Maindiff Court Hospital
| Maindiff Court Hospital | |
|---|---|
| Aneurin Bevan Local Health Board | |
 Southern entrance lodge | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°50′00″N 2°59′41″W / 51.833218°N 2.994851°WCoordinates: 51°50′00″N 2°59′41″W / 51.833218°N 2.994851°W |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | Public NHS |
| Hospital type | Community Hospital |
| Services | |
| Emergency department | No Accident & Emergency |
| History | |
| Founded | 1924 |
| Links | |
| Website | Maindiff Court Hospital |
| Lists | Hospitals in Wales |
Maindiff Court Hospital is a Community Hospital near Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, operated by the Aneurin Bevan Local Health Board. Maindiff Court's earliest occupants were the Crawshay Bailey family in the 1870s. Its most noted patient was Rudolf Hess, deputy to Adolf Hitler.
History
Maindiff Court was built in 1877 by Crawshay Bailey II. The main part of the building has three storeys. It has a 2-storey porch with a single storey portico extending from it, headed by a balustrade and supported on Corinthian columns. In 1924 the estate was presented to Monmouthshire Asylum Committee becoming Maindiff Court Hospital.[1] According to architectural writer John Newman, the mansion originally built for Crawshay Bailey was demolished, and the brick hospital buildings, in a neo-Georgian style, were constructed in its place in the 1930s.[2]
During World War II
In World War II, the facility was known as Maindiff Court Military Hospital and POW Reception Centre. Half of the site was used for recuperating wounded soldiers.[3]
Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy, was held at Maindiff Court from 26 June 1942. Hess had his own room but he was guarded at all times. He was allowed a fair degree of freedom, often being driven about the local countryside, such as the local landmark, the Skirrid mountain. The British government never tried to hide the fact that Hess was being detained in Abergavenny. Indeed, when he first arrived, the staff of the hospital lined up in a formal reception to meet him. the news did feature in many of the national papers of the time.[4] Hess was known locally as the "Kaiser of Abergavenny".[5]
Today's hospital
Maindiff Court today comprises 4 wards, 1 day hospital and an ECT Department which lie within beautifully kept grounds. The original balustrade can be seen leading down to the day hospital.
There are several wards and departments such as Ty Skirrid, a 12-bedded ward for the Gwent-wide forensic rehabilitation service which caters for men and women who have a mental disorder and have offended or are at risk of offending and provides on-going psychiatric treatment. Lindisfarne, a 3-bedded un-staffed unit which is overseen by staff from Ty Skirrid which provides unsupervised semi-independent living prior to discharge.
Hiraeth Day Hospital provides 12 places a day for 5 days a week for the Abergavenny and rural communities. The ECT department provides electroconvulsive therapy treatment facilities, and the Gwent Specialist Substance Misuse Service has its North Team base on site.
References
- ↑ Coflein
- ↑ Newman, John (2000). The Buildings of Wales: Gwent/Monmouthshire. Penguin Books. p. 103. ISBN 0-14-071053-1.
- ↑ BBC - WW2 People's War - Guarding Rudolph Hess
- ↑ BBC - Blogs - Wales - Rudolph Hess in Wales
- ↑ Tim Butters, "The Madness of Rudolph Hess - and the Places It Led Him". Retrieved 13 October 2014