Milford Hospital

Architect ?

Opened 1909

Patients ?

Closed Partly open 

Other Previous names for the hospital are The County Sanatorium, Surrey Smallpox Hospital, Milford Sanatorium (c.1948), Milford Chest Hospital (c.1972)

First opened as a Sanatorium for the Surrey area and later used as a smallpox hospital probably due to its rural location, Milford hospital although appearing small actually is spread over quite a large area and the total area with the grounds in about 1.6ha!

Two ward blocks were demolished in 1993-1994 but the hardstanding for these still remains apparently this is because when the local council make plans for it to be turned into residential accommodation they will have to work off the original "footprint" of the buildings. A few of the staff properties were demolished in 1997 as well.

Around this time the original 1930's workshop area was run down and closed, on my second trip there I was able to have a look inside and rather than the staff at the time removing all the hospital equipment stored within it seems to have been bundled into cupboards, toilets, in fact anything with a door! From the maintenance area there is also access to the unique if rather bland looking water tower.

On the main part of the site is an operational elderly rehabilitation unit, but apart from the new building that they occupy most of the rest of the site has been abandoned and most of it is very well secured, with boarding sometimes inside and outside the building and in some places razor wire!

There are some interesting features to be seen though, including the quite small Main Hall.

There has been an on-going argument as to what is going to happen with the site, the local council was hoping to demolish the derelict part to make way for a housing development, although this was turned down by the local residents who were worried about the amount of traffic coming through the small village. Recently though the Primary Care Trust has ordered that both Milford and another small hospital in Cranleigh close down completely and the beds it provides be transferred to the main hospital in Guildford.

It seems that whether the local residents want it or not there will soon be a new development on their doorstep.

Milford Tour Gallery