Barnes Hospital

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For the hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, see Barnes-Jewish Hospital. For other uses, see Barnes.
Barnes Hospital

The main building of Barnes Hospital in April 2008
Building
Former Names Barnes Convalescent Home
Type Former hospital
Location Cheadle, England
Coordinates 53°23′49.12″N 2°13′24.4″W / 53.3969778, -2.223444Coordinates: 53°23′49.12″N 2°13′24.4″W / 53.3969778, -2.223444
Construction
Started 1871
Completed 1875
Design Team

Barnes Hospital, also known as Barnes Convalescent Home, in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England, is a former hospital. It is located near to the A34 road and Junction 3 of the M60 motorway. Whilst the hospital was constructed in a rural setting, it is now surrounded by roads.[1] The main building is Grade II listed, and lies on green belt land.[2]

A donation of £26,000 for the founding of a new convalescent hospital in Cheadle was made in 1869 by Robert Barnes. Construction of the hospital, named the Barnes Convalescent Home, started in 1871 and was completed in 1875. It was constructed of bricks, the clay for which was provided locally.[1]

Broken remains of three stone high crosses were discovered in 1874 during the construction of the hospital. The location of only one of these is known today; this consists of a crosshead of Celtic cross form with a central boss, and dates from the late 10th or 11th century. It is now located in St Mary's Church, Cheadle. The other two pieces are said to be part of a much older cross, and the upper part of an Anglo-Saxon cross shaft.[3][4]

The main use for the hospital in its later life was for geriatric care and stroke patients. It closed in September 1999 while Manchester Healthcare Trust was undergoing a £2 million cost cut.[1][5]

The hospital was sold in 2001,[2] and is now owned by Reality Estates. The main building is currently being converted into 42 flats, with the other buildings on the site having been demolished for the construction of 18 houses and 77 more flats.[5] The other flats will be in two blocks.[6] The work will cost £10 million, and will take 72 weeks.[7]

During World War II the hospital was used as a convalescent home for wounded soldiers.[8] The hospital temporarily housed a large group of Kosovan refugees following its closure.[5][2][9] It was featured on Most Haunted Live in September 2005.[1] The site was briefly occupied by around 100 gypsy families in February 2007.[6]

[edit] References

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  1. ^ a b c d Barnes Hospital History — Abondoned Photography. opacity.us. Retrieved on 2008-04-14.
  2. ^ a b c "Hospital sold to mystery buyer", Stockport Express, 28 February 2001. Retrieved on 2008-04-14. 
  3. ^ Cheadle Conservation Area Character Appraisal. Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (March 2006). Retrieved on 2008-04-14.
  4. ^ Cheadle Parish Church—St Mary's. Retrieved on 2008-04-14.
  5. ^ a b c Weisgard, Jon. "Ex-hospital due to become flats", Stockport Express, 4 December 2002. Retrieved on 2008-04-14. 
  6. ^ a b Skinner, Miles. "Gatley counts cost of clean-up after Gypsies", Stockport Express, 28 February 2007. Retrieved on 2008-04-14. 
  7. ^ Browns Construction Group Ltd Case Studies — Barnes Hospital, Cheadle. Browns Construction Group Ltd. Retrieved on 2008-04-14.
  8. ^ WW2 People's War — an archive of World War Two memories (17 January 2005). Retrieved on 2008-04-14.
  9. ^ Kosovan Refugees. Manchester City Council. Retrieved on 2008-04-14.