The Burn
Extract from The Evening Standard Newspaper Article: "Hospital In Flames"
"At 01:45 BST on Sunday a fire at The Actory Hospital in North Yorkshire claimed the historic building. More than 50 firefighters at the scene battled the fire that raged through the complex at the height of the blaze. Station Manager Neils Heisenberg said: "It's a beautiful building, and a very complicated building. All of the internal structures have burnt away."
Mr Heisenberg said it was not yet known how the fire started, and an investigation is pending. "Because the fire was already so out of control by the time we entered the scene, we are keen to speak to witnesses to try to establish the most likely cause," he said.
The hospital opened in 1906 as the The Actory Asylum. It was built as a series of buildings arranged around a central spire. As well as the usual range of asylum buildings and facilities, originally The Actory complex housed six ward blocks: three for men and three for women, with total room for 362 patients. Due to the size of the asylum, patients from other local authority areas were also treated here. For example, in 1909, there were 344 patients in total being treated at The Actory.
With the establishment of the NHS in 1948, the asylum was renamed The Actory Hospital. As admissions continued to rise in the 1950s and 1960s, the hospital saw an increase in bed numbers. Beds at The Actory rose from 398 in 1952, to 465 in 1961."
"At 01:45 BST on Sunday a fire at The Actory Hospital in North Yorkshire claimed the historic building. More than 50 firefighters at the scene battled the fire that raged through the complex at the height of the blaze. Station Manager Neils Heisenberg said: "It's a beautiful building, and a very complicated building. All of the internal structures have burnt away."
Mr Heisenberg said it was not yet known how the fire started, and an investigation is pending. "Because the fire was already so out of control by the time we entered the scene, we are keen to speak to witnesses to try to establish the most likely cause," he said.
The hospital opened in 1906 as the The Actory Asylum. It was built as a series of buildings arranged around a central spire. As well as the usual range of asylum buildings and facilities, originally The Actory complex housed six ward blocks: three for men and three for women, with total room for 362 patients. Due to the size of the asylum, patients from other local authority areas were also treated here. For example, in 1909, there were 344 patients in total being treated at The Actory.
With the establishment of the NHS in 1948, the asylum was renamed The Actory Hospital. As admissions continued to rise in the 1950s and 1960s, the hospital saw an increase in bed numbers. Beds at The Actory rose from 398 in 1952, to 465 in 1961."