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St James’ Hospital is a former mental health facility in Portsmouth, Hampshire. It was designed by George Rake in the Gothic Revival style using a dual pavilion layout, and was opened as the Portsmouth Borough Asylum in September 1879.[1] It was designated a Grade II listed buildingStructure of particular architectural and/or historic interest deserving of special protection. in 1998.[2]
The hospital was designed to be fully self-sufficient, and operated a home farm to the north.[3] A sanatorium for the treatment of infectious diseases was completed in 1879, and the wards were extended in 1895. Four detached villas, designed by Albert Cogswell, were added in 1908. The hospital became the Borough of Portsmouth Mental Hospital in 1914, and was requisitioned for military use during the First World War. After service as an Emergency Medical Service facility during the Second World War, it joined the National Health Service as St James’ Hospital in 1948.[1]
Following the introduction of Care in the Community in the early 1980s the hospital went into a period of decline, and inpatient services were significantly reduced.[1] St James’ closed as a hospital in 2018, and the site was sold to a property developer the following year, although the NHS did retain a small area for the provision of mental health services.[1][4]