Warley Hospital, Main Block, Administrative Buildings With Attached Ward Wings

Warley Hospital is a large complex built as a pauper lunatic asylum following the 1845 Lunatic Asylum Act, which required all counties to provide such facilities. The foundation stone is dated 1851, and construction continued in phases over 45 years. The architects were HE Kendall and RR Pope. The buildings are constructed of red brick with stone dressings and red machine-made tile roofs in the Tudor style. Decorative features include burnt brick diaper patterns and labels with head and leaf stops over doors and mullioned and transomed windows. Many windows have depressed four-centred arched heads, and ward windows are commonly fitted with metal casements in a five and three pane system.

The complex has an intricate plan comprising five main components: a central deep block facing east, attached symmetrical ward wings creating open-fronted courts on the north and south sides, a second parallel ward range to the west creating a narrow inner court with symmetrical wings extending north and south, and an axial wing to the west serving as a first-floor chapel with hall below.

The Principal East Facade

The main east front is a symmetrical two-storey, nine-bay composition with the frontage broken forward twice in a 1:2:3:2:1 arrangement. It features diagonal corner buttresses and an embattled parapet. The central three bays are made asymmetrical by a tower to the south and two facade gables to the north. The ground floor is divided into four bays: the two outer bays have two-centred arched windows, while the inner two bays contain doorways with two-centred heads. These doorways are divided by a central buttress that rises to support a corbelled oriel window of four lights in the centre bay above.

The tower has five stages with a heavy clasping buttress at the south-east corner bearing the foundation stone. It features a large first-floor window of four lights, a gabled niche above with cusped head, two rectangular narrow two-light traceried windows, a clock under the gable, and a diagonally set gabled bell-cote on the parapet to the south-east.

The outer symmetrical three bays on each side are detailed as follows: bays three and seven have three-light ground-floor windows and two-light first-floor windows; bays two and eight feature canted ground-floor bay windows of four lights extending through two storeys with embattled parapets and facade gables with blind gable windows; bays one and nine have ground-floor bay windows of four lights with embattled parapets, first-floor three-light windows, and facade gables with blind windows.

The north and south end elevations are gabled at the east with ground-floor three-light and first-floor two-light windows. To the west are two staggered two-light windows with a doorway (at the south end partly obscured by a 20th-century addition). Further west are bay windows through two storeys and three and two-light windows. The rear west elevation of the north and south ends, partly obscured by later additions, has three and four-light windows, a first-floor single two-light and one single-light window, and blind gable windows.

The East-Facing Ward Courts

The inner elevations of the east-facing ward courts are two storeys with symmetrical cross-wing gabled bays breaking forward. These have ground and first-floor three-light windows, with the upper windows featuring stepped panelled decoration to their heads. The ranges have alternating one and two-light ground and first-floor windows, with three-light windows at the east ends. The north court is considerably obscured by later additions and has an additional projecting east-facing nurses' block dating from 1900. This is three storeys, four bays with two exterior facade stacks and facade gables in a 1:2:1 bay arrangement. It has two-light windows with transoms on the first and second floors, irregular side fenestration, and corridors connecting the block to the wards.

The east front elevation is partly obscured by 20th-century additions and has two gables, major and minor. The ground floor has a three-light window, and the first floor has one three-light and one two-light window below the minor gable.

The outer faces of the east court wings, north and south, have a gabled cross-wing bay breaking forward at the east end with four-light ground-floor and three-light first-floor windows. At the west end are bay windows of five cants to both storeys with a gabled cross-wing behind. There are three-light, two-light and one-light windows. The centre of the block has a three-cant bay window of two lights (the south end ground floor is obscured by a 20th-century addition). The ward range windows are of three lights. The east end has two-light windows, blind above the transom, and a boarded door with two-centred arched door heads. To the west is a tower with parapet and cornice, a ground-floor door with heavy embattled stone hood, a tall first-floor two-light window with two transoms, and above this a blind slit window. Due to falling ground, the north end has an additional lower floor to the tower with a door and two windows. The east end of the range has a similar lower floor.

