Abandoned Cambridge Military Hospital is given a new lease of life
Pioneering 19th century military hospital that treated soldiers from the Somme but was left to crumble is given a new lease of life as luxury development of 140 homes
- Cambridge Military Hospital, in Aldershot, was a state-of-the-art facility when it opened in the late 1870s
- Injured war heroes from almost all of Britain’s 20th century conflicts were treated at the facility
- It closed in 1996 and was sold off by the Ministry of Defence in 2011 and left to crumble and fall into disrepair
- The hospital has now been given a new lease of life as a luxury residential development with 140 homes
A once great military hospital that was left to crumble for almost a decade has been given a new lease of life as a residential development of more than 100 luxury homes.
From the Second Boer War to the First Gulf War of the 1990s, the injured war heroes of almost all Britain’s 20th century conflicts were nursed back to health at Cambridge Military Hospital, in Aldershot.
Opened in 1879, the state-of-the-art facility was designed to cater to the new high-tech treatment being developed for seriously injured servicemen. During the Second World War it pioneered plastic surgery for troops who survived the Somme.
The hospital closed its doors in 1996 and was sold off by the Ministry of Defence four years later. The building was abandoned and fell into disrepair, with these striking photographs from 2013 revealing the extent of the damage.
Now the building has been re-imagined as residential development Gun Hill Park, a collection of 140 apartments and houses from Weston Homes, which acquired the 12-acre site in 2019.
In disrepair: One of the operating rooms in the Cambridge Military Hospital, in Aldershot, as photographed in 2013
New lease of life: The hospital is now a residential development of more than 100 luxury homes (pictured, a living room)
Before: In 2013, the hospital was just a crumbling ruin of its former self and had been left to fall into ruin
Today: The show home of the new Gun Hill Park development reveals stunning homes with high ceilings (pictured)
Crumbling: The hospital (pictured in 2013) closed its doors in 1996 and was sold off by the Ministry of Defence four years later
Modern living: The development will offer a selection of apartments and homes, with prices starting from £299,000
Preserving history: A computer generated image from the developers reveals an intention to keep the main building
History of the once great Cambridge Military Hospital
Pioneering: Soldiers convalesce on one of the wards of the hospital, which was opened in 1879
Cambridge Military Hospital, Aldershot’s fifth military hospital, is believed to have been planned as early as 1858.
In keeping with clinical thinking at the time it was designed to be built on a hill so that the wind would blow away any infection. It was completed in 1879 at a cost of around £45,758 and began receiving patients on July 18 of that year.
The hospital’s name comes, not from its location, but from His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge who was the Commander-in-Chief of the Army at the time he presided at the official opening ceremony in 1879.
The British Empire’s first plastic surgery unit opened by British military doctor Captain Giles in 1915 and treated troops disfigured in the catastrophic Battle of the Somme the following year – where British Commonwealth troops suffered over 419,000 killed and wounded.
Captain Giles had been in France on leave in June 1915 when he met the surgeon Hippolyte Morestin and watched him perform facial reconstructions on patients with cancer.
Fascinated by the potential of the procedures he learnt from the surgeon and brought back new knowledge and experience to Britain and demonstrated it on casualties at Cambridge.
After decades of pioneering work, the hospital was closed in 1996 after asbestos was found and it was deemed too expensive to make the necessary improvements and maintain such an old building.
It was sold by the Ministry of Defence for restoration in 2011 with planning consent for new homes provided in 2014
In May 2019 Weston Homes acquired the hospital buildings and devised the plans for the launch of Gun Hill Park.
Prices start from £299,000 for a one bedroom apartment, £310,000 for a two bedroom and £475,000 for a three bedroom. Houses are priced from £410,000 for a three bedroom and £675,000 for a four bedroom.
The first showhome was unveiled today. The 1,260 sq ft, three-bedroom property features 12ft high ceilings, arched windows and a chic interior. It is situated inside the main hospital building, which has been renamed ‘The Cambridge’ and divided into eight properties.
Complete with new covered balconies, grand communal foyers and restored Victorian staircases, the main entrance of the building is accessed through two grand porches, reached via the restored original stone steps.
Many of the new homes boast original features such as tall sash windows, arched windows, fireplaces and paneling either replicated or restored, and elegant hand-crafted windows which are reproductions of the originals, with the new windows containing micro-thin double glazing.
Sinister: The once lively hospital floor was stained and filthy when a photographer visited the site in 2013
Transformation: It is difficult to believe this modern bathroom is situated within the once crumbling walls
Cavernous: One of the large, light-filled rooms of the former hospital still had fixtures attached to the wall in 2013
Up to 2,088 sq ft in size, all the apartments have a spacious living/dining room, with a stylish kitchen located off the entertaining space.
In the larger apartments the master bedroom suites have a luxurious ensuite bathroom and most have a walk-in dressing room. Selected apartments have a dedicated study/home office, perfect for home working.
Bob Weston, Chairman & Chief Executive of Weston Homes, says: ‘In the leafy and green London commuter town of Aldershot, the new houses and apartments at Gun Hill Park combine Grade II listed heritage buildings with modern interiors, new build elements and an outstanding luxurious specification, setting a new standard of quality in the local housing market at competitive prices.’
Former glory: The exterior of Cambridge Military Hospital, which treated soldiers throughout the 20th century
Today: The clock tower will be kept by developers behind the new residential complex, as this computer generated image shows
Source: Read Full Article