Broomfield Sanatorium (now part of Broomfield Hospital) (EHER 40661)

Tuberculosis sanatorium built by 1938 but not opened until 1940 to design by J Stuart, Essex County Architect. Built to accommodate 300 male patients in six identical ward units. The main buildings are the ward block, the treatment block, administration, kitchen, boiler house and the nurses home. Generally built of reinforced concrete faced with cavity brick walls.

Still incomplete by the outbreak of WWII the Broomfield sanatorium was finally finished in 1940.It was built to plans prepared by John Stuart FRIBA , chief architect to the County Architects Office who throughout its design and construction was in regular consultation with the Government Clinical TB Officer, Dr. W.L Yell. Built to a symmetrical south-facing half-butterfly plan over three floors, with distinctive circular sun wards (centre), expanses of glazing, circular stair turrets, and long balconies, the block epitomises contemporary views on sunlight and open air treatments for TB. To the rear of the south facing ward block is the main body of the hospital, which formally fronts onto a circular driveway enclosed on three sides by further (single storey) hospital buildings. To the rear (N) of these is an extensive power house and other utility buildings the majority of which survive relatively unaltered (externally at least). The East butterfly wing retains a good percentage of its original Crittall style fenestration, especially to the rear but unfortunately the corresponding western butterfly wing has been removed. Similar sites include the Black Notley Sanatorium, bult in 1927-30 (now mainly demolished and redeveloped for housing) and the grade II listed Rochford Hospital Extension (in around 1938 by FW Smith), which displays many common features in design and architectural treatment. The hospital was featured in Architecture Illustrated in June 1940 and another article in the Architect and Building News in September 1940. A reference to Broomfield Sanatorium by the County Chief medical Officer William. A . Bullough states that: 'Black Notley, as an example of the pavilion type of sanatorium, and Broomfield, as a type of the modern three-tier steel and concrete construction, represent two of the best sanatoria in the whole country' <1> Broomfield Hospital was constructed in 1938 and opened in 1940 to treat consumptives. Using a virgin site, the county architect John Stuart designed a fully-functional, progressively-designed hospital built in the international modern style using modern influences and materials. Modern design was appropriate for large institutional buildings with specific though basic requirements. Its philosophy intentionally removed it from the constrictions of the past, aided by modern materials such as pre-cast concrete and steel-framed glass, to experiment and manipulate the technology of buildings. The modern style is exemplified at Broomfield best by the east half-butterfly wing, originally one of a pair that spread either side of circular sun-wards. The south-facing butterfly and half-butterfly plan form was used primarily in hospitals for infectious disease to maximise the amount of light and air to patients through sun balconies. The design of the east wing, with its basic linear plan form, flat roof, fenestrated balconies and curved end stair turret is a significant example of this building type. Prior to the demolition of the east wing an RCHME level 3 record was carried out. This recorded the exterior and interior of the wing, including original floor layouts, surviving fixtures and fittings and most notably the end stairway, whose bold curves were a fine example of modern design. To place the east wing in its architectural and historical context a lower, level 1 record, was made of surviving elements of the original complex including the main ward block/sun-wards, treatment block, Medical Academic Unit, cafeteria/Galbraith House, mortuary and staff/nursing bank offices.<2> No new information from NRHE.