Asylum

It's Heritage Weekend and two of my chums from the uke society and I visited three places which opened their doors to the public as part of this initiative.

The first of these was St Nicholas' Hospital, also known in the past as the Royal Naval Hospital when it was opened in 1811 / Royal Naval Lunatic Asylum / Military Lunatic Asylum in Great Yarmouth.  It was transferred from the Royal Navy to the NHS in 1958.  It closed in 1993 and is now privately owned apartments.  The chapel and two rooms, a ward and adjacent sitting room, remain from the time of when it was a hospital.  As you can see in this photo the ward was light and airy and it also had views over a central lawned courtyard.  Apparently one of the therapies offered to patients was encouraging them to get involved in the upkeep of the grounds, growing flowers and vegetables.

It had a very peaceful feel to it but I can't begin to imagine the horrors that the people who ended up here had gone through.

After our heritage jaunts we played the gig with the uke society.  The audience seemed to enjoy it.

More pics here.