Bracebridge Heath
I was born in Lincoln and still have family there...
My Mum's cousin, who was like my favourite aunt, used to work here before I was
born.... She worked in the laundry, and like a lot of the staff she used to be
shifted between here and Rauceby Asylum which was just down the road. The
inmates used to be transferred quite a lot too, and by all accounts EVERYONE
preferred Rauceby.
The asylum has been known by many different names over the years:
1852-1893 Lincolnshire County Lunatic Asylum or Lincolnshire County Pauper
Lunatic Asylum
1894-1915 Lincolnshire Lunatic Asylum
1897-1898 Lindsey, Holland, Lincoln and Grimsby District Pauper Lunatic Asylum
1903-1920 Lincolnshire Asylum
1898-1902 Bracebridge Pauper Lunatic Asylum
1902-1919 Bracebridge District Lunatic Asylum
1919-1948 Bracebridge Mental Hospital
1930-1938 Lincolnshire Mental Hospital
1939-1960 Bracebridge Heath Hospital
1961-1989 St John's Hospital, Bracebridge Heath
these changes reflect the change in attitudes of the governments and people of
the times... unfortunately the differences were only in the name and this asylum
had a bad reputation.....
Having been in it's walls I can understand why....
A little bit of history and background:
Bracebridge Heath is a commuter village approximately 4 km (2.5 miles) south of
Lincoln, Lincolnshire. It lies at the junction of two major roads the A15 to
Sleaford and the A607 to Grantham, and was part of the Boothby Graffoe Wapentake.
The village sits on top of the Lincoln Cliff, overlooking Lincoln and the valley
of the River Witham. Along the cliff top runs the Viking Way, the 235 km (145
miles) long-distance footpath which runs from the Humber Bridge to Oakham.
Lincolnshire County Asylum, Bracebridge Heath, was opened 9.8.1852. The land for
it was purchased in 1846. It had 300 patients in 1858 and was enlarged in 1859,
1866, 1881, 1902, 1917 and 1928. It was built in the "Italian style".
Architects: Hamilton and Thomas Percy
The 'Asylum' (St John's Mental Hospital) closed down in 1990 and was sold a few
years later to a property developer who has constructed nearly 1,000 new houses
in the village. The original hospital buildings themselves are classified as
Grade III listed buildings and are protected from demolition. During the
redevelopment of the hospital site, a number of these protected buildings were
refurbished and converted into flats and offices.
I believe that part of the original planning consent was a stipulation that the
original building would be restored, this was a condition of the new houses
being built. This has never happened and the original building gets worse every
year. They are not secure, local kids often use them to hang on in and vandalise
them. there is water pouring in from various places and it is only a matter of
time before the buildings fall down on there own. I have a niggling feeling that
the owners are hoping the building will be classed as dangerous and structurally
unsound soon so that they can be demolished.
Please be aware that if you go here you need to go as a team - the floors are
unsafe and you could very well fall through. take care and make sure that at
least two of you have WORKING mobile phones!
There are also tunnels at the asylum but I did not venture down there - I have
been inform through a reliable source that there is asbestos down there which is
unstable, even with the best breathing equipment it is still a very dangerous
thing to do, and in my opinion, just not worth it.....
The whole place is very dark and has a bad feeling about it, just the kind of
place I like....
Visited 2004