Former Aberdeen Convalescent Hospital, Craigton Road, Cults

Former Aberdeen Convalescent Hospital, Craigton Road, Cults

Built between 1895 and 1897, the former Aberdeen Convalescent Hospital was designed by William and John Smith and Kelly. It is a two-storey building with attic accommodation, arranged in a roughly T-plan with nine bays and constructed in squared and snecked pink granite. The gables feature Arts and Crafts style half-timbering with moulded bargeboards. The building stands on an elevated rubble terrace bounded by later railings, positioned to the northwest of Cults on the edge of Aberdeen, within formerly landscaped grounds.

The principal south elevation is largely symmetrical. The advanced end bays project slightly and contain tripartite windows at ground floor level and bipartite windows on the first floor. Moulded and straight hoodmoulds are positioned above the ground floor windows. A timber veranda with later glazing runs the full width of the ground floor between the projecting end bays. Two central gablets interrupt the roofline—one breaking the eaves and one sitting on the roof ridge itself.

The rear section side elevation includes two rectangular dormer windows and a projecting bay at ground floor level. Adjacent to the rear gable is a single-storey L-plan outshot with a piended roof and central lantern. The windows throughout are predominantly 15-pane timber sash and case frames in varying glazing patterns. The pitched and gabled roofs are slated, with painted timber rafter ends visible below the overhanging eaves. Several tall chimneystacks of varying sizes, topped with clay pots, run predominantly along the ridge. Later external metal staircases are attached to the side and rear elevations but are excluded from the listing.

The interior retains late-19th century timber and plasterwork fixtures including wainscoting, dado rails, deep skirting and moulded cornicing. A central staircase features moulded timber balusters and a timber handrail. The glazed inner entrance door incorporates a fanlight, and panelled timber and glazed doors provide access to the veranda. Some ground floor rooms contain tiled fireplaces. The attic space is fitted out as a self-contained warden's flat.

The hospital was built to provide convalescent care for post-operative patients from Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, replacing the Lochhead convalescent home established in 1874 in central Aberdeen. The first patients were admitted in October 1897. The building was designed to accommodate 29 patients and live-in nursing staff. Funding came from the sale proceeds of the earlier facility and a £5,000 gift from the trustees of the late John Gray Chalmers of Banchory.

The 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey map (revised 1899, published 1901) shows the building in its current largely T-plan form with advanced end bays, and the footprint remains substantially unchanged from this period. A photograph from 1897 documents an open veranda with glazed roof leading onto the south-facing terrace; this structure survives largely intact though now enclosed.

In 1948, the convalescent hospital became part of the National Health Service under the management of the Aberdeen General Hospitals Board of Management. It closed in 1964 and was sold in 1969. From 1972 to 1996, the site functioned as the campus of Aberdeen American School, then as Aberdeen Waldorf School until 2014. During the school years, additional teaching buildings were constructed including a single-storey classroom block to the southwest, a sports hall and nursery to the north, all of which are excluded from the listing. The site has remained unoccupied since the school closed in 2014.