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St Ebbas Epileptic Colony (St Ebbas Hospital)
2008
St Ebbas main entrance in the 1920's,
St Ebbas was built in 1903, part of the Epsom cluster a development of 5 mental hospitals around the Surrey town. The cluster was designed to provide relief for the city of London's psychiatric institutions where overcrowding was a problem.
St Ebbas was home to epileptic patients who could not get or keep jobs in the outside world due to the fits associated with their condition. Treatments for epilepsy were in their infancy and the condition was not well understood
Epilepsy colonies did not seek to cure the condition but aimed to manage and control the symptoms and allowed the patients an opportunity to work in the hospitals workshops or farm. In 1948 St Ebbas became part of the NHS. By 1962 the focus of hospital was changing no longer taking epileptic patients, Instead it took patients described in the language of the time as "mentally subnormal" - patients who had learning difficulties.
St Ebbas was not like other hospitals at epsom it was a collection of smaller buildings and villas spread over large grounds rather than a single large hospital building, Some parts remained in use at the time of my visit though it was in the process of closure, for redevelopment as housing.
Adiministration,
Patient's Bank,
The Hall,
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