I have lived on the estate that is springing up in the old hospital grounds for around 18 months. The place really intrigues me with the main mens ward now well on the way to refurbishment.I have just heard that the clock tower has been saved from demolition and will undergo some sort of restoration in the near future. I have spoken to people who have worked in the hospital in the past and everyone talks about what a close knit community it was. There was a real sense of a family atmosphere about the place. I would love to view any old photos of the place or listen to stories from people who have worked there in the past.

The only memory i have is going there in the early eighties to try and capture one of the wild kittens that lived in the grounds, to take home as a family pet. Good job i never managed to catch one really....mmmmm.

Hi there, person from across the road from me, LMAO
If your living on that new estate across from Winn Gardens, then there might be the remains of the filming of The Last Train over there, at least, that is what I have read on the net somewhere.
You'll have to come across for a cuppa someday, heh.

I have found a referance to the last train on the net myself and there is one picture of some of the old buildings that are now gone. I can't really make my mind up as to where the picture was actually taken. I found a few more pics on the net and one of my neighbours lent me a copy of a book published in 1972 to celebrate the hospitals centenary. There were two or three really good pics in there and i managed to get some copies done.
PS Thanks for the invite, i may take you up on that offer the next time i get off the tram.

Your welcome on the invite, I am in most days, well, to be honest, every friggin day, LMAO, well, except Mondays.......but always in after 4pm as I have to be for my kid, ya can't miss where we are situated, right across from that damn eyesore that is a tower block, although we do have fun watching people fail their driving tests in the carpark opposite, hahahaha.

Almost everyone has some stories about Middlewood Hospital.

I have never actually been on the site but a friend of mine remembers walking around the hospital just after it closed and recalls seeing an elderly man in a sort of dressing gown walking around outside when he looked again the man had disappeared!! He said it was very creepy and was quite sure it was a ghost he saw.

To be honest it wouldn't suprise me if a lot of people in these new houses had some sort of spooky experience.

I worked in the Stores Dept at Middlewood
for a few years in the 70's.
I had a copy of the Centenery Book but
managed to lose it !! A fascinating read
if you can get hold of a copy.
The place had a great atmosphere back then.
I don't believe in Ghosts but the site was
spooky on dark winter evenings.

I didn't work there, I was just unfortunate enough to have to visit someone a few times. This was about 25 years ago. It was scary. I used to take a 20 pack of Park Drive ciggies in. You should have seen the eyes of the other 'patients' when I handed them over. They nearly popped out of their heads. The next bit was worse as they started moving slowly towards us. It was like something out of the thriller video.

Is it gone now? I have hardly been in Sheffield over the last 20 years.

Yes it has gone now and they have built some trendy houses on the site.
Its got a reputation for being haunted but its not suprising really is it.

Oh thanks, I live just across from the hospital and I am gonna be having nightmares now, just great for Halloween, LMAO, j/k.

To Kry 10 & blue 11265:I was fortunate enough to be given a guided tour by Drew, the site manager, about 6 months ago. He took me all round the old asylum, from basement to roof. Drew said that when they 1st arrived there were still the old 'torture beds' in the basement with the straps still attached!
Up in the roof space there are some old beams, written on 1 of these beams are the words 'kill all the children, all kids must die', in pink chalk, too high for a child to reach.
Drew also said that 2 of the workmen saw 'an old lady in a shawl' 1 night when they slept on site, in a part of the asylum that has now been demolished. He also said he would try to get the photo's from head office which someone took before they started work on the place.
I also went round the old church(which is still there and sold), when the estate agent had a 'viewing' day.The sun was shining through the stained glass windows, which looked absolutely gorgeous.
I now drive the refuse collection vehicle on Middlewood(now called Wadsley Village) and Winn Gardens, opposite.
I look foreward to coming back to this page, but it won't be 'til next Tuesday. See ya soon.

Thanks for that info Dizzy. You have made the hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention. It would be great to see the pictures that were taken.

Ps my brother in law Jeff Webster also collects the refuse on the estate.

