Carnegie House, Sunnyside Royal Hospital, Hillside, Montrose, Montrose, Angus

Description

William Kelly, 1895-9. 2-storey and attic, 13-bay, largely symmetrical, Jacobean, gabled, former hospital building on raised site within the Sunnyside hospital complex. Snecked rubble with ashlar margins. Base course, some overhanging eaves; finials to gableheads. Advanced and recessed bays. Bi- and tripartite window openings to S elevation with chamfered stone mullions and transoms. Flat-roofed roof dormers.

S (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: advanced central gabled bay with moulded segmental-arched doorway with decorative carvings to spandrels; lintel on small engaged columns raised on corbels on doorcase: pediment above with central carved panel. Flanking bipartite window openings. Large, 18-light windows above; small oriel window above. Flanking recessed bays with gabled 2-light wallhead dormers with carved circular decoration. Advanced outer bays with parapetted, canted 7-light windows to ground.

Variety of glazing patterns to windows. Some timber casement with small pane glazing above; others timber sash and case. Others boarded. Grey slates; raised skews. Tall, coped gable and ridge stacks. Cast iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR (seen 2012). Original room layout largely extant with some fine internal decorative features, including timber panelled former dining room with painted ceiling with Zodiac representations (See notes). Entrance hall with decoratively carved timber fire surrounds. Other panelled timber rooms. Fluted columns decoration to staircase. Panelled timber doors with decorative corbelled cornices. Some painted glass.

Statement of Interest

B-Group includes Sunnyside Main Building, Hospital Building, North Esk Villa, Garage and Former Fire Station, Booth House Former Nurses' Home, Carnegie House, Water Tank and Former Workshops, Summerhouse, Away Team Cricket Pavilion and Home Team Cricket Pavilion.

This former private patients' accommodation is externally well detailed and contains some particularly fine interior decoration. Situated to the left of the main asylum block of the hospital, on a raised site, it is a significant addition to the wider Sunnyside complex and contributes to a complete understanding of the development of the site.

Sunnyside Asylum developed in the 19th century as a replacement for the first lunatic asylum in Scotland at Montrose. The hospital consists of a related group of buildings, informally set in a semi-parkland setting on a hillside overlooking Montrose. The site is significant in remaining largely intact and retaining the integrity of a self-contained psychiatric hospital.

Carnegie House was originally built to house private patients and it looks out over formal gardens. The house was designed to resemble a country house, both externally and internally as this was considered to be of benefit to the patient's well-being. The patients were free to move around the grounds, as they wished and tennis courts, a croquet lawn, a bowling green and a curling pond were provided for recreational use. The ceiling in the dining room and one of the fire surrounds were painted by the eminent Scottish artist, Douglas Strachan (1875-1950).

Sunnyside Asylum opened in 1857 and was constructed to replace the former Montrose Lunatic Asylum, established in Montrose in 1781. This was the first hospital in Scotland to care for the mentally ill and was founded by Susan Carnegie, who hoped that if the patients were given good treatment and medical aid, they may be able to return to society. The marble tablet from the opening of this original building is situated in the current asylum. In 1855, the Scottish Lunacy Commission was appointed and condemned the Montrose building as being unsuitable. It was agreed to build a new asylum and a site to the north of Montrose, at Sunnyside Farm was chosen. The architect William Lambie Moffat, who was working in Doncaster, designed a new building (see separate listing). Originally the building formed a double courtyard plan, but as the numbers of patients increased, the building was extended to the rear in 1877 with the addition of a new recreation hall, dining room and kitchen.

Sunnyside Hospital continued to develop during the latter part of the 19th century and the early 20th century, as patients continued to increase in numbers. A hospital building was added in 1888 (see separate listing) to care for patients who had both medical and psychiatric conditions. Carnegie House was constructed in 1896 to provide accommodation for private patients. This was set slightly apart from the main building to the north and the patients had their own garden for recreational use. Other buildings were gradually added to the site, including three villas, workshops and a chapel. The gradual development of the site is important in demonstrating the change in ideas over the century in the care of the mentally ill. When the lease of Sunnyside farm expired in 1911 another 52 further acres were purchased for the use of the community. Over the course of the 20th century, the patients and staff became involved in a number of activities within the complex including gardening and farming. A separate nurses' home was built in the 1930s (see separate listing).

The site ceased to be used as a hospital in 2012.

William Kelly (1861-1944) was an Aberdeen architect and the majority of his work was carried out in and around Aberdeen. In 1887 he worked in partnership with William Smith for a umber of years, during which Carnegie House was built. His output was varied and extensive and included private houses, asylums, schools and hospitals.

List description updated following a review of the former Sunnyside Hospital site, (2012-13).

External Links

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