High Royds Aylum.

High Royds Hospital was originally called West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum and opened on the 8 October 1888.

Designed by Mr J Vickers-Edwards The hospital was built on 300 acres of land at a cost of £350,000. included in the grounds where a library, a surgery, a dispensary, butchers, dairies, bakers, a ballroom and even its own railway.

Sadly as part of Leeds Mental Health's £47 million reprovision process it was closed on the 25 February 2005 and is currently being redeveloped into a residential housing estate.

The hospital was meant to house upto 800 patients but with the addition of extensions this was to extend its capacity of housing upto 1300 patients at any one time.

By far the most striking feature of High Royds is the rather imposing clock tower that dominates the place, standing at nearly 130 feet its four clock faces are a bold statement of intent.

Alongside this, the attention to detail is fantastic with stunning Mosaics and elegant tilework all over the place, High Royds was also used to shoot the film Asylum in and has been the location for various TV dramas.

Although the site is being redeveloped the clock tower and admin building will remain as in 1989 they recieved Grade II listing status.

After seeing various reports in the past of this place it was decided that we should take a look before it is fully redeveloped, and we where not disappointed, the place oozes with grandure and finese.

Until you actually see this place in person it really is difficult to portray its alure, it really is stunning and the attention to detail is second to none, a thoroughly fantastic place and probably the most intact asylum left in the country.

The only thing we didnt get to see on our visit was the Morgue which was a real shame but with the amount of activity at the front of it, we couldnt do it anyway :(

The clock tower however did make up for up for not seeing the Morgue, this place is truly magnificent and probably more time was spent in here than anywhere else, photogenic it is and the views from the roof of here are simply amazing.

High Royds really is a stunning example of architecture at its best, and a place definaltey worth seeing, this is only my second asylum but if this place is anything to go by it certainly wont be my last, quite frankly it is awesome.