ÿþ<HTML LANG=en-GB> <HEAD> <TITLE>The Derelict Miscellany :: Priory Street Hospital</TITLE> <META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="priory, street, hospital, carmarthen, infirmary, county, derelict, disused, wards, carmarthenshire"> <META NAME="description" CONTENT="The derelict Carmarthen Infirmary in the centre of Carmarthen was founded in 1846 by voluntary contribution as a pauper infirmary and closed in 1996."> <META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="ALL"> <meta name="copyright" content="&copy; Dan Gregory"> <link rel="icon" href="favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon"> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon"> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/swfobject/2.2/swfobject.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> var flashvars = {}; flashvars.galleryURL = "hospitals/inf/gallery.xml"; var params = {}; params.allowfullscreen = "false"; params.allowscriptaccess = "always"; params.bgcolor = "#EEE9E9"; swfobject.embedSWF("hospitals/inf/simpleviewer.swf", "flashContent", "1030", "580", "9.0.124", false, flashvars, params); </script> </head> <body link="#668b8b" bgcolor="darkgray" text="000000" vlink="#668b8b"> <center> <table width=1044> <tr><td> <table width=1044 cellspacing=0> <tr background="gam_print_ordsvywat-sun-171278517207606.jpg"> <td background="gam_print_ordsvywat-sun-171278517207606.jpg" align=right><A HREF="index.html"><img src=1.jpg border=0></a></td><td background="gam_print_ordsvywat-sun-171278517207606.jpg" align=center> <A indepth="true" STYLE="text-decoration: none" HREF="index.html"><h1>T H E &nbsp D E R E L I C T &nbsp M I S C E L L A N Y</H1></A> R e f l e c t i o n s &nbsp o n &nbsp f o r g o t t e n &nbsp a n d &nbsp a b a n d o n e d &nbsp s p a c e s <br><br> </td><td background="gam_print_ordsvywat-sun-171278517207606.jpg" align=left><A HREF="index.html"><img src=2.jpg border=0></a></td></tr></table> </td></tr> <tr><td bgcolor="#EEE9E9"> <center> <a indepth="true" STYLE="text-decoration: none" href="http://derelictmisc.org.uk/index.html">{home} </a> &nbsp &nbsp <a indepth="true" STYLE="text-decoration: none" href="http://derelictmisc.org.uk/menu2.html">{menu} </a> &nbsp &nbsp <a indepth="true" STYLE="text-decoration: none" href="aboot.html">{about} </a> &nbsp &nbsp <a indepth="true" STYLE="text-decoration: none" href="cont.html">{contact} </a> &nbsp &nbsp <a indepth="true" STYLE="text-decoration: none"href="http://twitter.com/DerelictMisc" target="blank">{twitter}</a> &nbsp &nbsp <a indepth="true" STYLE="text-decoration: none" href="disc.html">{disclaimer}</a> &nbsp &nbsp <a href="#" STYLE="text-decoration: none" onClick="window.open('veh/index.html','', 'width=589,height=577,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,status=no,toolbar=no,menubar=no');return false;"> {rusty old cars}</A> &nbsp &nbsp <a href="#" STYLE="text-decoration: none" onClick="window.open('misc/menu.html','', 'width=870,height=482,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,status=no,toolbar=no,menubar=no');return false;"> {miscellany}</A> &nbsp &nbsp <a indepth="true" STYLE="text-decoration: none" href="links.html">{links}</a> &nbsp &nbsp <a indepth="true" STYLE="text-decoration: none" href="contrib.html">{contribute} </a> </td></tr><tr><td bgcolor=#EEE9E9><table width=100% bgcolor="#EEE9E9"> <td width=13></td><td> <center> <img alt="Crest" src="badge.png" width="120" border="0"> <br><u><font size=5>Priory Street Hospital</font></u><br>Formerly Carmarthenshire or Carmarthen Infirmary</center> <b>What:</B> General Infirmary <BR> <b>Where:</B> Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire <BR> <b>Built:</b> 1858, extended 1936 <BR> <b>Architect:</b> William Wesley Jenkins <BR> <b>Abandoned:</b> 1996 <BR> <b>Listed:</b> Grade II <BR><b>Visited:</b> 2009, 2011<BR> <b>Last Known Condition:</b> Derelict <br><b>Page Updated:</b> February 2011<BR> <br><i>'At a numerous and highly influential Meeting of the Nobility, Clergy and Inhabitants' of Carmarthenshire held at the Guildhall, Carmarthen on Saturday 4 October 1846, Sir John Mansel, Bart., High Sheriff in the chair, unanimous expression was given to the view that 'the want of a Public Infirmary to supply the sick poor with gratuitous Medical advice on Surgical treatment has been long and grievously felt in this Town and County'.</i> <br><br> To address this want, one year later the old Carmarthen Gaol within the Castle walls was converted into a 'temporary' infirmary. In actuality, the infirmary occupied the site for over a decade, and despite the best efforts of staff and subscribers, by 1850 the hospital was dirty and overcrowded: In October 1853 the Rev. Dr. Lloyd complained that <i>'the smell in the male ward was so bad that he could not remain a minute in the room'</i> and the problem of overcrowding was no less serious. <br> With good reason it was felt that the building of a new infirmary could not be delayed much longer. On 21 September 1853 a sub-committee met to discuss potential sites. Little was agreed, however, until the institution's Annual General Meeting in April 1855, at which the site of the old Boys' Grammar School on Priory Street was chosen. The sum of £500 was paid for the site and a new Infirmary designed by local architect William Wesley Jenkins opened in July 1858 at a cost of approximately £7,000. The much-improved Carmarthenshire Infirmary continued to be supported by voluntary subscription from the gentry and businessfolk of the town until the Nationalisation of Health Services in 1948. Despite the opening of a new Hospital on the site of the American Military Hospital at Glangwili in 1959, the Priory Street Hospital, as it became known, operated until 1996. <br> Years later, the building stands empty. Although a £500 fine was served upon the owner for failure to remove scaffolding and repair broken windows in 2006, no such action has been taken: The building is in a parlous state, plagued by damp and woodrot. <br>Permission was granted in 2000 to convert the Grade II listed hospital into flats and work was started, including the demolition of two later wings but the plans evidently fell through and the site is littered with building materials. It is currently on the market as a 'conversion opportunity' at a cost of £795,000. <center> <div id="flashContent"><font color=red><br><br>This gallery requires JavaScript and the Flash Player to operate. <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer/">Download Flash Player here.</a>.</font><br><br></div> <center> <A HREF="http://derelictmisc.org.uk/index.html"> Home</A> <br> <BR> </td><td width=13></td></tr></table> </TD></TR><TR><TD bgcolor="#EEE9E9" ALIGN=CENTER> <font size=1>Derelict Miscellany. Website &amp; content Copyright D. A. Gregory 2005-Present unless stated to be otherwise.</font> </td></tr></table> </font> </body> </html>