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A decision made (11/08/2008) regarding: List of Sites of Special Interest - Intent to List: St. Saviour's Hospital, La Route de la Hougue Bie, St. Saviour.

Decision Ref:	MD–PE–2008-0169
Subject:	List of Sites of Special Interest – Intent to List St.Saviour’s Hospital,La Route de la Hougue Bie,St. Saviour.
Decision Summary Title:	DS - List of Sites of Special Interest – Intent to List St.Saviour’s Hospital,La Route de la Hougue Bie,St. Saviour
DS Author:	Jayne Fawdry- Historic Buildings Officer
DS Date:	31/7/2008	DS Status:	Public
Written Report Title:	WR – List of Sites of Special Interest St.Saviour’s Hospital,La Route de la Hougue Bie,St. Saviour
WR Author:	Roger Hills -Jersey Heritage
WR Date	12 June 2008	WR Status:	Public
Oral Rapporteur:	Roger Hills –Jersey Heritage
Decision(s):	The Minister for Planning and Environment determined that; A notice be served indicating his intent that St.Saviour’s Hospital should be listed as a Site of Special Interest.
Reason(s) for Decision:	Listing St.Saviour’s Hospital as an SSI is in accordance with the published criteria, in particular; The special interest extends substantially to its authentic fabric, plan form and interior features; The site is illustrative of a significant aspect of Jersey’s social history; The site- a combination of buildings and landscaped grounds- is of special interest for its architectural design, style, craftsmanship, composition and use of materials and details;
Legal and Resource Implications:	None
Action required:	Serve notice of intent
Signature:
Position:	Minister for Planning and Environment
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different to Date Signed):

List of Sites of Special Interest - Intent to List: St. Saviour's Hospital, La Route de la Hougue Bie, St. Saviour.

List of Sites of Special Interest

St. Saviour's Hospital, La Route de la Hougue Bie, St. Saviour.

This report has been prepared by Jersey Heritage as part of its responsibility under a Service Level Agreement to provide reports and recommendations to the Minister for Planning and Environment on the architectural, historical and archaeological significance of buildings and sites.

The assessment and recommendation are made in accordance with Article 51 of the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law, 2002; Policy G11 of the Jersey Island Plan, 2002; and the principles of selection for designation as a site of special interest as set out in the interim policies for the conservation of historic buildings, 1998. The report includes the views and advice offered by the Ministerial Registration and Listing Advisory Group.

The Planning and Environment Department requested in April 2008 that Jersey Heritage assess the architectural, historical and other interests of St Saviour’s Hospital.

Author of report: Roger Hills BA(Hons) MA DipBldgCons (RICS) IHBC Head of Historic Buildings

Date of report: 12 June 2008

File ref: SA0050

Current status

First registered in 1992; pSSI.

Relevant interests of the site (also see schedule)

Historic interest

Victorian Asylum (St Saviour's Hospital - originally known as Jersey Lunatic Asylum). The hospital was designed by local architect Thomas Gallichan, who was also responsible for the General Hospital, Royal Court House, Le Sueur Obelisk and Masonic Temple. The foundation stone was laid on 29 July 1865, and the hospital opened on 11 July 1868. A separate mortuary building and laundry were added in 1882. The wings were extended in 1891 and the east wing further extended, and ablution blocks added to the north side, circa 1903 - all in a style that matches the original building. The hospital is illustrative of the social and scientific attitudes towards the mentally ill in the late 19th century / early 20th century.

Architectural interest

The design of the buildings and the layout of the site are illustrative of late 19th century / early 20th century asylum architecture, with the different elements designed to provide patients with a secure environment, moral therapy and therapeutic employment. This included locating the hospital in a rural setting with scenic outlooks and near to a good supply of fresh water.

The hospital is an impressive example of an institutional building of its period. It is a large 2-storey complex which stands in extensive grounds with a grand lawned area to the front, entered through a dressed granite gateway. The walls of the building are of shale rubble with granite quoins, strings, window dressing and plinths. The quoins and other stone dressings are rock faced with flat margins. The roofs are of Welsh slate.

The overall arrangement is symmetrical although the east wing is longer, and terminates in an east facing building, which has a segmented bay window and is 3-storey due to the fall in levels at this point. The whole composition is tied together by a projecting moulded eaves cornice that runs along the whole frontage and a continuous render band directly beneath the eaves. The linear form to the layout was popular at the time as it allowed light in and provided cross ventilation.

The building was designed with separate male (west) and female (east) wings flanking a dominant central administration and service block incorporating a chapel, dining hall and kitchens. The entrance building has a projecting granite porte-cochere, above which is the former chapel with semi-circular headed windows, and above that a triangular gable pediment with bull's eye window. Wings spread out to the east and west, articulated by projecting pedimented sections of 2 bays, with 2-storey flat roofed ablution blocks sitting in front of the main façade.

The windows in the entrance block including the arched windows to the former chapel and dining hall are either large pane or standard pane timber sashes. The majority of other windows are small pane timber sashes with the upper section pivoted and lower section fixed. These windows may be later replacements but their design is illustrative of the need for security and safety of the patients.

Detached from the western end of the range is the former mortuary - a small single-storey building with hipped slated roof, timber lantern and lion mask decoration on the gutters. There are small shelter buildings of a similar scale in the walled gardens or 'airing courts' at the rear of the hospital.

The quality of the architectural composition of the hospital range continues to the rear elevation. Dominant features are the projecting 2-storey day rooms, each of which has two segmented bay windows - one facing over the walled garden and the other looking south. There are also interesting 2-storied projections treated in the form of a Dutch gable with corbelled chimneys - the open base of each has now been enclosed. Projecting back from the centre of the building is the dining hall with large round-headed windows and bulls-eye glazing, and the kitchen with the former laundry / workshop. Some of the rear walls have been rendered.

The interior largely retains its original layout and utilitarian character with simple detailing and fittings. Accommodation was primarily in the form of single rooms or 'side rooms' on the north side of the building with a few open plan dormitories (sub-divided with stud walls in the 1990s), and day rooms at the end of each corridor. Of note is the pair of 1868 staircases (a separate staircase for men and women), the vaulted roof in the former chapel, and the rounded-edge applied to all openings and corners. The post-1945 structures - such as the 1970s lift shafts and hospital fittings - are not of interest.

Advice offered by MRLAG (and others if stated)

MRLAG discussed the interest of the hospital at its meeting on 6 May 2008 and requested further information on the history of the hospital and the relationship of other parts of the site such as the farm buildings.

MRLAG continued discussion at its meeting on 9 June. Members noted the further research provided (see attachments) and unanimously agreed with the JH recommendation that St Saviour’s Hospital should be listed as an SSI.

Jersey Heritage recommendation

St Saviour’s Hospital should be listed as a Site of Special Interest.

Justification relating to criteria

Listing St Saviour’s Hospital as an SSI is in accordance with the published criteria, in particular:

The special interest extends substantially to its authentic fabric, plan form and interior features;

The site is illustrative of a significant aspect of Jersey’s social history;

The site - a combination of buildings and landscaped grounds - is of special interest for its architectural design, style, craftsmanship, composition, and use of materials and details;

Attachments

SSI schedule and plan

Photographs, April 2008

Summary of JH documentary research

Board of Trustees

Chairman: Jurat John de Veulle OBE Vice-Chairman: Philip Le Brocq

Rowland Anthony, Geoffrey Crill, Connétable Simon Crowcroft, Blair Gould, Clive Jones, Deputy Carolyn Labey, Paul Nicolle, Jane Stubbs,

Jonathan Voak