Author Jenni Fagan returns to Bangour Village Hospital to discover the history of the pioneering psychiatric hospital, hear experiences from those who knew it best and explore the story of over 800 unmarked patient graves.

More than 800 psychiatric patients who died in the care of Edinburgh District Asylum lay in unmarked graves in local cemeteries. Also known as Bangour Village Hospital, the sprawling German-inspired site ran for nearly a century from 1906 and is just 14 miles away from Edinburgh. Now derelict and about to be redeveloped into homes, it’s popular with dog-walkers, urban explorers and ghost hunters. But until recently the story of the graves had been lost, along with the names of those buried in them. Author Jenni Fagan has never forgotten Bangour. She was born in the psychiatric hospital before being taken into care and has been back to document the decaying buildings in poetry and film.

Now Jenni returns for one last time, hearing from the woman who found the graves of patients and fought to see them recognised. There are first-hand accounts of life in ‘the village’ from those who knew it best and digging in the archives for the forgotten stories of patients in unmarked graves.

Producers: Laurence Cook & Zoe Morrison