Littlemore Hospital

Littlemore Hospital is a County Lunatic Asylum built in 1846, with enlargements in 1847 and 1852. It was designed by R.N. Clark of Nottingham, followed by H.J. Underwood and J.C. Buckler. The building is constructed from squared coursed limestone rubble with ashlar dressing and has shallow-pitched Welsh slate roofs with stone stacks.

The central block features wings that radiate from flanking octagonal towers. The main block is three stories high and has 11 sash windows, with the end bays recessed. It has ashlar quoins and a first-floor storey-band. The second, sixth, and tenth bays project forward with shallow-pitched gables, supported by heavy stone brackets. The first-floor windows in these bays have projecting lintels, and the sixth bay features plain pilasters that continue around the gable, along with a moulded stone hood on brackets over the main entrance. The roof is hipped with boxed eaves.

The three-story towers have timber-bracketted eaves and round-headed sashes, and they are connected to the main block by one-story ranges. At the rear of the main block, there is a central gabled projection with a bellcote. The two-story wings, which have 12 sashes each, form the sides of the forecourt and end in five-by-three bay pavilions that run parallel to the main block. These two-story fronts have a cornice and a plain parapet, featuring a central canted two-story bay window with two, three, and two sashes under a triangular pediment. The flanking sashes have plain ashlar architraves and blocks supporting the sills. Additional plain two-story wings extend from the towers to the sides and rear. The outer wings that run at right angles to the main block and the central rear wing are excluded from this description.