Building record MAB27960 - MAUD HOSPITAL

Hospital, no longer in use, designed in 1866 by Alexander Ellis of Aberdeen.

Hospital, no longer in use, designed in 1866 by Alexander Ellis of Aberdeen. It opened on 26 January 1869 as Buchan Combination Poor House housing some 200 occupants. The capacity was increased by 28 in 1879 but this does not appear to have necessitated additional buildings. Wings joining the front and rear sections of the building added before 1900. The Buchan Combination was created in 1866 and initially comprised 16 parishes with a further 10 joining between 1870 and 1874. It was renamed Buchan Combination Hospital in 1924 and from 1929 administered by Aberdeen County Council. In 1948 it was taken over by the NHS and renamed Maud Hospital. The hospital is of two storeys, with a long symmetrical front built of coursed and squared whinstone with contrasting grey granite ashlar dressings, and gabled slate roofs. A datestone is inscribed '1867'. The original glazing is mostly 16-pane sash and case with thick centre astragals. The wings (ward blocks) are flat-fronted, each with gablets at centre and ends, centre staircases (lit from the rear). There are also pyramid-roofed square angle pavilions and modern single-bay addition to either end, in sympathetic style. To rear (south) are associated and lower service ranges and outbuildings, linked at centre. Also pair walled garden areas separated by driveway. The architect was chosen by competition for a building to provide '125 or thereby beds or billets, including accommodation for 36 fatuous paupers'. A central wing at the rear of the building contained the dining hall and kitchens. Other utility buildings and workshops lay at the rear of the site. In the northeast corner of the site is the lodge, and gate piers. The hospital closed circa 2008 and was put up for sale. Standing building survey was carried out by Murray Archaeological Services in May 2021 ahead of proposed conversion to residential use. The original building was on an H-plan with 2-storey wing facing north and a lower rear wing. Minor additions between 1869 and 1900included a possible laundry, garden store/greenhouse, and possible enlargement of kitchens. After conversion to a hospital additional blocks were added in the 20th century, but the conversion of poorhouse to hospital removed much of the 19th century internal details.

HIGGINBOTHAM, P, 2014, THE WORKHOUSE: BUCHAN PARISHES AND THE BUCHAN COMBINATION, ABERDEENSHIRE, Web article (Bibliographic reference). SAB4464.

MURRAY ARCHAEOLOGICAL SERVICES, 2021, FORMER MAUD HOSPITAL, BANK ROAD, MAUD: STANDING BUILDING SURVEY, SBS (Bibliographic reference). SAB7570.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2022, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND, NEW SERIES, VOLUME 22 (2021), p.18 (Bibliographic reference). SAB8314.

Nov 11 2008 , ABS-GR-14-05-013 - 018, ABS-GR-14-05-013 - 018 (Ground Photograph). SAB13482.

Record last edited

Nov 24 2022 8:44AM