Saint Johns Asylum, Bracebridge Heath Lincoln , November 2010

[Lisajane79]

This is my first report so go easy!
On a lovely sunny but cold Sunday we took off for our first asylum explore. Having walked around and around the building we finally made a run for it and got into the grounds. After entering the asylum we spent a good two hours walking around . The floors were dangerously scary in parts and the footsteps and bang heard above had me on edge, but luckily we never saw another person the whole time there. This explore has had me grinning for days.

Some Asylum history


Originally the asylum was known as the Lindsey and Holland Counties and Lincoln and Grimsby District Lunatic Asylum. It was designed by John R Hamilton with the assistance of Thomas Percy in about 1848 for about 250 patients. St Johns was completed and opened its doors in 1852 but was soon enlarged in 1959 and then again in 1866. A Chapel was built in 1869 and could seat 450. The asylum was enlarged again in 1881 and again in 1902 to house approximately 900 patients.

A cemetery and mortuary used to exist somewhere on the site but they have been lost over time. The mortuary was demolished and it is unknown if the cemetery has been built over or sits alone waiting to be rediscovered.

The asylum finally changed its name to St Johns Asylum in 1961. Due to reforms with mental health care St Johns closed in 1989. It was bought by property developers who built houses on half the site. As the main buildings are grade II listed planes have been drawn up to covert the buildings into apartments but this seems to be put on hold.