More exploring - High Royds Hospital, Menston.
I went to the now closed High Royds Hospital with a friend. We couldn't get into the main hospital building as we needed a ladder but had a look at an outer building. Most of the buildings have been converted into a housing estate which still has the feeling of a hospital layout.
It was more of the same derelict scenes but I hope to check out the main building as it'll be much more interesting.
There were some charming reminders of old technology and more ominous things like the basement which feel uncomfortably like the ending of the Blair Witch Project. There weren't as many examples of nature taking over the building as it has been totally stripped.
I did some research into the hospital's history which is troubling but there are still people alive today who have fond memories of their time working there if not as a patient. I had a look at http://www.highroydshospital.com/ which has loads of information on it's history and I'm glad wasn't tacky or exploitive and was respectful of the former patients.
Ada Ward
Ada Ward entered the asylum in 1911 and spend the rest of her life there until 1967. She was one of the last patients to be to buried at the Buckle Lane Cemetery. The website has hospital records about her first few years at the hospital and words such as 'silly' and 'hysterical' now seem very inappropriate. It was different times and the attitude towards mental health was usually shame and embarrassment. I wondered if today Ada would have been given more of an opportunity to treat her problems and recover with more modern services.
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