The Famous High Royds Clock Tower





The Gated Corridor





Mania

Melancholy

The Great Corridor now stands lifeless





The Ballroom still holds some of its glory





The great corridor which runs directly alongside the ballroom is now only a fraction of its original length but maintains its former glory albeit alot of dust and decay. The floor is covered in beautiful mosaic and the Yorkshire Rose is a common sight along the way. The sash windows are starting to fog and crack but the occasional stained glass window still casts a colourful light down the lifeless hallways making for a great photo. Carry on the journey up an eternity of stairs and you will enter the clock tower which really is the icing on the cake. Stood among the mechanisms and workings for the clock tower makes you appreciate how intricate it is, as the motor goes round and the clock ticks on almost 130 years after it first chimed through the courtyards of High Royds.

The 300 acre estate now converted to houses although the administration building remains





Nature has taken over in the orphanage





Thanks for stopping by





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Liam

High Royds Hospital is a former psychiatric hospital south of the village of Menston, Leeds, West Yorkshire. It was first opened on the 8th October 1888 as the West Riding Pauper Lunatic asylum. The West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum was a group of 4 psychiatric hospitals in the Yorkshire region built to cope with the exploding population of mentally ill patients. These 4 hospitals comprised of High Royds, Stanley Royd in Wakefield, Storthes Hall in Huddersfield and The Wadsley Mental Hospital in South Yorkshire.The 300 acre estate on which the asylum sits was bought by the West Riding Justices in 1885 for £18,000 and work began on asylum, ready for its first patients. High Royds was built to be mostly self sufficient and was built with its own library, surgery, pharmacy, butchery, dairies, bakery, shop, upholsters and cobbler's shop. There was also a large estate devoted to agriculture and market gardening. Most of the patients at High Royds were housed on one of its many wards and were expected to work towards their keep providing they were well enough to do so. These jobs were either on the farm, in the kitchens and laundry or doing various handicrafts. For the few supplies that the hospital couldn't make itself the estate was conveniently connected to the Wharfedale railway line by its own small rail system, This system was later closed in 1951 as the demand for it slowly dwindled away.When the hospital was first opened in 1888 before people had a proper understanding of mental health and how best to treat it, the patients at High Royds were thought to be possessed by the devil and it was common belief that mental illness was caused by a full moon. They were put into one of two categories depending on their illness and state of mind.- Mental illness marked by periods of great excitement or euphoria to delusions and over-activity.- A feeling of pensive sadness, often without reasonOnce categorised they were locked away from society in cells that were vastly overcrowded and cramped. For the more severe cases patients were locked away in confinement cells which confined the terror and suffering associated with the demons of delusion and paranoia. Patients were locked away for much of the day until doctors and surgeons would come and perform barbaric and inhumane treaments which at the time were believed to cure insanity. Such treatments included submerging patients in ice cold water until they were unconscious as this was thought to reset the brain. When this didn't work patients were subjected to electro shock therapy where a massive electric current was passed through the brain, again, thought to reset the brain and cure the patient of insanity. The most brutal form of treatment was the notorious lobotomy in which surgeons would cut receptors from the frontal part of the brain to the rear, this would cause the patient to forgot about whatever has caused them distress or delusion and in essence cure the patient, the only problem being was that patients would walk the corridors with no purpose or understanding of what was really going on.In 2003 High Royds closed its doors for the very last time and mental health treatment became much more community focused with modern secure units still being used to house the more dangerous mentally ill patients. High Royds was set to become a new housing development and much of the estate has now been converted into residential property. The Grade II listed administration building which houses the ballroom and the clock tower however, remain empty and abandoned at the front of the estate. The inside of the building has started to decay and give in to the laws of time with peeling wallpaper and rotten floorboards. The ballroom which was once a place of outstanding beauty and stood out against the dismal background of the hospital now lays empty and forgotten, the floor which was once highly polished and well maintained now lies under an inch or two of pigeon crap and the eerie silence allows you to stop and appreciate what once may have taken place in this vast hall.Should you be brave enough to stay at High Royds until the sun has gone down, the hospital becomes a different place and the hallways come to life with the spirits of its former residents and patients. The clock tower rings out with footsteps up the stairs but strangely not followed by people. The odd scream can be heard and if you're one of the lucky ones a personalised message whispered in the ear to get out can be heard.As the future of mental health progresses and becomes closer to reality, the past residents and patients at High Royds remain locked within its walls, destined to roam the corridors forever perhaps, or maybe to be pulled down and demolished with the building as its history is forgotten and converted into residential property. Whichever path is taken by High Royds, it is safe to assume that after spending a few hours inside, the souls of all 2861 patients and staff who perished within its walls will leave a lasting imprint on the memory. May they rest in peace.