Campaign to save Cashes Green Hospital building

The recent consultation event looking at the old Cashes Green Hospital site gave all the indications that the old hospital building would have to go - too expensive to keep.

Photos: Old paper looking at threat to loss of project on site and below the former allotments at the Cashes Green Hospital site

It is great that things are moving on this site - the community has waited far too long - see more here re original proposal plus here and here - however in my view it is disappointing the original proposals have been watered down but I've written elsewhere on that so wont repeat here - this blog is looking at the campaign by Stroud Civic Society to save the building.

Cashes Green Hospital was built in the Edwardian era as an isolation centre for infectious diseases, it became a geriatric unit before being closed and later falling into disrepair.

Stroud Civic Society Vice chair Jenny Bailey is quoted in the SNJ this last week saying: "It’s the only civic building left in Cashes Green. All we’re interested in is saving the building for the future – it’s up to the community to decide what they want to use it for."

Apparently when in the early 1900s, the Government decided to construct isolation hospitals around Britain to curb the spread of infectious diseases, there was lots of opposition to this hospital being built at all. Nevertheless it was completed in 1904 for £12,500 and comprised of two wards, a main building – then a nurses' home – and other supportive facilities.

The SNJ writes: "Nurses treated patients who were mostly from urban Stroud, dealing with 290 cases during an outbreak of scarlet fever and diphtheria in 1915. A 12-bed ward for tuberculosis was added in 1916 and was designed so sufferers could be wheeled out onto a veranda. But the need for isolation units started to decline and in 1948 Cashes Green becoming a geriatric hospital. A fourth ward was built in 1963, allowing the hospital to accommodate 50 patients, and a day area was constructed in 1974 to join wards one and two. This was followed in 1976 by a day unit for in-patient care, rehabilitation and occupational therapy...The day centre was considered one of Britain’s best geriatric units but health chiefs listed it for closure, claiming it provided poor access to certain facilities such as X-rays. Residents, councillors and the league of friends protested but it was eventually shut in 1993."

What do others think about saving this building?