Documents

Where documents include maps, the use of this data is subject to terms and conditions (https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/termsandconditions).

• Type

  Map

  Title

  Map for Former Corstorphine Hospital, including South Lodge, boundary wall and gatepiers, and excluding flat roofed wings to rear and glass curtain walling to front elevation of hospital building, flat roofed section to west of South Lodg... (LB52367)

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600001562)

Summary

Description

The former Corstorphine hospital and lodge were designed by the notable Edinburgh architects practice of Peddie and Kinnear. The Italianate-style, T-plan hospital is dated 1866 and was extended in 1891 (by the same practice) adding 2-storey pavilions to the east and west. It has a number of later 20th century additions to the rear. In 1961-2, glass curtain walling was added to fill in the arcades and balconies to the front elevation. In accordance with Section 1 (4A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 the following are excluded from the listing: flat roofed wings to rear and glass curtain walling to front elevation of hospital building, flat roofed section to west of South Lodge and North Lodge.

The ashlar hospital building has channelled quoins, raised margins, cill courses, a dentilled cornice and key-arched architraves to the round-arched 1st floor windows. It is symmetrical with a central, advanced, 3-storey, 3-bay, piend-roofed entrance section, flanking 2-storey, 5-bay wings with square-plan, bulls-eyed towers at the east and west topped with louvred ventilators, and with advanced, gabled, 2-storey pavilions with bay windows to the ground at the outer ends.

There is an advanced, flat-roofed porch to the central block, with a consoled, key-stoned and architraved doorpiece. Round-arched, bi-partite windows, separated by colonettes at first floor level are set in key-stoned architraves with decorative roundels. The outer bays have Venetian type windows at the 1st floor, with bi-partite windows in the centre, separated by colonettes and with broken pediments above. There is foliate carving around the bulls-eye windows in the towers.

The windows are predominantly 4- over 4-pane timber sash and case. Those at the ground floor are boarded. There are grey slates to the roof.

The interior was seen in 2015. There are large open wards and some smaller rooms, some of which have simple cornicing. There are two staircases with a dividing wall between, with the right hand one rising to the upper storey.

The South Lodge, dating to 1866, is situated at the Corstorphine Road entrance and is a single-storey, piend-roofed, Italianate style lodge with a slightly advanced, off-centre porch with a key-stoned architrave and raised margins.

The interior of the lodge was seen in 2015. The lodge has been partitioned into smaller rooms and there are no apparent features of special architectural interest.

There is a low, coped boundary wall to the south with quadrant walls and square-plan gatepiers forming the entrance. There are taller, rubble boundary walls to the east, west and north.

Statement of Special Interest

The former Corstorphine Hospital of 1866 was the first convalescent home associated with an infirmary to be built in Scotland. It was designed in an Italianate style by a notable architectural practice of the time, Peddie and Kinnear, and it has extensive decorative detailing to the stonework. The building sits in its own grounds, facing south and the associated lodge of 1866, which shares its architectural detailing with the main building, remains at the entrance to the site. The building has undergone some alteration, and was extended in 1891 by the same architects' firm, but the 1860s internal layout of large, airy wards and some smaller rooms is still discernible and was at the cutting edge of internal hospital design at the time.

The hospital was built to allow patients from the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh a period of rest to recover fully from illness or surgery before returning home. This had been identified as a need by the hospital managers and in 1864, an anonymous donor, identified later as William Seton Brown, offered to build a convalescent home for the infirmary. It catered for patients who were largely able to look after themselves, who were sent there for a standard period of three weeks. The site chosen for the home was a 5-acre site in the village of Corstorphine, around 2 miles from the city centre. The philosophy of convalescent care at the time was based around the importance of the patient being away from the city with access to green space and country air – the Corstorphine site fulfilled these requirements.

The hospital opened in 1867 at a cost of £12,000 and had room for 50 beds. Plans dated 1861 show a T-plan building with long sections with wards and rooms and a service area at the rear. Further accommodation was soon required and the building was expanded in 1891-3 by the same architects. Wings to the east and west were added, together with an arcaded verandah and balcony to the front and the service area to the rear was enlarged. The money for the expansion was given from a bequest from James Nasmyth of £13,000 and the extension provided an extra 40 beds. In 1960-1, the arcaded sections to the front elevations and the open balconies were covered in with glass curtain walling. The building was transferred into NHS care in 1948 and continued as a hospital, caring for the elderly, until 2014.

The 1860s was a time of change for hospital design, as the acceptance of the importance of ventilation and light for patients was taking hold. This was a view that had been expressed earlier in the 19th century, but was particularly adhered to by Florence Nightingale. It advocated a sufficient amount of air for each patient, windows on either side of the ward and toilets and sculleries attached to each ward. The first large scale hospitals to be designed with this philosophy were built around this time, including St Thomas' London (1868). Some of this influence can be seen in the design of Corstorphine Hospital, with large, high, open wards with windows to the north and south and with the toilet facilities placed at the end of each ward.

The partnership of John Dick Peddie and Charles George Hood Kinnear, based in Edinburgh, lasted from 1856-78 and was one of the most prestigious and successful practises in Scotland at the time. Peddie was the architect for the Royal Bank of Scotland and had been responsible for a number of United Presbyterian churches before taking Kinnear into partnership. The practice was very successful from the start and secured commission for many public and church buildings, including Aberdeen Sheriff Court, 1862. Morrison's Academy in Crieff, 1859 and much of Cockburn Street in Edinburgh. The firm was also responsible for designing the Chalmers Hospital, Edinburgh in 1861.

Convalescent homes developed from around the middle of the 19th century to provide the sick poor with the means of recovering from illness in a period of 2-3 weeks. Various private homes were opened, often by religious societies, private individuals or temperance movements, but these were able to determine who they accepted and not all were permanently open. Corstorphine Convalescent Home was the first convalescent hospital in Scotland to be opened which was directly linked to an infirmary. Others quickly followed, including Paisley in 1868, Aberdeen in 1873 and Dundee in 1876.

References

Bibliography

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.