After reading this stuff it brings back a very strange day for me,
I used to be a scaffolder and worked on Middlewood site but left after they had built about 20 houses because my tackle kept going missing and was being found in the house at the bottom of the hill ( is it still there?) and i packed in because i thought there were people pinching it but after reading this it has made me think again but it could still have been some groundworker mucking about but i will leave it up to u to make your own mind up??

I only ever went to the hospital once in April 1975.
I was almost leaving school and on the ward i visited its a time i never forgot.
There was an old lady and one of her feet had half missing.
She had some very heavy boots made to fit her and i think the same foot was a clubb foot.
I went to help her as instructed by the teacher and she attacked me.
Now this might sound funny being attacked by a disabled woman probably in her 80s or 90s, but it was very distressing and frightened me as she was like a woman possesed.
It took male nurses to get her off me.

I never went back there after that, and on the radio that afternoon in that ward was Minnie Rippertons Loving you, and when that song comes on the radio even today it reminds me of that hot afternoon back in 1975.

Did anyone know this lady.

I drive the wagon which Jeff works on. Unfortunately Drew never rang me to say he'd got the photos, so I haven't seen them either! Are you the one who 'works with' trains? I'll tell him 2moro I've been 'chatting' to you! See ya Thursday!

A lady i used to work with at the childrens lives down there, and used to tell us about the visitor she used to get.
She would be busy doing things and turn around and an old lady would be there. She did find out that she was an escapee from Middlewood and had to ring up for someone to come and collect her. After a while she started locking the door as the lady was quite disturbing and it was becoming a regular occurance.

Hmmm, I wonder if that was Maureen, this was a lady that was notorious for hanging around middlewood shouting at people "Have ya got a light?" and jumping onto the tram, she travelled everywhere that woman, heh.

Not seen her in months, so god knows what has happened to her.

Maureen is still about, we sometimes see her walking on Middlewood Rd or down at Hillsboro shops. Jeff said she still begs for fags or a light,and starts a rumpus if she doesn't get her own way!There's another bloke who apparently 'shows off' a bit round the shops,if he wants to wee he alledgedly 'gets it out anywhere'.Been up to the asylum today, the cabins are gone and it looks like people might soon be moving in,no chance of a guided tour unless you want to look round the new appartments!

Dizzy an co. There has been at least one couple living in those apartments for the last three weeks or so. They are brave people. Would not mind when the place is thrivin but not when one end of the building is still practically a shell and all alone.

Ps. say hello to "our jeff" for me cheers ;)

Originally posted by blue11265
I have lived on the estate that is springing up in the old hospital grounds for around 18 months. The place really intrigues me with the main mens ward now well on the way to refurbishment.I have just heard that the clock tower has been saved from demolition and will undergo some sort of restoration in the near future. I have spoken to people who have worked in the hospital in the past and everyone talks about what a close knit community it was. There was a real sense of a family atmosphere about the place. I would love to view any old photos of the place or listen to stories from people who have worked there in the past.

The only memory i have is going there in the early eighties to try and capture one of the wild kittens that lived in the grounds, to take home as a family pet. Good job i never managed to catch one really....mmmmm.

++++++++++=======

Hi Franc

This has been discussed on here before try the following;
http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread/t-4310.html

and
http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread/t-3303.html

===========================

I have just moved in to Kingswood Hall I am led to beleive that it once was a mental hospital would love ot find out more about it, its history etc and generally about the hospital area itself, the plot of land is massive its amazing how many houses are now there. Also interested in finding out aobut the clocktower actually had an explore round it a couple of weeks ago very erie, woudl be great if it got restored into houses, or something for new residents i.e somewhere to meet

Any info would be great

Hello to you across the road, hope you enjoy your house, they look pretty posh from what I have seen while going past them, and I agree about what you said, they should do something with the old buildings, generate some interest, heh.

na then

I have had a leaflet through the door advising about a meeting that will be held on Thursday 5 th February 2004. Representatives from the council, public transport, builders local police etc and is aimed at residents of Winn Gardens and Wadsley Park Village.
It will be held at Marcliffe School between the hours of 4 and 7 pm.
I will attend to see if i can find owt out.

