Rauceby Hospital

August 2025 | England | Extant but Ruinous

Name: Rauceby Hospital.

Previous Names: Kesteven County Hospital, Kesteven Mental Hospital, Rauceby Mental Hospital.

Architect: George Thomas Hine.

Layout: compact arrow.

Opened: 1902.

Closed: 1997.

Another asylum, this one has definitely had its day. Not a huge amount remains and what does is rather sad and forlorn at this point, but it has some character and gives off strong GT Hine brilliance with its architecture.

History:

The hospital buildings were designed by George Thomas Hine in a utilitarian arts and crafts style blending Classical and Gothic motifs. Construction was started in 1897 and it was officially opened as the Kesteven County Asylum on 20 June 1902. Later on, the hospital was renamed the Kesteven Mental Hospital in 1924 and then again renamed the Rauceby Mental Hospital in 1933.

Below: Rauceby Hospital.

In 1940 the building was requisitioned by the RAF for the war effort and renamed as No.4 RAF Hospital Rauceby. It became a crash and burns hospital under the direct control of nearby RAF Cranwell. During its tenure as a burns unit plastic surgeon Archibald McIndoe worked at the hospital. The wartime Burns Unit was situated in Orchard House, which was a later extension built on the northern side of the hospital – this section remained open until 2011 and was demolished in 2013.

There was a major fire in the main hall in 1945 and it was badly damaged. It was subsequently rebuilt in a modernist style which juxtaposed with the style of the older buildings. The RAF handed the hospital back for civilian use in 1947 and it joined the newly created NHS as Rauceby Hospital in 1948. After the introduction of Care in the Community in the early 1980s, the hospital went through a period of decline and finally closed in December 1997. The hospital sat derelict for about 8 years before the buildings were subsequently demolished after 2005, leaving the chapel, admin building and parts of the wards.

The Explore:

My friend Forbidden3dom and I decided to stop off here on the way back from watching the eight cooling towers at Cottam Power Station be demolished. We had a few hours to kill, and neither of us had ever done Rauceby so we decided to give it a look. Not a huge amount is there now but even so, you can kill an hour or so in here. The buildings themselves are rather stripped and empty but there’s still some nice peeling paint and corridor shots to be had.

Below: a floorplan of Rauceby Hospital.

There were some local youths playing in the buildings and one of them sliced her hand open on some glass. Luckily I had a medkit in the car along with some hand sanitiser so we got her hand cleaned up and bandaged. I suppose treating a glass gash in a former hospital that hadn’t operated as a hospital since 1997 is quite ironic! Anyway, here are the photos. Enjoy!

Admin Building:

Wards:

Greenhouse and Villas: