Boiler House and workshops built 1958
In 1958 , a new Boiler House and associated workshops were constructed in an isolated more southerly part of the hospital site on the other side of the , by then , well established ‘ ring road ’. A short distance away , to the east , a much larger purpose-built Laundry , in keeping with the growth in the number of patients receiving treatment was completed in 1960 . Both buildings continue to operate today ( 2011 ).
Boiler House and Workshops . Photo : Norman Lovegrove personal collection , 1981
In the foreground is the covered staff car park , to the left is the water tower that was built in 1927 shortly after the Maternity Annex was opened , and demolished in 1981 . Behind the Boiler House is the ‘ horse paddock ’ an area currently ( 2011 ) being developed for car parking and a relocated helicopter pad .
New Laundry , built 1960
It is reasonable to assume that the Laundry was established at the same time as the Hospital but in keeping with common practice in the 1920s , the copper and concrete tubs were probably located in a smaller separate building . By 1935 the inadequacy of arrangements to dry clothes in wet weather was being commented on in Board Minutes and in the following year plans for a new Boiler and Laundry machinery were being made . However , later the same year the project was put ‘ on hold ,’ and it was not until March 1937 that a tender for £ 1,327 from Boon , Sullivan & Luke to erect a Laundry building was signed . Interestingly enough , the planned residence for the Medical Superintendent was deferred ‘ so that the money so made available [ can ] be applied as far as necessary towards the completion and equipment of the laundry block and mortuary .’ This building was located immediately south of the Kitchen and in 2011 was being used as the main general storage area .
With the decision having been made to relocate the Boiler House to the south of the Hospital site , it was logical that a new and fully equipped Laundry be located close by . The two buildings were planned at much the same time but the available evidence shows that while the Boiler House was operational late in 1958 , it was not until 1960 that all the heavy machinery required for the Laundry was installed and operating .
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