Exminster Hospital

Exminster Hospital is a former mental health facility at Exminster, Devon, England. It is a Grade II* listed building.[1]

Exminster Hospital
Exminster Hospital, now known as Devington Park
Shown in Devon
Geography
Location	Exminster, Devon, England
Coordinates	50.6819°N 3.5068°W / 50.6819; -3.5068
Organisation
Care system	NHS
Type	Specialist
Services
Emergency department	N/A
Speciality	Psychiatric Hospital
History
Opened	1845
Closed	1985
Links
Lists	Hospitals in England

History

The hospital, which was designed by Charles Fowler using a radial plan of the panopticon type, opened as the Devon County Lunatic Asylum in July 1845.[2][3] It was used as military hospital during the First World War and then became known as Devon Mental Hospital in the 1920s.[4]

It was badly bombed during the Second World War[2] and joined the National Health Service as Exminster Hospital in 1948 before becoming known as Exe Vale Hospital (Exminster Branch) in the 1970s.[4] After the introduction of Care in the Community in the early 1980s, the hospital went into a period of decline and closed in July 1985.[2] The main building was converted into apartments between 2001 and 2008 and is now known as Devington Park.[2]

See also

• Digby Hospital (a separate branch of Exe Vale Hospital)

References

1. Historic England. "Former Exe Vale Hospital  (Grade II*) (1165495)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
2. "A short history of Devington Park". Retrieved 12 April 2019.
3. "Exminster". County Asylums. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
4. "Exminster Hospital, Exminster". National Archives. Retrieved 12 April 2019.