Brookwood Hospital
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Brookwood Hospital at Woking in Surrey, was established in 1867 by Surrey Quarter Sessions as the second County Asylum (the first being Springfield Asylum in Tooting) and from then until when it closed in 1994 it served as the leading mental hospital for the western half of Surrey. At the height of its use, the Hospital occupied a large site at Knaphill, near Brookwood. It had a dairy farm, a cobbler’s workshop, and a large ballroom to provide for all the needs of the residents. Many local businesses provided the Hospital with services.
During World War II, the Hospital also served as an emergency war hospital. Since its closure in 1994, the land has been sold off for development, and the Hospital’s main block, which is listed, has been converted into luxury apartments. Several of the new residential roads were named after the old hospital wards.[1]
[edit] Brookwood Hospital Archive
A grant from the Wellcome Trust's Research Resources in Medical History grant scheme was made in 2002, which allowed a comprehensive catalogue of the archive of Brookwood Hospital to be made. This catalogue has made the archive available to researchers as a source for medical, social and local historians.
The surviving records are very extensive and provide a comprehensive overview of the government and administration of the hospital and of the medical care provided throughout its long history. The records also reveal the functioning of this large institution as a self-contained community with workshops providing practical and therapeutic training, a farm providing food for both the Hospital and sale and a programme of entertainments available to the residents.
