Normansfield Hospital

Normansfield Hospital Grade II*

Former private sanatorium for children with learning disabilities, founded in 1868 by Dr John Langdon Down. The main building dates to 1866, with additions made in 1872, 1877 and 1891. A private theatre, designed by Rowland Plumbe, was added to the north wing between 1877 and 1879. The hospital remained in private ownership under the Langdon Down family until 1948, when it was sold to the NHS.

The building is constructed in pale yellow stock brick with stone dressings, brick quoins and rustication. The central section of four storeys, built in 1866, is in French Second Empire style with two sets of paired sashes under moulded stone heads on each floor from ground to second floor, surmounted by a bracketed cornice. A domed roof with round-arched dormers and scroll-pattern cast iron balustrade is covered in fishscale slate. Between the ground floor windows sits a bas-relief plaque depicting Langdon Down; at first floor level is a coat-of-arms.

Flanking the central block are two three-storey additions of 1872, each of three windows. The right-hand addition contains a stone-cased main entrance flanked by canted bay windows at ground and first floor. The ground floor windows feature patterned glazing and part stained glass. An octagonal patterned iron and glass conservatory is attached to this wing. The left-hand addition is in similar but less elaborate style. Plainer wings of 1877 flank these additions; the left-hand wing has twisted cast iron lamp standards to an entrance. Behind the left wing is the Entertainment Hall with round-arched windows and diaper-patterned slated roof, attached to former dairy buildings and a coach yard. Two towers are present: a small one with bracketed pyramidal roof, and a taller one with pyramidal roof, gabled dormer and elaborate wrought-iron weather vane. A clock tower with pyramidal roof, dated 1891 on a foundation stone laid by Langdon Down, stands to the rear of the right wing, behind which sits an elaborate cast-iron fire escape. All roofs are slated, with tall brick chimney stacks.

The entrance hall features a patterned Minton-tiled floor and a dog-leg open-tread staircase with patterned cast-iron balusters, a wreathed handrail and patterned coved cornice. The dining room to the left displays very fine decoration with an elaborate chimneypiece in the Aesthetic manner. The door features a matching coved overshelf and gilded panels of bay leaves, together with a brass plate depicting apples. A Lincrusta ceiling with patterned cornice is surmounted by a deep gilded frieze depicting swags of fruit and flowers with birds; a further frieze of fruit runs above the skirting board. The bay window contains patterned stained glass and two panels depicting females in classical dress. The drawing room to the right of the hall has a gilded Lincrusta ceiling with an elaborate gilded cornice and deep gilded floral frieze. Windows feature patterned stained glass and Art Nouveau light fittings. A carved marble fireplace with gilded overmantel mirror is flanked by two-leaf doors with stained glass overlights leading into the conservatory. A small room off the conservatory has an elaborate Lincrusta ceiling and deep floral frieze.

The Entertainment Hall is a particularly fine and rare surviving example of a private theatre. The proscenium and stage are scaled-down models of contemporary theatres. The proscenium is richly coloured and gilded, with pairs of proscenium doors approached by steps with ornamental wrought-iron balustrades on either side of the stage. These doors are gilded and painted with panels depicting flora and fauna. Above are fine figure paintings set in Gothic arched recesses. The stage is raked and retains most of its original equipment, scenery and accommodation. The scene grooves are an extremely rare survival and unique in London, possibly in Britain, in that they remain in working order. The auditorium has a flat floor, fair-faced brick walls and tall round-arched windows beneath which are elaborate cast-iron radiator grilles matching the balustrade of a deep raked balcony across the rear. The roof is of pine with open trusses and features an elaborate and complete gas sunburner at its centre.

Dr John Langdon Down, having spent ten years at the Royal Earlswood Asylum for children with learning disabilities and researched the condition that became known as Down's Syndrome, purchased this house (built two years earlier and standing in parkland) in 1868 to establish his own private institution. He eventually extended it to house 115 patients in a non-institutional style, with children trained and encouraged in a variety of activities rather than being confined and treated in a traditional manner.