Thurrock District Hospital (EHER 15651)

A small isolation/smallpox hospital for 50 patients of 1898. Extensions in 1913 and 1915 culminated in the erection of two large opposite-set isolation blocks to the west of the site and a matrons/sisters house to the frontage. Most of the original buildings survive and the absence of significant alterations suggests that the internal spatial configuration may remain relatively unaltered; this will provide important information on hospital organisation, ward design, circulation, surveillance and administration. Currently in hospital use and well-maintained, the buildings merit retention for their regional significance.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import. A small isolation/smallpox hospital for 50 patients including an administration block, two ward blocks, a mortuary and laundry was erected at a cost of £5,000 on a small plot of land to the north of Long Lane in 1893. Extensions in 1913 and 1915 culminated in the erection of two large opposite-set isolation blocks to the west of the site and a matrons/sisters house to the frontage. Although the ward pavilions to the west have been demolished and replaced by modern hospital structures most of the original pre-NHS buildings remain. These include ward blocks and the central section of the administration range. One building is a single-storey range based on a standard pavilion design with a projecting central block flanked by six bed Nightingale ward wings. The elevations are of yellow stock bricks laid in English bond with red brick bands and gabled roofs; the latter has been clad with concrete tiles. A date stone turned in brick with a construction date of 1893 is mounted in the apex of the western gabled projection. The ward windows contain large opposite set double hung sashes with flat gauge brick voussoirs. The sanitary annexes at the ends of the ward wings have been replaced by small modern low extensions and a semi-subterranean boiler house added to the facade. To the east stands a large 16 bay single-storey ward pavilion built in a similar architectural style. Double hung sashes and glass hoppers light the wards, but the sanitary annexes have been removed and the roof clad with concrete tiles. Fronting Long Lane the administration block is built using similar materials but, adopts a higher grade of decoration. The six bay central block is of two-storeys with features high-lighted in red brick: a first-floor band, window aprons and gauge brick voussoirs. In 1915 proposals to extend the administration block culminated in the construction of a bay-fronted west wing and the addition a further bay window to the opposite end keeping the facade symmetrical. A further wing has been added to the east which is currently used as a dining room. A small red brick single-storey octagonal building with a flat-roofed entrance bay to the south stands to the north-west of one of the wards. Erected at a later date it may have been used as a solarium for the treatment of TB patients; the building has a pavilion roof surmounted by a large raised lantern containing glazed and frosted glass. Further light to the interior was provided by large window openings, now blocked, present in all eight elevations; the internal walls are both plastered and white-washed. A small static timber-framed and weather-boarded TB pavilion lies in the hospital grounds. The building faces south-east in order to benefit from optimum sun light. To the rear of the site, the kitchens which contain large ventilation ducts in the gable walls may have originally been erected in 1919 as a laundry block. A substantial 14 bay single-storey ward block with a central projecting bay and hipped roof; the range is built in red brick and contains tall narrow opposite set sashes with hopper windows in their heads. A large T-shaped nurses home was erected beside the western site entrance in 1938. Built of stock brick in stretcher bond, the two-storey range is 12 bays long with a three bay projection to the front and rear. The plain tiles roofs are hipped and the windows contain metal casements; a two-storey flat roofed extension has been recently added to the rear. A modern hospital range stands to the west. <1> <2> Site Assessment: Most of the original buildings survive and the absence of significant alterations suggests that the internal spatial configuration may remain relatively unaltered; this will provide important information on hospital organisation, ward design, circulation, surveillance and administration. <1> Site Importance: Surviving small-pox hospitals are rare nationally, but this is a late example. The administration block is particularly good, but the alterations and additions detract from its overall importance. Of regional significance only. <1> Site Management: Currently in hospital use and well-maintained, the buildings merit retention for their regional significance. Several examples notably the administration range and nurses home could be easily converted. Although the wards are more problematic they need to be preserved if the context of the hospital is to be understood. An internal inspection should be undertaken at the earliest opportunity to assess the survival of internal spaces/features/decoration. Prior to any future works an ‘impact assessment’ may be needed to assess which elements of the original fabric warrant retention and detailed recording needs to form an integral element of any future development proposal. The wooden TB pavilion should be surveyed prior to further deterioration and/or demolition. <1> Additional reference <2> <3>