Hope to see you there KRY10.

Wondered if anyone knows what is going to happen to the clocktower have seen some activity there in the last week so wondered if it was going to be developed??

As for the Kingswood hall I can safely say haven't seen any ghosts as yet

Hi.I remember working night shift,as a male nurse on ward 9 in Kingswood block in the 1960s.I used to sit in the staff room,which was at the corner of the building on the top floor.The small room had a huge mantlepiece and a big roaring open fire.The wind used to howl round the corner of the building,and I used to read victorian novels.Mostly Dickens and Trollope.the place had real atmosphere on wild winter nights.I remember being on duty there during the great Sheffield gale of 1961.I was on a ward dormitory of approx 50 male patients and just myself.The patients slept all night exept when they passed the door to go to the toilet,or when one would come in to borrow a fag and have a smoke with me and a chinwag.I had known all of them for years,and they Knew me.We were more like old friends.Nothing to be scared about.Its a shame that the hospital was knocked down because the Canadian houses of Parliment in Ottawa were built at the same time as middlewood hospital,and look similar in design.[Neo Gothic].I now live in Western Canada and have many fond memories of Middlewood hospital.

HERRIES

Thank you for your input. I would love to hear more stories about the hospital.

The developers have done a great job of Kingswood, the building looks really impressive from the exterior.

Originally posted by Kry10
Hmmm, I wonder if that was Maureen, this was a lady that was notorious for hanging around middlewood shouting at people "Have ya got a light?" and jumping onto the tram, she travelled everywhere that woman, heh.

Not seen her in months, so god knows what has happened to her.


Maureen is still about as far as i know, sutch a carictor when you got to know her

I have to say that I worked at middlewood for 8 Years in the early 90's and it was the best of my life you got to meat some realy nice people and for some of the people it wasn't there fault they were in there.

I have to say though going down to the morgue at 3o'clock in the morning was an experience, not a bad one just different and when you work there you hear all kind of stories about people missing and ghosts wandering personally i haven't seen anything but i have heard lots of strange noises and bumps but it's an old place that creaks and crack.

There is a video about old middlewood but i'm not quite sure how to go about getting a copy so if anyone knows please let me know

anybody remember the patient who put his head under the bus wheel at the terminus?
i was 15 at the time and only saw the big red patch covered in sawdust.

maybe he is walking around the grounds now?

long shot I know... I worked and Trained at middlewood hospital 1975 - 1985, we were given a copy of a poem written by an old lady who had been a patient there it started like this

what do you see nurses
what do you see
what are you thinking
while you`re looking at me

A little old lady
not very wise
who dribbles her food
and makes no replies

anyone know the rest or could supply me with a copy of the full poem? Starting my training the words sure made an impact !
and I would dearly love to remember it all but memory fails please help if you can

Ta

worked at middlewood hospital for many years

May father was born at Middlewood Hospital in the Lodge House that was just knocked down - that house was built for my grandfather and his new wife in the 30s. My grandfather and his father (my great grandfather) were both male nurses at Middlewood ... my Dad had all sorts of stories about being there, especially when the Italian POWs were kept there.. got a ghost story too about a house just along the main road from the hospital.

Grace

Please enlighten us. There are a couple of lodges left the first is opening as a Nursery and the other one on Middlewood Road as sold for residential use. Are you sure that the one you refer to has been demolished ?.

Please give any information you have as lots of people have a great interest in the area.

