One ward,I think is was ward 4 but could be wrong ,was where the more dangerous patients resided. We often used to hear screams and shouts reverberating through the admin building from this ward.

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HUGE thanks to Silverstealth for posting that booklet/information

THANK YOU for doing that - much appreciated

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Guest carlie167

:) :)Thanks very much Silverstealth, fascinating reading. You never know what will turn up next on this site, thats why I love it!!!!!

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Guest silverstealth

HUGE thanks to Silverstealth for posting that booklet/information

THANK YOU for doing that - much appreciated

I know the pictures I am about to post don't relate to Middlewood but they are relative in that Stanley royd was also part of the group of yorkshire pauper lunatic asylums.

Access from ward to spiral staircase before demolition for reconstruction, mid sixties, note the viewing hatches..

The spiral staircase, stairs of this type were an important feature in the original 1818 building, giving unobsrusive observaion of

most of the building from the "crow nest"

More images here.. http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopi...t/c1486867.html

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Guest silverstealth

Thanks for the appreciation on the middlewood scans... Will keep my eyes peeled for any more old documents on the place, If anyone has any old pics from high royds I would really appreciate them getting in touch.. Brilliant thread by the way..

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Guest AnnieDD

Has anyone living in the new house's experienced any spooky happenings? :unsure:

Yes, my daughter lives in one of the apartments near to the old church. She has had many happenings including a phone flying off the table, a child's musical toy setting off of its on accord in the early hours, kitchen utensils moving around, doors and drawers closing and seeing something like a heat shimmer!!! anyone else had any funny goings on?

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Guest jamm

what a very interesting topic.

i din't used to work here like some, but i spent 2/3 years 'hanging around' on the old Middlewood hospital while i attended Wisewood secondary school, around 1997 maybe.

it was very very interesting, though it was tresspassing(sorry) and it really opened my eyes to any kind of hospital first hand.

a big probem it seemed to me, even after the place had shut down, the patient confiedentiality agreement was far out of the window.

we were walking through rooms, wards, blocks(all very unsafe, bad on me!) and there was chalk boards STILL with patient details, including admission dates, dates of birth etc.

in one block, everyone i knew fondly called the 'wheelchair block' there were photos pinned up of previous patients on days out, which were still being displayed as the building lay in ruins awaiting demolishion, again not very good!

we also 'explored' the clock tower area, which again wasn't the safest of places, i do wish i had a camera on hand when we ventured to these places.

i was 'hanging around' the same time as the last train was being filmed, was very interesting seeing all the made up street signs they had fitted, so it made it look that bit more authentic.

a think that was slighty upsetting, was seeing ex-patients walking the grounds, as if they still occupied a bed.

many a summer day was spent on the grounds, which also from my memory housed at least 5/6 families of fox.

Does anyone know, or have any photos of the underground tunnels that ran beneath the grounds?

i expierienced them once, but it was abit too much 'exploring' for my eyes.

i still own the room signs for the male dormatory, male kitchen, ward 8 and ward 12. a kind of memento to my memories on there. am i the only one who 'hung around' on there??

what an interesting read, many thanks everyone who has contributed to this :)

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Guest plain talker

The photographs of the Wharncliffe Hospital, to the side of Middlewood were fabulous, brought back more memories for me.

I remember the view of those wards from the other side of the building.

My Grandpa, (my mother's father) was in there, in the late summer of 1966. I was two and a half years old.

I believe he had suffered Pneumonia. (I remember him stopping at our house for some weeks, until after christmas, to recuperate, after leaving the hospital)

My mother had given birth to my sister a matter of a couple of weeks before, (the August Bank Holiday weekend).

Mum left my newborn sister with my father's parents, who lived across the street from us, and we went to visit Grandpa.

When we got there, Grandpa was sitting outside the ward, on a sort of "patio" in the glorious late summer sunshine, along with a few of the other patients.

I caused much hilarity, amongst the chaps with my Grandpa, as I asked him:-

"So where's your baby, then?"

Because my mum had just come out of hospital after having my sister, I had assumed that everyone who went into hospital had gone in to collect ( ;) ) a baby. and of course, being only two-and-a-half, I hadn't cottoned on to the fact of nature, that men don't have babies *chuckle*

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Guest GaryJ

STAFF

A cleaner there was called Kitty Turner

Joseph Robinson - http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlere...i?artid=1121568

Bob Swann

Julie Trigg (Bob Swann's) first wife

Anne Swann was nurse escort

Jack Sherrat

Ian franklin

Lynne Staniforth (now in Australia)

The daughter of Ron Staniforth the Sheffield Wednesday player

Bob Chiglow

Ron French - Administrator

Sir Arthur Jenkins

Horace Buttons

John Wilkin (office in clock tower building)

KNOWN PATIENTS

Clement Douglas Hobbs - http://www.chrishobbs.com/cdh.htm

Machel Serenna - http://www.aldous.net/thomas_aldous.htm

Can i also add John cassidy 1967-1980 started as staff nurse and left as charge nurse as one of the staff.. Now residing in Sunderland, Tyne and wear ..

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As i remember, a patient from the hospital placed his head under a bus at the terminus opposite the main grounds entrance and was killed. i guess it was around 1968. A crowd of school kids just stared.

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As i remember, i saw judas priest play a gig at the hospital for some nurses night out around 1971

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Guest shely

Hi To all, new to the site today, looking through all the storys about middlewood hospital, very fascnating, just like to add my mom worked on hillside for many years and says she loved every mnute of it, also I had my eighteenth birtday party at the staff socail club, great night had by all, wasnt as bad as some make out

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Guest melh1

What a fascinating insight into this building. I have just signed for one of the new flats in the old admin block, its utilises part of what must have been the basement. It such a peaceful environment now, hard to imagine its past. Maybe if anyone wants to come and look around when I'm in drop me a line and I'd love to have you for tea! Would love more photos if anyone has them for the communal areas.

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I am now firmly resident in Middlewood Lodge (the old admin block I think)

Its been converted very nicely and is as peaceful as it first appeared.

I have taken photo sof the building at night - I would post them if I knew how!

Tea offer still there if anyone is interested in visiting the old building again

The church is still there, I wonder how one gains entry, I would love to photgraph the interior before it falls down

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