Bangour Village Hospital was a

psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...

located west of

Dechmont Dechmont (Gaelic: ''Deagh Mhonadh'') is a small village located near Uphall, West Lothian in Scotland. Bangour Village Hospital is located to the west of Dechmont. It has an approximate population of 989 people. Its postal code is EH52. An al ...

West Lothian West Lothian (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, bordering (in a clockwise direction) the City of Edinburgh council area, Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire and Falkirk (council area), Falkirk. The modern counci ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. During the First World War it formed part of the much larger Edinburgh War Hospital.

History

The hospital was modelled on the village system of patient care, the best example of which is the Alt-Scherbitz hospital at

Schkeuditz Schkeuditz (; ) is a ''Große Kreisstadt'' in the district of Nordsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the White Elster river, 12km northwest of Leipzig. Leipzig/Halle Airport is located in Schkeuditz. The letter processing center for ...

in Germany which was developed in the 1870s. It was designed by

Hippolyte Blanc Hippolyte Jean Blanc (18 August 1844 – 17 March 1917) was a Scottish architect. Best known for his church buildings in the Gothic revival architecture, Gothic revival style, Blanc was also a keen antiquarian who oversaw meticulously rese ...

and officially opened as the Edinburgh District Asylum in October 1906. At the centre of the site was an

Edwardian Baroque Edwardian architecture usually refers to a Neo-Baroque architectural style that was popular for public buildings in the British Empire during the Edwardian era (1901–1910). Architecture up to 1914 is commonly included in this style. It can al ...

hall. The site also incorporated a power station, workshops, a bakery, stores, a kitchen and a laundry. The hospital was requisitioned by the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

but reverted to psychiatric work between the wars. A

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...

church, designed by Harold Ogle Tarbolton, was built between 1924 and 1930. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the hospital was occupied by the War Office again and the patients were evacuated to Hartwoodhill Hospital Temporary marquees and prefabricated huts were erected to cope with the demand for wartime bed space: the temporary facility became noted for its burns and plastic surgery unit which was established in 1940. After the war the temporary facility was developed as

Bangour General Hospital Bangour General Hospital was a hospital just west of the village of Dechmont, West Lothian, Scotland. It had its origins during the Second World War when hospital bed numbers in Scotland were greatly expanded to deal with the anticipated increas ...

. After general medical services transferred to the newly-opened St John's Hospital in nearby Livingston, Bangour General Hospital closed in 1991. The Village Hospital also started to wind down after the opening of St Johns with the last remaining ward closing in 2004.

Railway branch line

When the hospital was built, road access was poor, and considerable volumes of coal and general stores were required for the running of the facility. A private railway line was built, branching from the former

Edinburgh and Bathgate Railway Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh had a population of in , ...

line at Uphall, and terminating at Bangour railway station. It was authorised by the Edinburgh and District Lunacy Board Act of 30 July 1900, and it was opened to passengers on 19 June 1905. During the

the road network was improved, and the railway became unnecessary; it was closed on 1 August 1921, although passenger services probably ceased on 4 May 1921.John Thomas revised J S Paterson, ''A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume 6, Scotland, the Lowlands and the Borders'', David and Charles, Newton Abbot, 1984, Gordon Stansfield, ''Lost Railways of the Lothians'', Stenlake Publishing, Catrine, 2003,

Present use

The closed hospital was used as a filming location for the 2005 film ''

The Jacket ''The Jacket'' is a 2005 American science-fiction psychological thriller film directed by John Maybury and starring Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley, Kris Kristofferson and Jennifer Jason Leigh. It is partly based on the 1915 Jack London novel ' ...

'', starring

Keira Knightley Keira Christina Knightley ( ; born 26 March 1985) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films and Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters, particularly Historical drama, period dramas, she has received List of awards and no ...

and

Adrien Brody Adrien Nicholas Brody (born April 14, 1973) is an American actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Polish pianist Władysław Szpilman in Roman Polanski's war drama '' The Pianist'' (2002) becoming the youngest acto ...

. During September 2009, the hospital grounds were used as the site for "Exercise Green Gate", a counter-terrorist exercise run by the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

to test de-contamination procedures in the event of a nuclear, chemical or biological incident. This involved 250 volunteer "casualties" and 400 emergency staff. On 1 October 2015 Planning Permission for a residential and mixed use redevelopment of the former hospital site is being sought. The application notes some of the listed buildings at the site may be proposed for full demolition in a subsequent application. This may include villas 7,8,9 and 21, with other buildings potentially proposed for partial demolition. In early 2020, it was confirmed that five of the listed buildings on site were in very poor condition and were planned to be demolished, while the remaining ten buildings were due to be redeveloped for housing. In April 2024, RoundShield (an investment company) and the Ambassador Group (estate agents) announced that they had secured funding of £21 million for a large-scale residential development on the site. This would initially include 51 "energy-efficient" new homes and the first 23 refurbished flats within the existing listed buildings. The two companies also announced the sale of part of the site to Barratt Homes for further residential development.

References

External links

Pictures of Bangour Village Hospital

Bangour Village Hospital, by Dazzababes: a photoset on Flickr

Bangour Village Hospital Villas 3, 4, and 5, by mybabyangel85: a photoset on Flickr

Bangour Village Hospital – Before and After: A video on YouTube

Bangour Village Hospital – Urban Exploration Photography

{{authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1906 Hospitals in West Lothian Former psychiatric hospitals in Scotland Hippolyte Blanc buildings Category A listed buildings in West Lothian Defunct hospitals in Scotland 1906 establishments in Scotland