Thank you in advance

Blue

I think that Grace is probably on about the lodge at the top end (wortley) of the grounds. When the hospital was open it had buildings scattered over the whole site

my mum worked in the patients shop many years ago & I used to go in the school holidays & help out, it was a weird & wonderful place however could be quite scary & I did see some scary behaviour etc....As for the community it had allsorts there, I remember the boutique which sold really good clothes & then there was a cafe & also a car wash which my grandad used to go to when he picked us up. It was great as everyone knew everyone else. They used to have summer fetes and sell things the patients had made, baskets cushions things like that & it used to get jam packed full these days - that all took place around where the new estate is now.
I was fortunate enough to have a tour around when I was young & saw all the cells and everything & the cellers where the morgue used to be....scary stuff as my grandma was a nurse there & used to tell us about when she was a "junior nurse" & she was asked to take a dead body down to the morgue and as she got to the basement the body started moving and then sat up and asked for his breakfast!!!! Fab story which used to have us in stiches!! I think I have some old photos which I'll try to locate & scan in.

I remember MIddlewood Hospital in the 1940s when i had an Annexe to which some new patients (who were there for minor mental disturbances) would be admitted. There was a bowing green at the rear, where they played bowls practically all day. There was also a working farm where selected patients worked. It produced most of the hospital’s food and covered a vast area.

long shot I know... I worked and Trained at middlewood hospital 1975 - 1985, we were given a copy of a poem written by an old lady who had been a patient there it started like this

what do you see nurses...


Try googling the first line :D

Hugh

Hi - does anyone remember seeing inside the Church at the hospital? We have a family 'myth' that my great, great grandfather painted murals in there. Does anyone know who owns it now? Any info? Thanks, Tim

The land that Winn Gardens is built on used to belong to the Hospital and was used as allotments for the inmates. They were into handicraft and the like also and I remember seeing some wicker work that one of the residents had done and very good it was as well, it could have been sold in Cole Brothers alongside their other goods without any trouble. When I moved into my present house which is about twenty years ago I needed some flags for a patio and I bought them from there, again they were excellent quality, better than you get from a builders merchant and they had steel reinforcing rods in them. When they delivered them in a lorry the driver who looked after the men was excellent and he told me a little of their problems. I was very impressed with the care they had and felt nothing but sympathy for them. A short while later it was announced the hospital was closing. I often wonder what happened to the inmates and how they can be looked after as effectively when they were rehoused all over Sheffield? Admittedly with the intention of putting them back into the community.

That poem has brought tears to my eyes.

Thanks to Hugh I googled and found the poem I have searched for for 20 years, here it is, take time to read it, it applies anywhere really if you delete the word nurse.

What do you see, nurses, what do you see?
What are you thinking, when your looking at me --
A crabby old woman, not very wise,
Uncertain of habit, with far-away eyes,
Who dribbles her food and makes no reply,
When you say in a loud voice -- "I do wish you'd try."
Is that what you're thinking, is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse, you're looking at ME...
I'll tell you who I am, as I sit here so still;
As I rise at your bidding, as I eat at your will.

I'm a small child of ten with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters, who love one another,
A young girl of sixteen with wings on her feet.
Dreaming that soon now a lover she'll meet;
A bride soon at twenty -- my heart gives a leap,
Remembering the vows that I promised to keep;
At twenty-five now I have young of my own,
Who need me to build a secure, happy home;
A woman of thirty, my young now grow fast,
Bound to each other with ties that should last;
At forty, my young sons have grown and are gone,
But my man's beside me to see I don't mourn;
At fifty once more babies play 'round my knee,
Again we know children, my loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me, my husband is dead,
I look at the future, I shudder with dread,
For my young are all rearing young of their own,
And I think of the years and the love that I've known;
I'm an old woman now and nature is cruel --
'Tis her jest to make old age look like a fool.

I remember the joys, I remember the pain,
And I'm loving and living life over again,
I think of the years, all too few -- gone too fast,
And accept the stark fact that nothing can last --
So I open your eyes, nurses, open and see,
Not a crabby old woman, look closer, nurses -- see ME

jan2002

There used to be an annex at Grenoside .Salt Box Lane area
I remember doing some work there 60-1.
We used to buy our lunch .Best sponge pudding I have ever had

Does anyone remember the staff and social club at Middlewood Hospital. I know it was there in the late 70's and early 80's as I was often there as a child.

