The castle itself was built in the 1830s, but in early 20th century, the space was converted into what would later become a truly infamous psychiatric hospital. Lennox Castle Hospital was eventually closed in 2002.
In 1925, plans were drawn up by Glasgow Council for a new ‘Mental Deficiency Institution’, and the Lennox Castle Hospital complex was opened a few years later, in 1936. When it opened, Lennox Castle was hailed as being way ahead of its time, and was the largest and best equipped hospital of its kind in Britain.
The hospital cost over £1 million to build, and had space for 1,200 patients. There were separate dormitories for male and female patients, each one holding around 60 people in two wards.
Patients also had access to two communal dining halls (with seating for 600 people in each) and a central Assembly Hall, which housed a stage, equipment for cinema shows, and recreational facilities. Despite a promising start, conditions at Lennox Castle Hospital soon began to deteriorate. The hospital was vastly overcrowded, understaffed and underfunded. Vulnerable patients were left to fend for themselves in the large wards.
The hospital quickly went downhill. Lennox Castle, was less of a mental institution than a warehouse, where those deemed society’s misfits were deposited.
Truants, unmarried mothers, wayward teenagers and children with learning difficulties, Down’s syndrome or mental illness all ended up there.
They were starved, drugged, physically and emotionally abused and robbed of their humanity.
People regularly tried to escape, Those who did were chased by dogs through the surrounding woods. When returned, they were locked up for six weeks, placed on a mattress on the floor, drugged and forbidden visitors.
Patients who didn’t need drugs were given them, as a way of ensuring they remained calm and didn’t cause trouble in the overcrowded conditions. In reality, only around 10 per cent of the hospital’s residents genuinely required anti-psychotic drugs.
There are several reports of patients dying or being seriously injured due to the lack of care at Lennox Castle Hospital.
One man was found set alight in the bathroom in the middle of the night and died the following day. Another was seriously injured when a nurse threw a scalding cup of tea on him, while a heart attack (brought on by severe distress while being physically restrained) resulted in another patient’s death.
Some claim that there was more than neglect going on at Lennox Castle Hospital. Former patients recall being given unnecessarily cruel punishments for small offences. Incidents included being struck with a baseball bat and being made to run laps barefoot around the castle, just for forgetting to address a staff member as “sir”.
Other punishments included being dressed in a knee-length white nightshirt and being forced to scrub the floors with a toothbrush. people
For misdemeanours, patients would be made to sit in a nightdress at a table in the corridor and eat bread and milk.
After decades of keeping patients shut away from the outside world, Lennox Castle Hospital finally closed in 2002. The last few remaining patients were reintegrated back into the local community, or transferred to more modern psychiatric units, before the hospital was abandoned. Since then, the eerie site has lain empty, and the buildings have rapidly deteriorated. The formerly grand Lennox Castle is now a crumbling shell. The area remains empty.
© These are not my own words or views, all details have been taken from articles online such as The Scotsman and inews. ©
30 сен 2024
