Clayton Hospital is named after Thomas Clayton, a mayor of Wakefield and was founded in 1854.
Wakefield General Dispensary was for out-patients and the Wakefield House of Recovery was for poor in-patients suffering from infectious diseases.
In 1852 the Wakefield Union Workhouse was completed and its hospital wards accomodated pauper invalids and fever cases, so that the House of Recovery was closed in 1854.
In 1863 Mayor Clayton financed an expansion and the institution was re-named ‘The Clayton Hospital and Wakefield General Dispensary’. The site moved from Dispensary Yard to the present site in 1876 and the new building was opened in 1879.By 1948 the name was changed to Clayton Hospital and it had a capacity of 200 beds.
It was announced in the Wakefield Express Newspaper of the Hospitals closure on the 12th October 2012.
Very little is known about the morgue but what we do know is it was accessible in 2014 when a few urban explorers posted pictures of its condition on urban exploration sites.
It’s assumed that at this point it hadn’t been used for at least 10 years which meant the morgue area was shut much earlier prior to the hospital shutting its doors.
It then had been sealed and at some point this year people have been able to access it again and it’s in the state as you see it today in our video.
Footage and explore by Simon Wilson
Written and edited footage by Charlene Lowe Kemp
Clayton Hospital was a beautiful Victorian building . The now newly state of the art Pinderfields now replaces it having more room and space. such a huge shame Clayton was closed an absolute ruin now. there could be a good purpose for that hospital.