I remember the staff social club, had a few good nights in there !
Jogged the memory, the christmas parties were great fun

hi, im not from sheffield, and im quite young so i dont really remember the asylum, but something very unusual happened to me recently. i'm a spiritualist medium, but i choose not to use it. however, something is being highly persistant with me and it wont go away. i know that it is connected to middlewood asylum and its becoming increasingly apparent that i should go and visit soon. i had no idea that the site was under rennovation, which is even wierder as i keep getting told that i must go soon before it's too late. the very wierd thing is, a friend of mine is a photographer, and he recently took some pics of the old place, and one of them jumped out at me as being where i need to go. it sounds as though it's the spot where someone previously described the pink chalk. if anyone has any information for me about the type of patients held there, particularly young females. i would be grateful. xx

A friend of mine told me that in the late 60s that his dad was a delivery driver, delivering sheets and things to the hospital.
One afternoon, he was reversing his van up to the loading bay when he noticed a line of six small men all with bald heads, all walking in a line towards one of the buldings.
Walking with them were a couple of male orderlies.
One of the small people suddenly grinned and broke ranks and tottered over to the van. He was dragged back into line by a yelling orderly and just as they passed through the rubber doors of the building, one of the orderlies slapped him around the head hard.
I was only a kid when I heared this but years later I asked my friends dad about it and he said it actually happened.

I wonder if there are any other wierd tales like that about the place.

I worked at Middlewood Hospital for a few months in the late 70's - it always had a creepy feel about !

My husbands Grandfather, Jack Lunn was a joiner at Middlewood Hospital for many years. When he died, he was laid in the Chapel on the grounds before his funeral. His daughter, my mother-in Law, says that there was a War 'Heroes' or war plaque of some sort that was once on the wall inside. This plaque had his name on it after serving in REMY in WWII. She has asked me to see if anyone might know where that plaque is now?? Any help is greatfully appreciated!

Hi Mel

When the Church was put up for sale a couple of years ago i attended a viewing. The church had been stripped out. Even the floor boards had been taken up in certain areas.

I remember that a large stained glass window was dedicated to staff who lost thier lives during the war (ww11 i think).
Sorry i cant help re the plaque.

Wow, very eerie stories indeed.
I just remember living in Winn Gardens and always seeing the odd patient wondering around on Middlewood Rd. I guess as a kid, I never knew who they were. Sometimes we just say hi.

Thanks for the background to Winn Gardens Grahame. If I tell my mom now, she may never believe it.

I worked on a housing estate opposite the hospital 1962/63 built by the Sheffield Council Public Works Department. Is it still there?

I worked on a housing estate opposite the hospital 1962/63 built by the Sheffield Council Public Works Department. Is it still there?
It certainly is peterdo; it's the Winn Gardens estate. It's had something of a poor reputation in recent years, but is now on the up once more thanks in part to the excellent efforts of our very own fox20thC who does a lot of excellent work in the community on there. You'll find plenty of fox's posts on here to look at and if you follow some of her links you'll see some pictures of the estate as it is now.

This is an 'off the wall' question but a friend of my son lives on the new estate at Middlewood and they seem to think that actual bodies were exhumed from the grounds around the Chapel and moved somewhere? Could this be true or just more rumour to add to the mysterious happenings they have experienced in their house?
-----------------------

It certainly is peterdo; it's the Winn Gardens estate. It's had something of a poor reputation in recent years, but is now on the up once more thanks in part to the excellent efforts of our very own fox20thC who does a lot of excellent work in the community on there. You'll find plenty of fox's posts on here to look at and if you follow some of her links you'll see some pictures of the estate as it is now.

Ahh cheers Halibut... such kind words. :) Possibly see you at festival? If you come don't forget your lifeboat! :P

Thanks halibut. :thumbsup:

My mum worked at Middlewood for many years as a domestic and used to tell me tales of the ongoings there and as I got older I got more and more fasinated by the place so when it was first shut down me and a few friends went for a snoop around (very stupid and dangerous) and just as we were looking through a window we saw a bedroom with a bed in the middle with an old woman shuffling past the doorway I don't think any of us have screamed so loud or run so fast in our lives!!!

