As we enter April, I looked through the museum’s collection to see if there were any significant anniversaries coming up. And 125 years ago, on 17 April 1869, the foundation stone was laid for St Lawrence’s Hospital in Caterham.
We are clear on the date, because a time capsule was buried, and we now have this in the museum. It contained a copy of The Times newspaper for that day, a selection of coins, a list of the committee members and managers appointed to run the hospital, and details of the ceremony to lay the foundation stone. The hospital eventually opened on 9 October 1870, with a special train laid on to take important visitors to the opening ceremony.
Built to house 1,560 patients suffering from mental illness or intellectual disability, the hospital cost £85,000 to build (around £13m in today’s money). It was state-of-the-art for the time, and followed guidance from Florence Nightingale, with light, airy wards, plenty of outdoor spaces for patients to enjoy the fresh air, bathhouses and WCs, fully equipped kitchens, a laundry and a separate infirmary for patients with infectious diseases.
Initially only 12 patients were admitted, as the building was far from complete, and did not even have running water on day one. However, by 1873 there were 1700 patients, and more accommodation blocks were built, together with a recreation hall complete with a stage. The hospital was expanded further, and by 1877 there were over 2,000 patients, and a swimming pool was added.
On 15 December 1891 its most famous resident passed away: Samuel Gibson, former soldier in the 27th Regiment of Foot, and one of the last surviving combatants of the Battle of Waterloo, died at the age of 101. The commandant of the Guards Depot next door arranged for a full military funeral, and Private Gibson was interred at St Mary’s, Caterham. The hospital continued caring for patients through both world wars, and into the second half of the 20th Century.
In 1974, another of the hospital’s patients, Joey Deacon, achieved international recognition with the publication of his autobiography Tongue Tied. Joey had been a patient in St Lawrence’s from his childhood in the 1920s. Joey had cerebral palsy which made communication for him extremely difficult, however, with the help of his friends he wrote his life story. Joey was the subject of several documentaries, and appeared on Blue Peter, the children’s TV show.
By the 1980s the treatment of mental illnesses was changing, and large Victorian mental hospitals were marked for closure. The last of the patients at St Lawrence’s moved out in 1994 and the site was redeveloped for housing.
Many locals still fondly remember St Lawrence’s: they or their friends and family worked there, or they went to the regular concerts or shows, or to the sports events, or for the products made by patients in the workshops – many gardens in the area still feature a concrete garden ornament made at St Lawrence’s!
Find out more on East Surrey Museum’s website.
