Baldovan Institution for Feeble Minded Children, Dundee, Angus (Forfarshire), Scotland
The Baldovan Institution was originally opened in around 1867 as an annexe of the Baldovan Orphanage and Asylum. The Institution housed what were then known as 'feeble minded' children. It was located at the north side of Baldovan Road, Baldovan, where Balmydown Brae, now stands.
The buildings were gradually extended and by 1904 could accommodate 160 children.
The 1913 Mental Deficiency (Scotland) Act led to an increased demand for accommodation at establishments such as Baldovan, which was then made a Certified Institution. This resulted in a further expansion at the site, including additional staff accommodation, school facilitiesa and a large Recreation Hall together with the provision of occupational therapy and training in domestic, farm and garden work.
In 1948 the running of the Institution was transferred to the National Health Service. In 1959, its name was changed to Strathmartine Hospital and major building works were carried out in 1963-5, which included demolition of the original premises and the creation of new single-storey wards and a swimming pool. A further two new 25-bed wards were opened in 1980.
From the mid-1980, the services at the hospital began to be gradually run down. It was closed completely in 2003 and the buildings subsequently demolished.
The Institution site is shown on the 1921 map below.
Baldovan Institution for Feeble Minded Children site, Dundee, c.1921.
Baldovan Institution for Feeble Mided Children, Dundee, Angus (Forfarshire), c.1910. © Peter Higginbotham
Records
- Dundee University Archives,University of Dundee, Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN, Scotland. Extensive holdings include Registers of Admissions, Discharges and Deaths (1854-1968).
Bibliography
- Higginbotham, Peter Children's Homes: A History of Institutional Care for Britain s Young (2017, Pen & Sword)
Links
- None identified at present.
Except where indicated, this page () © Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.
