Newcastle General Hospital, vagrant ward

Vagrant ward built in 1902. A long north-south range rising to a two-storey block at the south end. Built of brick with sandstone lintels and bands. The interior has been divided into two sections. The north-south range at ground level contains cells, arranged along a central corridor. A typical cell was entered through a door (none of which survive) and comprised two small narrow chambers one behind the other. The first had a square louvred opening above the door to provide light and ventilation. There was a small square window in the outer wall. This chamber had parquet flooring and narrow chamfered skirting. It may have been the sleeping area. The chamber to the rear was smaller with a window in an iron frame to the outside. This was probably the toilet and washing area. All the windows are now blocked up with brick. Some of which are stamped Blythes Brickworks of Birtley and dated 1960. One window has a wooden side hung shutter. There are traces of hinges or fixings on the exterior of the iron window frames which may have been for security grilles. The central corridor had a concrete floor. Its narrow louvred roof has continuous windows which were opened by a screw system in the corridor. The cells in the northern part of the corridor have more recently been used as hospital stores (CSSD department). Those at the south end of the corridor have been altered and dividing walls removed to create larger spaces. The corridor now ends with a dog-leg to an orginal four-panel exterior door. Access to the two-storey southern end of the building is via an imposing doorway in the west elevation. Here the cells have been remodelled as offices. A large room at the south-west has original architraves to the doorway and windows. There is a mid C20 Saunders fuse-box. A staircase rises to first floor level at the end of the north-south corridor. Here there are some original windows and architraves. A corridor runs along the west side of the building with small rooms on the east side. At least two of these were also cells with parquet floors and small square windows high up in the east wall. Due to be demolished in 2013.