07/14th – The Old Dispensary ~ Leeds

*NEW* Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire
Event Date: Saturday 14th July 2012
Event Time: 9:00pm – 3:00am
Places Available: Event Full
Price: Only £25 per person.

Secure your booking now with a £15.00 deposit!
Deadline for deposit option is 14th April 2012

With 4 levels and a Tower Block to investigate, who will you find within the old wards and corridors of this massive building.

Having a long history, dating as far back to the Middle Ages, Leeds developed rapidly during the mid 18^th Century as a result of the general population growth and the industrial changes.

This resulted in people working and living in appalling conditions, describing the back to back houses as the notorious Leeds slums.

With it’s reputation as a smoky town, lung diseases were a major cause of death, along with the constant presence of TB, typhus, typhoid and dysentery, the additional misery caused by recurring cholera epidemics.

Voluntary hospital funds were limited and with little help available for the sick and poor above the destitution line, there were many restrictions on those they would treat.

But in 1824, Leeds surgeon, William Hey, along with a number of other leading gentlemen of the town, were sufficiently concerned at the situation and submitted a clearly argued case  to the Mayor in favour of the establishment of a Dispensary, in which a public meeting was called to discuss whether this would be “a useful asset.”

Highlighting the advantages of the daily opening of a Dispensary, William Hey enforced his case by listing several children’s diseases, especially measles and its after effects which neither the Infirmary nor the House of Recovery were able to deal with adequately.  He felt that a Dispensary would also help patients with lingering diseases e.g.  cancers  and  scrofula,  a  form  of  TB, sometimes  known  as  “The  King’s  Evil”.  These  cases  could  only  remain  for  a  limited  time  as  in- patients at the Infirmary,  but as out-patients, a Dispensary could treat them in their own homes.

Not everyone was convinced by William Hey’s arguments – inevitably cost was a major concern and some people felt that the Dispensary should share the Infirmary buildings but both William Hey and the Infirmary officials argued that this would not be practical and so the public meeting closed with the decision that a Dispensary would be “an institution of great utility in this town” and the first steps were taken to make this a reality.

Despite all the financial difficulties, the Dispensary continued to survive as a very well regarded voluntary organisation. A magnificent new building was built, replacing the much smaller house of recovery, which had been situated on the site for many years and the Dispensary finely opened in 1904 adapting to meet changing circumstances until it was absorbed into the newly formed National Health Service in the late 1940’s. It finally closed in 1971.

The Grade 2 building was sold in 1972 for £71, 000 and in 1975 was bought by the centre for the Deaf and Blind people, which have existed since 1876 and have recently opened the doors for Paranormal groups to investigate the many strange sightings,  including a dark figure and a number of children who are said to still roam the corridors of this old hospital.

Featured Image: Centenary House – North Street (Betty Longbottom) / CC BY-SA 2.0