Gate piers at entrance to Rampton Hospital, Woodbeck, Nottinghamshire

Summary

Gate piers built in 1931 to the designs of John Hatton Markham.

Description

Gate piers built in 1931 to the designs of John Hatton Markham.

MATERIALS: red brick with stone dressings.

PLAN: the gate piers flank the principal entrance to Rampton Hospital on Retford Road.

EXTERIOR: the substantial gate piers have tall square shafts, stepped in at each corner, resting on moulded stone bases. The capitals are in the form of an entablature with a frieze of carved acanthus leaves. The piers are surmounted by decorative urns with swirling gadrooning and four handles from which tumble a richly carved cluster of foliage, flowers and fruit. Attached to the outer side of each pier is a pair of stone ashlar plinths flanking a footpath.

History

In 1907 Woodbeck Farm was purchased by the Government with the intention of establishing a Criminal Lunatic Asylum, as an expansion to Broadmoor Asylum in Berkshire. A scheme for the hospital was produced by Scottish architect Francis William Troup, who specialised in Arts & Crafts design but is also associated with several neo-classical buildings including parts of the Bank of England. The main hospital building, constructed of Lincoln red brick and Welsh slate, had a distinctive pavilion plan set behind a 15ft high boundary wall. The main entrance was originally along what is now Dendy Drive (then called Main Avenue). The Rampton Criminal Lunatic Asylum opened in 1912 and by the end of the year there were 128 patients.

After the First World War, Broadmoor Asylum revised its discharging policy and more space quickly became available there. As Rampton was no longer required as an Asylum it was closed by the Home Office in February 1920, subsequently reopening the following month as the Rampton State Institute for Mental Defectives, under the control of the Central Government Board of Control. All new buildings now became the responsibility of the Office of Works and in May 1920 they prepared plans for a large scheme of expansion, led by their architect John Hatton Markham.

Markham was born in 1882 and articled to G E Clare and Walter Gray Ross of Chelmsford from 1899 to 1902. Thereafter he was assistant to William Isaac Chambers and then with Tubbs & Messer of Woking. In 1903 he returned to London to work for Eugene Charles Beaumont from 1903 to 1904 and Ralph Seldon Wornum in 1904. He passed the qualifying exam in 1905 and was admitted ARIBA on 4 December 1905. Thereafter he secured an appointment with H M Office of Works; he worked with Sir John Burnet on the British Museum and took over when the Trustees dispensed with Burnet's services. He also represented British interests on the League of Nations building in Geneva. He died in retirement in May 1961. Other than his association with the Grade I listed British Museum, Markham has two other listed buildings to his name: St Mark’s Garrison Church in Sandage, Kent (1939-1941), and Sedding Telephone Exchange in the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (1924), both listed at Grade II.

Markham’s scheme for Rampton included a grander entrance to reflect the importance of the site, and the gate piers flanking the new principal entrance were built in 1931. In line with the other new buildings on the site, the gate piers were designed in a neo-classical style, common to the designs produced by the Office of Works during this period. They are very similar to Markham's Victoria Gate piers at Hyde Park in London which he reconstructed in the 1920s. The dwarf walls on the outer side of each gate pier were added at a later date and were not part of the original design.

Reasons for Listing

The gate piers at Rampton Hospital, built in 1931 to the designs of John Hatton Markham, are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* designed to provide a grand entrance to the hospital, they have a striking presence on Retford Road, rising impressively above the surrounding buildings;

* they are distinguished by their scale and inherent design quality, their exact proportions and classical detailing imparting an air of grandeur.

Group value:

* they have strong group value with the many non-designated heritage assets on the hospital site.

External Links

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