The Colchester Medical Reception Station was a large pavilion plan hospital built between 1894-98 to replace an earlier complex of double range closely aligned wooden huts with a passage between; these were poorly designed and allowed insufficient light and ventilation within the wards. The replacement hospital of 1894 was purpose-built comprising four large ward pavilions projecting south from a two-storey link corridor which connected the central administration block to all the pavilions. The main building was built in an impressive architectural style with red brick elevations embellished with red sandstone dressings. Between 1940 and 1994 the eastern ward pavilion was removed and in 1995 the whole building was demolished. The site of the former hospital remains un-built and is laid to grass.
The National Monuments Record holds further information on the site, including an architectural survey, plans, elevations and photographs. <1>.