Found the WWII Plaque!!!! After a lengthy search, Bloor homes e-mailed me scanned documents that directed me to the Sheffield Galleries and a kind lady there who informed me that actually 2 plaques are indeed in their possession! Preserved for history. As for the stained glass memorial in St. Aiden's Chapel....sadly the Gallery does not know what happened to it but they did save lots of other items as well. Artwork from former patients used for 'occupational therapy'. (Bloor says the Chapel was actually sold to a local man for development, therefore they don't know about the stained glass)Hopefully after the Gallery re-opens the Plaque's can be viewed. She said it would not be on public display at that time but atleast they there! Ive asked to view them after the New Year and document what I can to give to the Bradfield Historical Society so that anyone who wishes to research them can do so. So, if you had a loved one listed on either Plaque, they have been saved. Just thought you may like to know. I will let people know once I am able to get documentation to Bradfield. Thanks to anyone who helped me with information!
Mel

That poem is lovely. I hope the nurse tutors still use it.

Attention blue11265 and Kry10
I hope you dont mind me hyjacking this thread but Im trying to find out about what it is like on Dykewood drive, the housing association homes. I have been up once and it seemed quiet enough, but I couldnt see if they had much in the way of back gardens. Also which nursery serves the area? (private and local authority). I may be joining you up there. PM me if you would like.

Does anyone remember the staff and social club at Middlewood Hospital. I know it was there in the late 70's and early 80's as I was often there as a child.
I left middlewood to start a family 1982. I trained there. bennett was the name do you remenber a sister sables

lived on winn gardens and i always remember when my mum worked at the hospital she always told us not to be frightened of the patients as most were locked up for what we would class today as nothing i.e. post natal depression, learning difficulties, for being gay, etc. Sometimes the patients would get out and come in the houses on the estate but all you did was ring the hospital and they would come and fetch them.As for the hospital grounds they were spooky and everyone has their own ghost story to tell.

i have a memory of middlewood many years ago i used to nurse there ,i reported for a night duty and a iwas relieving they sent me to award i had not worked before well i was given a brief handover and the charge nurse had to go to another ward leaving me alone this normaly would not be a problem .i did a ward round and all was quite everyone asleep so i went to the kitchen to make myself a drink ,asi turned with drink in hand sat at the table alittle old lady i don t mind saying it quite took my breath away but she informed me she always had a cup of tea at this time so i made her one when i turned round she had gone so i went on the ward to look for her but all was quite nobody had moved so ithought she must have strayed off another ward ,later i was talking to the staff nurse she said there was no one of that discription on these wards .then she said the lady in question was a ghost and there had been many sighting of her at night .myself i prefer to think she just strayed off another ward but that was many years ago but i have never ever forgot

The other thing was the wards were lit with blue lights to keep the patients calm. to this day i can't go past a blue light without thinking of those wards.When i was little we used to dare each other to go in the hospital grounds at night, well yes you've guessed i took a dare up. I went up near the old church and as i went passed it i heard footsteps turned round and there was nothing carried on and they started again so i ducked into the church doorway then saw a little old lady who said she was lost so me being really brave said i'd take her back to the nearest ward and took her hand which felt icey cold. We then started of to the nearest ward but as we got further up the driveway my hand went warm i turned round and she had dissappeared. I've never ran so fast in my life straight home and into bed, never did do anymore dares.

