A meduim-sized asylum, erected in 1900-02 to designs by W.J. Jennings of Canterbury. It was a modest version of the the fashionable echelon-plan type of asylum introduced by G. T. Hine. It consisted of four semi-circle or echelon along the southern side of a central group of kitchen and dining buildings. Adjoining these to the north were a collection of other service buildings at the far north of the complex. Other buildings included a detached private patients' block, a gate lodge, and staff housing. The administration building at the north of the site was demolished after suffering damage during the last war.(1)

Historic England archive material: BF101177 ST MARTIN'S HOSPITAL, LITTERBOURNE ROAD, CANTERBURY Miniature Format Film Number: 149/L

During the first phase of construction (1902-6) two infirmary blocks, a central general administration block, workshops, a recreation or dining hall, and an engine house were established at the site. The second phase of construction (c.1913) comprised the construction of epileptic and chronic blocks, and the third phase (c.1914) saw the establishment of the assistant medical officers’ quarters, the matrons’ quarters, the attendants’ mess room, and the nurses’ mess room. The final phase of construction (early – mid 20th century) encompassed the building of the entrance lodge and NHS pre-fab extensions (summarised from the report, 3).

<1> RCHME, 1993, Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England: Compilation of Kent Hospitals Record Sheets (Unpublished document). SKE6841.

<2> RCHME edited by Harriet Richardson, 1998, English Hospitals 1660-1948 (Monograph). SKE6867.

<3> WSP Environment & Infrastructure Solutions UK Limited, 2023, St Martin's West, Canterbury Outline Planning Application Heritage Assessment (Unpublished document). SKE57370.