The David Rice hospital site [7 photos] in TG1812

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The David Rice hospital site

The originally 90-acre site (including Drayton Old Lodge) was purchased in 1934 and the new mental hospital, opened in 1937, was named after Dr David Rice, the Medical Superintendent of Hellesdon Hospital who had died in 1935. In 1940, the hospital, which accommodated 771 patients, was taken over by the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. Electroconvulsive therapy was first used in 1942 and in 1946 the first patients were sent for Leucotomy. The most famous patient is believed to have been the distinguished Australian poet Francis Webb (1925-1973) who has mentioned the hospital in one of his poems ("October").

The buildings were razed to the ground at some time in 2005 and the site was purchased by the Lind Trust with plans to construct a very large church seating a congregation of 800, but planning permission was refused. A footpath skirts the western boundary of the site and until the time the owners have decided what to do, walkers have been made very welcome to also use the former hospital site, provided it is being kept clean and tidy.

by Evelyn Simak

Created: Fri, 14 Mar 2014, Updated: Fri, 14 Mar 2014

7 images use this description:

TG1912 : Site of the former David Rice mental hospital by Evelyn Simak

TG1812 : Brambles on Bloods Dale by Evelyn Simak

TG1812 : Path on the site of the former mental hospital by Evelyn Simak

TG1812 : Public notice at the entrance to the David Rice hospital site by Evelyn Simak

TG1812 : View across Bloods Dale by Evelyn Simak

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