Severalls Hospital, an echelon-plan institution, was erected between 1910-1913 by Wm. King and Son to plans prepared by F. Whitmore, County Architect and Wm. H. Town. Built on part of the Severalls Estate to the north of Colchester, the hospital wards and service buildings lay within landscaped grounds encircled by an earthen bank. When the main wards were opened in 1913, the hospital comprised 22 ward blocks that could accommodate 1,250 inmates however, by 1937 the complex was enlarged to cater for 2,000 patients with the addition of four further ward blocks. As a result of the implementation of the Mental Health Act of 1930 and its emphasis on the avoidance of certification, most of the patients entering Severalls were voluntary. The hospital was assimilated into the National Health Service in 1948 and by 1960, when the differentiation between general and psychiatric hospitals was abolished after the passing of the Mental Health Act of 1959, Severalls ceased in law to be a mental institution. Although most of the hospital is now redundant, access was limited and a close inspection of the main complex was not possible. This account is therefore based on contemporary reports in architectural journals and from limited photographic evidence.
The buildings are all built of red sand-faced bricks supplied from yards in Ipswich and St Osyth; the main two-storey stepped ward/dormitory block (1) is embellished with a frieze of white Suffolk brick at eaves level and a stone cornice. The windows all have segmental gauge brick heads with double hung sashes and stone sills with both hipped and gable ended roofs covered with best Bangor slate. The echelon design, with its south-facing ward blocks, embraces the ideology regarding the provision of light and airy wards conducive to recovery, together with an efficient space saving design. The wards are connected by a network of communicating covered-ways with internal access between the floors by fire-proof stone staircases; heating being provided by open fireplaces and pressurised radiators. The wards were segregated into classifications with the male patients housed in the western arm of the echelon and the female patients in the eastern range. The covered-ways also sub-divided the inner yards into smaller courtyards and areas of planting where segregation and isolation could be maintained. Open-sided shelters (2) with glazed partitions and wooden benches ring the main ward blocks to the south.
Sited at the apex of the echelon is the superintendent’s residence (3); this is linked via a corridor to the south-facing front ward range and to the rear, a recreation/dining hall (4) with its unique fully sprung suspended dance floor. The kitchen blocks and general stores (5) stand to rear of the hall and located at the northern end of the central north/south spine stands a two-storey administration block (6). Built beside a shallow circular pond (now back-filled) the administration block fronted the hospital and has a pavilion roof surmounted by a cupola. The front elevation contains full height bay windows and the central three bays break forwards; they are surmounted by a segmental pediment and an impressive stone canopy stands above the door. To the west of the administration block are the engineers buildings, workshops and boiler house with its tall brick-built water tower (7). Braced by diagonally set buttresses and capped with a hipped slate roof, the upper storey has a balcony surrounded by an iron balustrade; ventilating honeycomb brickwork is present in the storey below. To the east of the administration block stands a large single-storey laundry complex with large ventilating ridge lanterns in the roof.
To the north of the administration block and in a secluded setting outside the earthwork stands a large detached chapel (8). Built with three tall lancet windows in its gable elevations, the nave door is of three orders with a two centred head and hooded label. The north aisle has been removed, but the south aisle with its lean to roof remains; a gabled bell-cote projects from the eastern end.
Additional isolation wards, administration buildings and infirmaries surround the main complex. These include a two-storey childrens hospital (9), a single-storey infirmary villa with a south-facing central range flanked by diagonally set ward wings (10), a remote isolation ward (11) and two male/female Y-shaped villas (12); these are sited to the south of the site and contain long south-facing ward ranges with sanitary and utility blocks to the rear. Many other buildings have been added since the sites inauguration; the three-storey 11-bay nurses home (13) being particularly impressive. Built after 1920 the home is a simple rectangular building with rendered walls, a hipped roof and brick plinth. The main door in the south-facing elevation has a stone surround and the first-floor windows contain stone architraves and aprons. <1>

ARCHAEOLOGICAL POTENTIAL:
The survival of the complex and the absence of major alterations provides an ideal opportunity to study a large echelon institution in its entirety. The recent closure of the site suggests that much of the original plan form survives including room divisions, corridors, administrative areas and circulation; this will be important in understanding patient classification, segregation and surveillance. The associated support services such as catering and laundry can also be examined. <1>

SITE SIGNIFICANCE:
Between 1888 and W.W.I. 25 psychiatric hospitals were erected in England to the echelon plan. Severalls is a good example and the water tower is particularly impressive; the chapel however is disappointing. In recent years many similar sites have been cleared and Severalls is therefore of national importance. <1>

RECOMMENDED ACTION:
The most appropriate method of protecting such an important site together with its landscape setting is to create a discrete Conservation Area; those buildings with good interiors including the hall and administration building should be listed Grade II. <1>

SITE MANAGEMENT:
The site has recently closed and is in need of a sympathetic scheme of re-use; similar examples notably on the outskirts of London have been successfully re-developed into high class apartments and this would be the most obvious solution; any new build needs to respect the setting of the buildings and the landscaped grounds. Prior to any future works an ‘impact assessment’ will be needed to assess which elements of the original fabric warrant retention and the appraisal should also consider the grounds. Detailed recording needs to form an integral element of any future development proposal. <1>
The grounds are now a registered Park and Garden. 15/2/2002 see EHCR 19576.

Photo ref. <2> <3> <4> <5><7>

Sunday 18 Sep 2005 the central recreation/dining hall with its unique fully sprung dance floor was under suspicious circumstances gutted by fire. 'there was substantial damage to the theatre block. A lot of steel works expanded from the heat and pulled some of the walls out'. The site has been earmarked for a residential; development and SAVE were working towards retaining the hall in any future scheme. Concerns were voiced following earlier outbreaks in other parts of the complex. <6>