Barrow Gurney Mental Colony, Bristol Sept 08

[Rochester]

Bristol City Mental Hospital

An early start saturday morning to meet Tumbles then off to barrow, Its located in the middle of the woods and stands isolated and to be honest pretty grim.

Big thanks to Tumbles For The Tour...

Barrow Hospital

Date opened: 3rd May 1939

Location: Wild Country Lane, Barrow Gurney,
nr. Long Ashton, Somerset

Architect: Sir George Oatley, of Bristol

Layout: Colony Plan

Used During The War By The Military.

Planned & built just prior to WW2 to provide the necessary number of beds for Greater Bristol, as Glenside had become increasingly overcrowded, it was not actually used for transferred patients to ease this pressure until after the end of the war.

It is understood that it was 'commandeered' for servicemen who had been injured during the war, especially those suffering from psychological distress and conditions with a stress related component - which we might now term Post-Traumatic Stress, given the horrific nature of conflicts and the harrowing impact such profound experiences had over time.