The other thing was the wards were lit with blue lights to keep the patients calm. to this day i can't go past a blue light without thinking of those wards.When i was little we used to dare each other to go in the hospital grounds at night, well yes you've guessed i took a dare up. I went up near the old church and as i went passed it i heard footsteps turned round and there was nothing carried on and they started again so i ducked into the church doorway then saw a little old lady who said she was lost so me being really brave said i'd take her back to the nearest ward and took her hand which felt icey cold. We then started of to the nearest ward but as we got further up the driveway my hand went warm i turned round and she had dissappeared. I've never ran so fast in my life straight home and into bed, never did do anymore dares.
thankyou i now feel i maybe not so mad we most likely met the same old lady it has gave me the heebies and i most likely did nt want to believe it then so it was most interesting to read your account when i worked there i heard many stories of ghost but that was my only personel experience

Anyone who is involved in Wadsley Park Village or the surrounding area please visit our new site at www.wadsleyparkvillage.co.uk . Please join our forum and help to contribute to the site.

Photographs of Middlewood Hospital/asylum

There is a website called picturesheffield.com (I'm not allowed to post the url but put the three Ws in front and you'll find it) and search under Hospitals and/or Middlewood where you'll find a number of fascinating turn-of-the-century photos of Middlewood Hospital, its grounds and some of its people.

Hi,

If you live on the new estate and want to be involved please join the new forum at www.wadsleyparkvillage.co.uk .

Thanks,

Daniel.

Im not sure if my messages keep being moved but if you do live in or near the new estate visit wadsleyparkvilage.co.uk .

Im not sure if my messages keep being moved but if you do live in or near the new estate visit wadsleyparkvilage.co.uk .


Daniel

I've tried to register on the WPV site on two occasions and the site does not recognise the authenticity code when entered. :mad: This could of course be an IT fault at my end. Wonder if anyone else has had the same problems.

It is a frustration because i want to get posting on the forums,

Any feedback would be appreciated

my uncle was a long term patient at middlewood hospital - my gran took me up there once a month to take him cigs ... then of course came the care in the community and the security of the place was taken away for many of those long term patients. :(

My maternal grandmother was committed to Middlewood in the late 1940s after having a child out of wedlock (my mum) and responding, so I understand, with some anger and frustration towards the family of the father of the child. She remained there, I think, until the late 50s or early 60s when she 'escaped'. Her name was Muriel Newbould. My mum and other family members have no idea what happened to her. If there is anybody still looking at this thread who might be able to shed any light or remembers Muriel it would be great if you could post a reply.

Both my dad and my mother in law were nurses at Middlewood. My dad worked there for 30 years 20 of them on permanent nights. He loved the patients he cared for and knew them all as individuals. I was fortunate...yes fortunate enough to meet several patients as a child and feel privileged that thanks to my dad and these people I grew up not to fear mental illness.

Thanks for your reply
I am glad this was the case for you. Thinking about Muriel's life in an institution makes me feel so sad.

I worked as a nurse at Middlewood for 5 years in the mid 70's. It was a wonderful place, every day was a different experience. I remember one patient who had wandered onto a ward being refurbished, I was working on the car wash unit and rcvd a call to keep a lookout for him, I asked how would I recognize him. Oh you'll know its him, he's painted himself head to toe in blue paint. Then there was a patient who was continually wandering around the grounds, people used to tell him to stick his finger forward and follow it, he'd follow it all day. He also knew what made you live forever, but I won't repeat it on here. The staff were brilliant and the patients likewise. For me it was the greatest education I could have had.

Is it possible to gain access to hospital records for Middlewood? I am asking as my grandfather died there in 1963 after being a patient for 18 months. Although I have his death certificate I don't know why he was admitted in the first place. Even his daughter (my mum) who is still with us doesn't know the reason. Any help appreciated......

had me some good times there they had a club i knew a chef cant remember is name round 1981 his wife was called sue

Hi all, i'm new here. My father was a charge nurse there from the mid 1945 - 1976 on wards 9 and 13. I used to attend Parkside school, we lived up Stockarth Lane and i played in the field opposite. At night time we used to listen to the speedway and every now and again we got a smell of the ethenol from the bikes on the wind. To make sure we wasn't home late we could tell the time by the orange glow of the clock in the hospital grounds. I went back a few years ago to photograph the old place and photgraphed something rather special..a ghost. Which looks a lot like my DAD.

