Hellingly Hospital - The East Sussex Mental Institution.

Hellingly Hospital - The East Sussex Mental Institution.
Hellingly, a Victorian hospital on a grand scale. Conceived in 1897, with landscaped surroundings high on a hill with therapeutic views across the countryside. An enclosed community, providing for itself...patients and staff lives exisiting in familiar corridors and buildings.
Closed down in the eary 1990's and left decaying ever since.

Friday 18 February 2011

Institutionalised Staff


Saw your web page and found it fascinating.
I did my training at Hellingly Hospital from 1965-68 and it was a Triving Community. The hospital staff structure was extreamily hierarchical but the system worked well both for patients and staff. Everyone seemed to know where they fitted into this Community. Some of the staff had been there all their lives and were as Institutionalised as some of the long term patients.

The Nurse training was headed up by a Mr Gutheridge, Principal Tutor and the Chief Male Nurse was at that time a Mr Harding. My memories of the Hospital are very positive. There was a good atmosphere amongst patients and staff alike. Amongst the Nursing staff there were two large communities of French & Barbadians who came to the UK to train & or learn English.
The surrounding countryside was stunning and had fantastic walks. The local town of Hailsham was a small town but very friendly where many of the married staff lived. To see the photos you have on your web site makes me very sad. I so hope that the large estate of Hellingly Hospital will not be destroyed by over building and that all the mature trees will not be felled.

Thanks for putting that site on the web as it brought so many memories back to me.
Yours sincerely,
Ray Stephen Brooksbank

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