ENN107368 - Former Rushden Hospital, 2014 (Building survey)

A historic building record was carried out on the former Rushden Hospital, Rushden, Northamptonshire, prior to the demolition and conversion of existing redundant hospital buildings for residential purposes. The hospital was built in the 1920s as Rushden Sanatorium, for the treatment of tuberculosis. It incorporated the Rushden House estate, including a large domestic gothic style Victorian mansion, stables, coach houses and outbuildings, standing within spacious grounds . The mansion was constructed in 1871 but significantly enlarged in 1907. The early sanatorium originally had south-facing timber pavilions to the south of the house. These were replaced in the late 1930s with more permanent brick-built structures in a domestic neo Georgian style. In 1960, with TB eradicated, Rushden became a chest hospital, known as Rushden Hospital. Prior to closure, the hospital was used to care for the elderly and treating mental illness. Rushden House and three contemporary structures remain of the Victorian structures pre-dating the sanatorium phase, which were recorded to English Heritage level 3 standard. These were last used for administration purposes and as an elderly persons unit, nurse accommodation, a laundry and workshop. None of the original wooden hospital ward blocks remain, but all of the 1930s blocks are still standing, along with other hospital-era structures. These were recorded to level 2 standard. All buildings have been adapted and modernised through the life of the hospital but externally retain much of their historic character.