The North and South Outer Wings

The east faces of the north and south outer wings form a continuous range characterised by the lack of window transoms, continuous hood mouldings to ground-floor windows, and diamond-shaped label stops. Metal casement windows of two by five panes are consistently used. The south range is two storeys, the north range three storeys, with the lower two storeys identical. Projecting cross-wing gabled bays at each end feature different fenestration: the inner one adjacent to the tower has three single-light ground-floor windows and first-floor three-light windows with blind stepped head decoration as seen on the front east courts; the outer cross-wing has a four-light ground-floor window and a similar first-floor window with blind stepped head decoration. The range windows alternate between one and two-light types.

The south and north end elevations are similar to the east ends of the front east courts but with three storeys due to falling ground. The elevations are partly obscured by 20th-century additions.

The west faces of the north and south outer wings (south two storeys, north three storeys) have gabled cross-wings breaking forward at each end with three and four-light windows. Central three-cant bay windows extend through all floors with two-light windows. Stacks (now reduced and capped) are positioned between the central bay windows and end cross-wings, and another on the side of the inner cross-wing. The range has two-light windows. At the inner angle is a doorway with embattled stone hood. There are towers at the inner angles with wings to the west containing doorways and half-octagon stair projections above with slit vent windows. Windows appear on exposed faces with upper parapets and cornices.

The west projection is two storeys with a two-bay range and a single-storey four-bay range with the second bay from the east projecting as a gabled cross-wing. On the north, the west projection has only the two-storey bay with one bay as a gabled cross-wing, four-light windows with the upper one having blind stepped head decoration, and a stack to the range on the inner face.

The West Elevation and Chapel

The west elevation consists of north and south courts on each side of the axial chapel, with ground floors partly obscured by additions. A gabled projecting cross-wing adjacent to the chapel window has a ground-floor four-light window and first-floor three-light window. The central gabled bay to the range has three-cant bay windows with alternating two and three-light windows along the whole range. The outer cross-wing gabled bay has four-light windows with the upper one featuring blind stepped head decoration.

The first-floor chapel, now a redundant ward, is stone-faced with transepts and aisles. The south aisle has a lean-to roof, while the north is two storeys with a flat roof and parapet, and also has a stair tower. The ground floor is obscured by additions. Principal windows have two-centred heads with blind tympana and metal casements with glazing bars in eight by eight pane configurations. The west end has twelve by eight panes. On the south side is a clerestory with two-centred traceried blind windows.

Interior

The administrative area entrance hall has doorways with segment heads and labels with head stops, and a door with a four-centred arch in a square moulded frame with fleurons in a deep cavetto and leaf-decorated spandrels. The fireplace has a square embattled surround with cavetto moulding and leaf decoration. Two angels above hold the arms of Essex in a gabled niche. The fire opening has a four-centred arch with leaf decoration in the spandrels and an outer double ogee moulding. The ceiling has moulded joists on corbels with leaf, flower and angle decoration.

The stair to the committee room is in the Perpendicular style with a stairwell featuring newel posts with double ogee moulded chamfers, shaped stops, and shaped newel finials. There is a grid of blind tracery over the side boarding with leaf-decorated spandrels, and balusters of square section twisted wrought-iron. A rear stair follows a similar style but is simpler.

The chapel interior has leaf and angel-decorated corbels and labels with head stops.

Historical Context

The hospital was built as a consequence of the 1845 Lunatic Asylum Act. In 1849, 86 acres of the Brentwood Hall Estate were purchased. The site proved difficult to develop due to land gradients and quicksands in the sub-soil. The original design for 300 patients featured a totally symmetrical plan of both buildings and gardens, clearly seen in the main block. However, overcrowding required accommodation for 450 patients, and even this proved a gross underestimate, necessitating additional building in 1863, 1870, 1888, 1897 and 1936. The style of the original building was described as "medieval, of the Tudor period, being substantial, cheerful, English in character, and not too expensive".

Warley Hospital, Tower House and The Lodge form a group.