Grassington Hospital

Description

Grassington Hospital from the air, unknown date © Kenneth Smith, 2004

In 1919 a large area of old hay meadows alongside the Hebden Road was sold to the Bradford Health Authority and Grassington Hospital was built. At its core was a long two-storey building with rooms opening out directly onto balconies and fresh air. This was a TB sanatorium with about 200 beds and around it were accommodation for doctors and other staff. Here, adults and children from all over the north of England and beyond were sent in the hope that the pure Dales air would help them recover from the dreadful disease of tuberculosis.

With TB under the control of antibiotics, the hospital became increasingly redundant. In 1966 it ceased to be a sanatorium and instead became a Psycho-Geriatric hospital. It finally closed in 1984. It lay derelict for many years until in 1996 a developer got planning permission to demolish the hospital to make way for luxury housing. The hay meadows survived and are now cared for by Natural England and the residents.

Source:

Goldthorpe, Ian (1998) Grassington Towards the Millennium. Grassington: The Dales Book Centre