Cane Hill
Cane Hill Sanatorium. (Coulsdon Surrey)
Off we go to one of the most famous but descrete Asylums in Surrey.
This was built in 1882, but closed in the late 80s/ early 90s.
It was known as Cane Hill Hospital until 1992(when the main site was closed).
We arrived at a set of large security gates which was not manned but securely locked.
Noticing a gap in the fence we gained access and proceeded up a long steep roadway.
As we approached a fork in the road there were still the old street lights and a sign saying Hospital. We found another set of locked gates and saw the whole area had been securely fenced off.
Through the fence was part of the main administration offices, the chapel and in the distance the old water tower.
After speaking to a gentleman who was on the site and made it clear we could not have access, he told us that this was all that was left after the two year demolition work on the asylum.
Alas , we were too late. He also went on to say that the whole area is now being surveyed for a proposed housing estate. We were very disappointed we had missed the chance to collect memorable pictures of the site and the inside, which was a massive complex. The residence of this place was around 2,500 inpatients. Some were from famous people like Charlie Chaplin whose Mother was there and it is also said that David Bowie and Michael Caine had sick relations interned there, one of which escaped and committed suicide at the local railway station (Coulsdon South Station).These were the only pictures we could take of the site and surrounding area. This link shows how large the area was. Abandoned Britain
Memorial remembers the 5,000 who died at Coulsdons Cane Hill Asylum.
As written by The Croydon Advertiser in 2009. By Matt Johnson
A permanent memorial to the thousands of souls laid to rest at Cane Hill Hospital has been welcomed by those who used to run the asylum.
The monument has been placed in the garden of remembrance at Croydon Cemetery, as a tribute to the estimated 5,000 patients who died at the mental health hospital in Coulsdon between 1884 and 1950.
The bodies of patients were originally buried in the hospital grounds but in 1981 the council was granted permission to remove them.
The exact locations of the graves were unknown so the remains had to be carefully exhumed by hand digging and transferred to the cemetery in Mitcham Road for cremation.
The ashes were then scattered in an area known as Location 1,000 within the garden of remembrance. A memorial marking this location had been lacking until the council placed the tribute – a bronze plaque mounted on a granite base – at the cemetery in February.
Felix Philand was chief officer at the hospital between 1969 and 1988 and lives in Windermere Road, Coulsdon. He said: “I think it’s very fitting. I think it’s a wonderful thought and a wonderful thing to do. “Of course it’s right these people should be remembered. They’re human beings the same as you and me.”
Former grounds keeper Bob King’s grandmother was a patient at Cane Hill and passed away there in the 1970s.
Mr King, who lives in Richmond Road, Coulsdon, said: “It’s certainly a good idea. It’s important that these people are remembered.”
Coulsdon West councillor Gavin Barwell said: “For years, we’ve been approached by people wanting to see the final resting place of their relatives and we’ve only been able to point them towards an unmarked mound of earth in Croydon Cemetery’s Garden of Remembrance.
“We didn’t feel it right that such an anonymous setting was all that people could reflect upon when they wanted to remember loved ones.
“We feel sure that visitors will soon look upon it as a suitable memorial area for those who died at Cane Hill Hospital.”
Built on a hilltop overlooking Coulsdon and Farthing Downs, Cane Hill Hospital was officially known as the 3rd Surrey County Pauper Lunatic Asylum.
When it opened in December 1883, it had space for 1,100 patients, but within five years had been extended to accommodate 2,000.
It closed all but its secure unit in late 1991 and the government’s Homes and Communities Agency is presently drawing up redevelopment plans for the derelict site. These are expected to include offices, homes and community facilities.
I was there in the 1980 there after I meet terry bowie I will always remember him and
the song he use to sing to me since november this year I am regaining my memories
and now would like to talk about my life there it was quite strange seeing the corridors
where I often walked and the ward the the asylum seems of interest to the public
I walked the walk
Kind Regards
June