Be prepared ... bring some string

Submitted my site choice, the former site of a mental health institute - Cane Hill - in Coulsdon, Surrey.  It’s a Green Belt 82 hectare site and has two buildings remaining, the chapel and water tower, both with listed status.  The buildings were located on a sort of plateau and the chalk hillsides slope steeply.  Although within a short walk from Coulsdon town centre, the area itself is relatively isolated (for obvious reasons) and whilst operating apparently was referred to as ‘the village’ by staff.

It’s an exciting opportunity, I know the area but have only just realised how little I know about this quiet corner.  I vaguely recall visiting the grounds (no, not as a patient!) for a fete when aged maybe 8 or 9 with a schoolfriend and her mother; until recently I’d forgotten about it.  I don’t particularly recollect the buildings, other than as a foreboding (or so it seemed at the time) background presence (they were a little distance away) but the grounds were vibrantly green - possibly a wet summer - and thronged with trees. 

Redevelopment of Cane Hill has been proposed for over a decade, residential development is inevitably currently on the agenda, but needs to be handled sensitively both for future residents and for past ones …  I was quite shocked to learn that up to 5,000 people were buried in the grounds (since removed and cremated) during the hospital’s 126-year history and feel that some kind of living memorial should be included within the final design.