Visit Date Sept 2005
Billinge Maternity Hospital
Opened: May 1968
Closed: 19 June 2004 at 9pm !
Other: Currently being demolished for housing Febuary 2007
The maternity hospital was built next to the site of the former Psychiatric hospital which was opened around the turn of the century.
The maternity hospital itself is a typical ugly square i960’s building with little architectural merits. It not only catered for the births of most children in the area but also ran consultancies on IVF, contraception and women’s genealogical health.
During a trip up to Manchester to look at some other sights I met up with John 
and Spook and we decided spur of the moment to see what was visit-able at this large site. The entrance was amusing to say the least I never knew I could squeeze though such a small gap!
Inside a lot still remains, the ground floor was the location for births; I suppose 
it was easier than trying to get heavily pregnant people up the stairs!
Examination lamps were found in many rooms and one even had an outsize bath for giving birth. Also on the ground floor were the operating theatre and the scrubbing up rooms. Complete with sample bottles! Having never been in a operating room while conscious it was a strange place indeed. 
Upstairs were the ward rooms which looked to have been used for some kind of Police/Army training, there was damage to almost every wall. Police tape dotted around and most worrying shells from a training gun which fired high powered paint shells.
A trip to a high building isn’t complete without a trip to the roof! Eventually we managed to find the access point and headed up knowing that the height of the building would allow us privacy from the security patrols.
During our trip we spotted a corridor which I think led to the older section of the building but spotting a security sensor we decided to leave it for another day. John and spook have since been back and you can find their account here.