The Old South Range Of Hospital

The Old South Range is a former workhouse, later a hospital, constructed between 1838 and 1839. It is primarily built from local stone rubble with dressed stone quoins and red brick window dressings, while sections of the rear wall have been roughcast. The roof is slate, with hipped sections and gable-ended wings at either end.

Originally part of a complex of three parallel ranges—the central range of which this building represents—the building now retains a long, south-facing facade. The front north range was rebuilt in 1906, while the service range behind has been demolished. The building features a slightly deeper central and right-hand block, with a central entrance in a full-height canted bay and projecting wings at each end. In the later 19th century, two-storey wings were added to both the front and rear of the left-hand end, followed by 20th-century wings to the front of the right-hand end, one likely serving as a laundry, the other as an administration office. A covered corridor was built in the late 20th century to connect the original building to the rebuilt front range.

The north front is symmetrical, with three storeys and a 2:7:2:3:2:7:2 bay arrangement. The central seven bays project forward, featuring a three-window full-height canted bay. Each of the end bays also slightly projects, featuring an oculus in its gable. The windows have red brick dressings and segmental brick arches. The original 12-pane sashes remain in the first-floor windows of the central block, and in two second-floor windows of the right-hand gable projection. Other sashes have been replaced in the 20th century, and ground-floor window openings have been enlarged. Some windows are blocked, and corridors have been inserted. The doorway in the canted bay has a dressed stone surround, with a 20th-century clock recessed above. An ornate wrought iron weathervane sits atop the roof ridge of the central block. A later 19th-century wing of stone rubble, with a gable-ended slate roof and 20th-century sashes, is attached to the front of the left-hand end. A mid to late 20th-century brick wing creates a covered corridor to the right of the central doorway, followed by a 20th-century two-storey wing with a hipped roof and a large brick stack. A single-storey wing with a gable end projects from the front of the right-hand end. The rear elevation is asymmetrical, with a recessed right-hand end and a canted bay in the centre. It has various sash windows, some of which retain their original 12-pane glazing. The left end of the rear elevation has a small 20th-century projecting wing, while a large mid to late 19th-century two-storey wing is present at the right end, with ground-floor windows retaining their original 24-pane sashes. Fire escapes and other small 20th-century additions are also present on the rear. The interior was inaccessible during a survey in October 1987.