Liverpool Hospitals - Newsham Park Hospital

 

Seamen’s Orphanage Institution

 

Before 1869, there was no institution in Liverpool for the support and education of the orphans of British seamen. The first move to establish such an institution was made by a group of leading Liverpool ship-owners and merchants in 1868, an orphanage for children who lost parents at sea - the Liverpool Seamen's Orphan Institution. On the 9th of August 1869, the Liverpool Seamen's Orphan Institution opened in temporary rented accommodation in Duke Street, and by the end of that year there were 46 boys and 14 girls in residence. On the 7th of April 1870, Liverpool Town Council gave 7000 square yards (0.6 hectares) of land on the north-east side of Newsham Park to construct a Seaman's Orphan Institution and on the 11th of September 1871, the foundation stone of this new building was laid by Mr. Ralph Brocklebank, first President. The foundation stone of the chapel was laid on the 1st of August 1873. 

In 1895

 

On the 30th of January 1874, there was held an informal opening of the North wing of the orphanage. As well as the children who moved from the temporary orphanage in Duke Street, the committee also looked after children on an outdoor relief basis. The institution was formally opened on the 30th of September 1874 by the Duke of Edinburgh, the 'Sailor Prince';, fourth son of Queen Victoria. As of June 1884, around 800 fatherless children were being supported by the orphanage, of which around half were living at the orphanage and an equal number were being supported at home, with their mothers. In May 1886, Queen Victoria visited the institution, and added her name to the list of patrons. By 1899 there were 321 children in the orphanage, while 508 were receiving outdoor relief in the form of monetary grants and clothing. Children of all religious denominations were assisted, with preference given to orphans of British seamen connected with the Port of Liverpool. Their scholastic and religious instruction were under the supervision of the Church of England Chaplain.

Newsham Park Hospital

 

In WWI and WWII it took in war orphans as well. As laws about looking after orphans changed, the orphanage had to turn away lots of children and funding became scarce. After the Second World War, due to a changing social services programme and a law prohibiting the education of boys under 11 with those of an older age, the orphanage was closed in 1949. The sale of the premises at Newsham Park to the Ministry of Health for use as a hospital realised £125,000 in 1951; the proceeds were forwarded to the Charity Commissioners for investment and Newsham Park Hospital opened in 1954. The hospital developed its own psychiatric department and received an influx of patients with severe mental problems. The hospital stopped taking new patients in 1988 and by 1992 all remaining patients and staff were relocated. In 1992 inmates from the closed down Rainhill Lunatic Asylum were moved to Newsham Park Hospital, taking up 90% of its space, with £1.6m spent renovating it to house them. The property was bought at auction in 1997 by a developer but their plan to create flats was rejected so the site went back up for sale in 2007. There are still notices posted on boards in the School block and also paperwork in the property that are dated 1996. All records of patients and staff have been closed for 100 years from 1997 when the building was finally vacated.

Plans to redevelop it into flats fell through, owing to local opposition, but, since then, stories began to circulate. Strange ghostly phenomena were reported and it wasn't long before word got around and numerous haunted event companies began organising night time vigils and trips around its desolate corridors which are still littered with broken beds, commodes, wheelchairs, peeling walls and tons of rubbish and detritus – a kind of decrepit Marie Celeste of the medical world.
Reported sightings of ghosts include that of a small child on the top floor corridor and shadowy figures on Ward G. Visitors to the basements have reported an uneasy feeling and dragging noises have been heard from the Dining Room while nobody is there. One visitor stated, "As soon as I stepped inside the hospital, I felt like I shouldn't have been in there. It had a real ominous atmosphere, and it was also deathly quiet. The worst room by far for me, though, was the well-known 'naughty boys' corridor'. It was used to lock up naughty children in tiny spaces with no windows that were locked shut. As soon as I stepped foot in this long and dark corridor, I felt instantly freezing cold. I almost felt like I was being watched, and I didn't fancy hanging around there for long."

see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2025/04/liverpool-hospitals-princes-park.html