More information : St Crispin Hospital, originally Berrywood Asylum, was built in 1876 to take in the mentally ill amongst the paupers of Northamptonshire, previously accommodated under contract with Northampton General Asylum. Designed by Robert Griffiths, the main building consisted of a central administrative block and water/clock tower with wards for men and women ranged to either side, men to the east and women to the west. The hospital was extended; in 1888, when an innovative block for Idiot Children was added onto the women's wards; in 1894; and again in 1904. After the creation of the National Health Service in 1948 the building was once again extended and altered, particularly the central block and north ranges. The hospital was closed in 1995. In 2000 the main hall in the central block was partially destroyed by fire. Both the range built for Idiot Children and the west wing of the women's wards have recently been converted for residential use, and the area around the hospital, including outlying hospital buildings, partially developed for housing and associated community use. Permission was granted for demolition of some of the north ranges, and this work is complete.
All elements of St Crispin hospital are constructed of red brick in Flemish Bond with buff and black brick and limestone dressings and slate roofs. The final form of the core hospital buildings consisted of two parallel ranges either side of a central administration block and clock tower, linked by cross wings to create courtyards. This pavilion plan was oriented roughly east-west. Additional buildings linked to this main hospital complex included the entrance block, with service buildings to either side, and the Superintendant's House linked to the north-east corner of the north-east range. Of the original buildings and the later NHS additions, only the south ranges, outer cross wings and central administration buildings south of the clock tower remain, as well as the entrance block and Superintendant's House.
The clock tower is at the centre of the site, and has three stages crowned by a clock with curved, Baroque style leaded roof with dormer windows inset, and cupola with pyramidal roof. Below the roof each side of the tower has a clock face with sandstone surround. The upper stage of the main tower has three tall narrow windows in recessed panels to each side, with round buff brick arches and buff brick pilasters. The two lower stages, which contain water tanks, have smaller windows.
The administration block buildings that flank the clock tower are of two storeys, while the dining/community hall to the rear is a double height structure with polygonal apse to the south end, the openings to either side, with round arches above buff brick pilasters. This building has been damaged by fire resulting in the loss of the roof and severe damage to the roof structure and interior.
The south ranges, the patient wings, to either side of the administration block are mainly of three storeys, with tall chimney stacks to each of the main blocks. The facades have buff brick string courses between each storey, at lintel height. Most of the windows are missing, but the west cross-wing has been recently renovated.
The entrance block, which now stands isolated from the main range, is of two storeys with buff brick string courses below the eaves and above the ground floor windows. It retains its neo-classical limestone entrance with central door with pediment over and openings to either side, now boarded over. The Superintendant's House is similar, but with deep bracketed eaves and limestone dressings to the ground floor windows and entrance porch in the main north-east elevation.
The interiors of the patient wings and the administration block were not accessible. Both the entrance block and the Superintendant's House have been unoccupied for some years, and have suffered some loss of fabric due to vandalism and decay. The entrance block retains its stairs with cast-iron balusters, as well as some plasterwork and joinery. The Superintendant's House has lost its staircase, but retains decorative plasterwork and moulded joinery detail.
St Crispin Hospital has been assessed for listing twice, first in 1986 and again in 1997. Connolly Lodge, the former Isolation Hospital, and the chapel were included on the statutory list at Grade II in 1989, and the listing of both was upheld in 1997. The hospital and farm buildings were separately assessed and considered to be not listable on both occasions.
St Crispin Hospital, built in 1876, is a relatively late example of a county pauper lunatic asylum, the provision of which was made compulsory by The Lunatic Asylums Act of 1845. By 1888 sixty three had been erected in England, adding to the twenty two built between 1808 and 1845. St Crispin Hospital is a late example of the pavilion plan, first used in general hospitals in the late 1850s and early 1860s.
When St Crispin's was assessed for listing in 1997 the not to list decision was based on increased understanding of this building type, drawn from research and extensive site visits undertaken by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England survey. It was acknowledged that architecturally the main hospital buildings, including the Superintendant's House, were 'both attractive and well designed', but that the hospital plan was standard and that the quality of design did not match the best listed examples. This assessment still holds, and the judgment is reinforced by the recent demolition (with Conservation Area Consent) of at least half of the hospital buildings, as well as the damage by fire to the central hall and the loss of fabric in the form of windows and interiors of those structures that remain.
As well as the hall, which has been lost, and the Superintendant's House, where vestiges of decorative detail survive, the 1997 advice also singles out the Clock Tower for its design and as a local landmark. The tower is clearly an important feature locally, and makes a strong statement against the skyline. It is locally important and it would be unfortunate if it was lost as it has a clear associations with the listed chapel and lodge. However, it does not have the quality to merit designation on its own. The tower's value locally is not only as a striking landmark, but as an integral part of the hospital complex within a designed landscape. The remaining hospital buildings, set in extensive grounds, include several unlisted ancillary buildings (now converted to other uses), as well as the Grade II listed Chapel and Connolly Lodge (the former isolation hospital). Together they form an ensemble of considerable local importance which is appropriately and adequately protected by its conservation area status.
SOURCES
Richardson, Harriet, English Hospitals 1660-1948, RCHME, (1998)
Historic Building Recording of St Crispin's Hospital, Upton, Northamptonshire, October to November 2002. Northamptonshire Archaeology (August 2003)
The Clock Tower at St Crispin Hospital is not of special architectural or historical interest and does not meet the criteria for inclusion on the statutory list. The surviving hospital buildings assessed here also do not merit listing.
The Clock Tower and hospital buildings at St Crispin Hospital, part of a late 19th century county asylum, are not recommended for designation for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural Interest: The Clock Tower is undistinguished, of standard design and slightly unbalanced by its oversized clock turret. It does not compare well with listed examples of the same period.
* Plan: The pavilion plan of the hospital buildings is not innovative by this date.
* Intactness: The north wings of the hospital have been demolished, and the remaining buildings have suffered from loss of fabric and interior detail. (1)
Northamptonshire had for many years avoided the heavy cost of building a new asylum after the 1845 Act due to the unique arrangement with the local charity hospital - Northampton General Lunatic Asylum (1839). It took all the County pauper lunatics on a contractual basis. However, rising numbers in need of care put pressure on the Commissioners in Lunacy. It was very unpopular with the locals who described 'that the long suffering ratepayers have not much to be proud of except it is a most hideous building' and also described as "monstrously ugly structure whose chief architectural feature is a 'tall chimney' ''. The prime target was however the alledged extravagance with which the asylum was administered. To counter these complaints the asylum took in patients from other counties and actually ran at a profit. (2)
Northampton County Asylum (St Crispin) 1876 Griffiths, R (County Surv) (3)
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