Building record MDR23063 - Former Shire Hill Hospital, off Bute Street, Glossop

Former Shire Hill Hospital, off Bute Street, Glossop, opened in 1834. The southwestern building of the extant Shire Hill Hospital was built between 1832 and 1834 as a purpose built workhouse, immediately before the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834. (1) 'The earliest known plan of the workhouse is that shown on the 1857 Glossop Poor Law map. It depicts a south-facing linear range with two narrow parallel ranges adjoining the west end which terminate in a block. This is a former barn which pre-dates the workhouse. A detached T-shaped block is located to the east, and smaller ancillary buildings are arranged to the rear (all since demolished), the whole enclosed by stone walls. The principal range had seven bays lit by small-pane timber sash windows and a main entrance in the central bay. The chimney stacks and dormer windows have since been removed. In 1840 the workhouse was extended to accommodate women. This extension is likely to have been the three additional bays on the west end which probably originated as a single-storey extension and had a second storey added later. The first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1881 shows an L-shaped extension on the rear (north) side of the main range. This was added during the 1860s. In 1902 a laundry block was built onto the east side, and in 1927 the kitchens adjoining its west side were rebuilt. In the later 19th century, concerns about the spread of disease at workhouses resulted in new infirmary blocks being built with linear plans to allow wards to have windows on both sides for cross-ventilation. Separate infirmaries also ensured that the aged and infirm were segregated from the able-bodied poor. A typical infirmary plan had long wards arranged either side of central rooms for the nurses, and balconies to give patients access to fresh air, as at Glossop where the 40-bed Infirmary was built in 1896-1897 at a cost of £5,000. The 3rd edition Ordnance Survey map of 1921 shows its linear plan flanked by two smaller blocks linked by corridors and a rear (north) service block. In 1927 a further wing was added at each end by Hadfield and Cawkwell of Sheffield. The rear block was extended in 1968. The workhouse later became Glossop Public Assistance Institution. Public Assistance Institutions were founded after the legal abolition of workhouses in 1930 to provide accommodation for the elderly, chronically sick, single unmarried mothers and vagrants. After the abolition of the Poor Law, the NHS took over Glossop PAI in 1948. It became known as Shire Hill Hospital and operated as a long-stay hospital for elderly patients. The hospital closed in 2018.' (2)