Saltersgate Inn, North York Moors, North Yorkshire

History

The Saltersgate Inn is situated along the A169, a short drive away from Whitby, in the North York Moors. Surrounded by picturesque countryside and the close by Hole of Horcum, the inn was ideally situated for smugglers. They would meet boats coming in from the North Sea carrying commodities such as salt and sugar, alcohol and tobacco and they would store their spoils in caves in the surrounding area.

 

It is rumoured that the landlord at the time, an ex-sea captain himself, was part of the smuggling ring and was known to the local custom and excise officers. According to the tale, one night after an unsuccessful raid on the inn one of the officers stayed behind to catch the smugglers after the others had left, upon entering the Inn a fight ensued. The officer was reportedly hit over the head and died from his injuries.

 

The officer was said to be buried under the fireplace by the smugglers and the landlord vowed to constantly keep the fire burning so that the body would never be discovered.

 

The Inn itself dates back to 1648 but has been closed since 2007. Since that time it has changed hands several times but finances for the project have always ran out. The inn now remains a derelict shell of its former self.   

 

Esoteric Eric

 

 

Bass Maltings, Sleaford, Lincolnshire

History

The Bass Maltings in Sleaford, England are a large disused group of eight malt houses originally owned by the Bass Brewery of Burton upon Trent. Constructed between 1901 and 1907 to Herbert A. Couchman's design, the maltings are the largest group of malt houses in England; they have been designated Grade II* on the National Heritage List for England, recognising them as "particularly important ... of more than special interest."

Part of the predominately agricultural county of Lincolnshire, the Sleaford area was a major producer of barley in the 1880s. When germinated and dried to form malt, barley forms a key ingredient in the production of beer. Along with the town's railway links, this attracted the Bass brewery company to the town. The use of more efficient techniques at Bass's other plant led to the closure of Sleaford's maltings in 1959. Despite being used to rear poultry in the late 20th century, the buildings have not been fully occupied since Bass left and a fire in 1976 caused severe damage to three of the malthouses. Derelict since the 1990s, proposals to convert the buildings into office, retail and residential space were put on hold in early 2015 after lengthy delays over planning permission and the withdrawal of a major investor.

Further information can be found at the link below.

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bass_Maltings,_Sleaford

Esoteric Eric

Cookridge Hospital, Leeds

History

Cookridge Convalescent Hospital (as it was then called) was opened in 1869 to provide a place for patients who had been treated at Leeds General Infirmary to continue their recovery.

 

The £10,000 cost of the original  building, designed in a gothic vernacular style, was met by a donation from Mr John Metcalfe Smith, of Beckett’s Bank in Leeds, and the site chosen was the then-remote district of Cookridge “where patients could be cheered up among the bracken and pure air”, as a contemporary report noted.

 

Patients paid for their own care if they could afford it but there were free places available as a result of donations from benefactors - three weeks convalescence cost around 8 shillings a week. Those people cared for at Cookridge had to conform to a list of rules - not changed until 1934 - including “to be obedient to Matron and to perform all such services in the house and grounds as she may appoint.”

 

Over the years the convalescent hospital was gradually extended, and during the First World War the building was requisitioned to care for wounded servicemen, resuming its civilian role after 1919. In 1939 when it was again taken over by the Government and briefly housed the Leeds Maternity Hospital.

 

Whilst experiments with using radium against cancer started on a small scale at Leeds Infirmary as early as 1929, the story of Cookridge Hospital as a cancer treatment centre did not begin until 1952, when it was acquired by the Leeds Regional Hospital Board. They quickly recommended it should be developed as a Regional Radiotherapy Centre harnessing the latest technology - a plan which required considerable adaptation of the original convalescent hospital plus a number of new buildings which were constructed on the site during the 1950s and 1960s.

 

The relative isolation of Cookridge from population centres at this time was a key factor in its choice for this role - in the aftermath of widespread aerial bombing of Britain during the Second World War, there was much concern at the time about future air raids, and the consequent danger which would be posed to the population from the escape of the radioactive materials used in high-dose radiotherapy treatment for cancer.

 

Over the years, countless thousands of people have reason to be grateful to the old hospital and the staff who have worked there. Despite the cramped and increasingly-outdated buildings it continued to be at the forefront of the development of new technology and pioneering better treatments with improved survival rates. This expertise and the reputation forged by Cookridge Hospital will live on in the purpose-designed surroundings of the Bexley Wing which houses the new St James’s Institute of Oncology.

 

The hospital closed its doors in 2008.

Source:
http://www.leedsth.nhs.uk/about-us/news-and-media/news-item/article/end-of-an-era-as-final-services-transfer-from-cookridge-hospital-to-brand-new-pound220m-cancer-centre/

 

There is an interesting report here:

 

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=13&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDIQFjACOApqFQoTCLiY8d60zMcCFYbTgAodItYOkA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fplandocs.leeds.gov.uk%2FWAM%2Fdoc%2FBackGround%2520Papers-470732.pdf%3Fextension%3D.pdf%26id%3D470732%26location%3DVOLUME3%26contentType%3Dapplication%2Fpdf%26pageCount%3D1&ei=EqngVbjHNYangwSirLuACQ&usg=AFQjCNEhVo2lpzBhawXhLWG1lLoJdZ39rw&sig2=vIr9YYUH8MOS9_RbGW_ExA

 

from the archaeology company commissioned to survey the land prior to the new housing estate being built that gives an in depth history of the area and buildings.

 

The Ida hospital is the two crescent shaped buildings located on the site which were built in 1886. John North gifted £6,000 to open the convalescent home in memory of his daughter Ida. Chorley and Cannon were the architects of this building which opened on 10th May 1888. In more recent times the ward was used by Leeds Community & Mental Health Services.

 

Esoteric Eric