I also went in the Staff Social Club around 1973 where all the nurses used to congregate!!
My Mum was also a Nurse there from around 1938 to 1946 i think. She told me of the Italian POW's and the farm and market garden that was run there to help the War effort.
She also told me of the 'single Mums' and others who had been incarcerated there for very little reason and some of the cruel treatments that went on, bad old days.

I have many fond memories regarding the hospital and my dad. As a young boy, we used to make our own GOCARTS, which often meant walking through the side gate situated in the wall in the field where we used to play. The gate was removed and the wall bricked up many years ago. This gave us access to the ( Hospital Tip). This was great for getting hold of all the bits required for making our go carts as there were loads of old prams, ...we needed the wheels. We found wood from the joinery dept and old rope for the steering. This took us all weekend to make, BUT...Once made,...WOW! We dragged it to the top field ( up by Worral Road) and rode it all the way to the bottom to the Prefab hospital houses that used to be on Stockarth Close. Stockarth close has since been re/named and new houses have since been built there. I also remember sledging down that field in winter with my brother when you could see the snow glistening all over the field at 9pm. In Summer we used to Grass sledge or even camp out there. This was long before mobile phones, internet, x-box, playstation, A time when we used to make our own entertainment. I used to walk from Parkside School and up through the old main hospital entrance to wards 9 and 13 to see my Dad. We then played snooker on the two tables there. I was born at 366 Middlewood road which was a hospital house but is now privately owned, and we moved around the corner to Stockarth lane a few years later. So... i have many many fond memories of the times there. In November..they used to have a fantastic bonfire for patients and staff within the grounds. In Summer the hospital used to have a fair on the old cricket pitch..what memories!!!!!.

Does anyone have information about the Wharncliffe/Middlewood hospital when it was used to treat shell shocked soldiers in the 1940s.
Also does anyone have details of the treatment and dates it was used which involved shell shocked soldiers being put to sleep for a month to rest their nervous system.

IS THE WEBSITE FOR THE OLD HOSPITAL. IT IS SSSOO INTERSTING!!!

http://www.rotherham-images.co.uk/Middlewood%20Hospital%20Main%20Page.htm

Thanks very much iphonelover for this link to the middlewood site, its very interesting. I worked in the estate department from 1970 and was around during the sits demise as a hospital. I actually appear in a couple of the photos and recognise quite a few more.
Thanks again

My mate Terry was a patient, or should I say inmate? He had a brilliant mind, being a senior draughtsman at Rolls Royce. The poor sod had a nervous breakdown and ended up there. He threw himself out of a window but survived, he 'escaped' and threw himself in the front of a police car, and lived to tell the tale, he chose a lorry the next time, that worked out fine.

Yes, I have very fond memories of Middlewood Hospital.

Thanks very much iphonelover for this link to the middlewood site, its very interesting. I worked in the estate department from 1970 and was around during the sits demise as a hospital. I actually appear in a couple of the photos and recognise quite a few more.
Thanks again

You should contact the site owner and give your name and anyone else name you recognise, any info he is happy to receive as it helps build the site and
Helps accuracy of the history :)

I have lived on the estate that is springing up in the old hospital grounds for around 18 months. The place really intrigues me with the main mens ward now well on the way to refurbishment.I have just heard that the clock tower has been saved from demolition and will undergo some sort of restoration in the near future. I have spoken to people who have worked in the hospital in the past and everyone talks about what a close knit community it was. There was a real sense of a family atmosphere about the place. I would love to view any old photos of the place or listen to stories from people who have worked there in the past.

The only memory i have is going there in the early eighties to try and capture one of the wild kittens that lived in the grounds, to take home as a family pet. Good job i never managed to catch one really....mmmmm. I went to Middlewood on my first placement as a pre-nursing student and I was 16 and terrified. My mum said if you can stand this then you will finish the course. Which I did and Im now a senior staff nurse.

If you wish to see some memorable photos of the hospital, then why not visit my facebook page.

Link: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000439868327#!/media/set/?set=a.203717752986219.52034.100000439868327&type=1