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Greaves Hall

Greaves Hall was built in 1900 by Thomas Talbot Leyland Scarisbrick and was surrounded by some 124 acres. Mr Scarisbrick, his wife and sons lived in the mansion until the end of the first World War. He then moved to Scarisbrick Hall and the mansion was sold to a consortium of local farmers headed by Mr Robert Ball a local neighbour. The mansion stood empty for a while and it is understood that Mr Ball purchased the estate and cultivated the land himself. Mr Ball tried without success to sell the estate in 1923 in the “Country Life Magazine”. 

On the 3rd May 1932 after several years of Dormancy the mansion was leased to a Mrs Dorothy Glaister Greaves and what then became the Sherbrook School of Greaves Hall.

.....continued after the photographs

The Lancashire Hospital Board leased the Hall for the isolation of Diphtheria cases in the late 30’s. September 1939 saw Greaves Hall being approved to receive, control, care and treat 100 defectives. In 1953 the first sod of earth was cut in the first of several phases to allow Greaves Hall to eventually provide some 1,008 beds for mentally subnormal patients of both sexes. The first phase was completed at a cost of £878,667 in 1958, this provided accommodation for 270 patients. This phase included the boiler house, water tower, female patient’s workshops, nurse’s home, 28 staff houses and extensive sewer works.

1959 to 1964 saw phase two completed providing further accommodation for 340 patients. The cost was £1,531,477 and for this sum of monies, some 8 villa style buildings were constructed, kitchen and stores block, laundry, recreation hall, gymnasium, male patient’s workshops, garages, farm buildings, artisan workshops, school and 8 classrooms, nurses training school, nurses hostel and 36 staff houses.

The black and white photographs have been added from other sources to show the contrast and the history behind Greaves Hall without which the full extent of the ruins cannot be fully appreciated.

The 1989 White paper on Community Care ‘Caring for People’ and the ‘National Health Service and Community Care Act’, set the scene for the gradual run-down of the hospital. From the 1st April 1993, the community care reforms have been functional. With patients being cared for in the community the closure of Greaves Hall resulted.

The mock tudor mansion now awaits its fate. It shows signs of extreme fire damage and a great deal has now been knocked down since the fires. I personally think this modern way of business financially rewarding itself at the destruction of what our ancestors have worked hard to provide is a very sad method to live by.

Photographs taken using Nikon D2Xs producing a 20MB RAW file (4,288 x 2,848), samples shown are 640 x 425 pixels

© Copyright Mark Savage (slideintime.com) 2003-2006.
All photographs copyright Mark Savage (slideintime.com) 2003-2006 unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved.