Holloway Sanatorium - After World War II

After World War II

The management of the Sanatorium passed to the National Health Service on 5 July 1948, and it continued as a hospital with a catchment area including Weybridge, Walton, Chertsey, Egham and Virginia Water. To maintain revenue for an interim period until 1974 private patients continued to be admitted into a limited number of "amenity beds", paying for the relatively aesthetic surroundings, but receiving standard NHS treatment. In 1968 it became administratively part of the nearby St Peter's Hospital, Chertsey.

On 8 February 1978 a disastrous fire broke out on the stage of the cinema. The fire spread rapidly, fanned by a strong easterly wind. The patients were calmly escorted from the building and there was only one minor injury. The cinema and three wards 'Clouston', 'Jane Holloway' and 'Thomas Holloway' were completely gutted and the electro-convulsive therapy department and sewing rooms were badly damaged.

The Sanatorium was closed in December 1980 and the remaining patients transferred to St Peter's Isolation Hospital at Staines which became a psycho-geriatric unit (Holloway Unit). On 21 July 1981 there was a sale "contents of Holloway Sanatorium: antique and period furniture" at Wentworth Auction Galleries. The site was sold by the NHS to a property company which planned to convert it to 120,000 sq ft (11,000 m2). of offices. After the buildings had passed through three owners and two public enquiries, ending up in the hands of a receiver, they remained empty and vandalised for 12 years, becoming completely derelict. Thieves stripped lead from the gutters, resulting in water damage. Development on the cricket pitch at the front of the main block and the demolition of the Medical Superintendent’s House were controversially allowed in the early 1990s, facilitating a rapid start on a restoration and development project by Octagon.

The main building was used in several early episodes of Inspector Morse, including the very first episode, The Dead of Jericho. Inspector Morse is seen on the main staircase, and the Dining Hall is used in the opening scenes. The facility was also utilized as a location for several music videos in the early 1980s, for artists including Bucks Fizz, Ozzy Osbourne, Adam Ant, The Cure, Bonnie Tyler and Alphaville. The 1986 slasher film Slaughter High was also filmed there. The Main Hall (Recreation Hall) was used in the Michael Caine TV Movie/Mini Series Jack the Ripper (1988 TV series) when Chief Inspector Frederick Abberline questions the beggars.