BDC Scaffolding recently undertook a job on the former site of Hales Hospital, in the small parish of Heckingham, Norfolk. The project itself was mammoth, involving redeveloping the entire site into a number of different dwellings. You can see the extent of our scaffolding in the image below;
Hales Hospital itself was built by John Harris of Ipswich as far back as 1764. It’s main purpose was a workhouse; “The Heckingham House of Industry” and held 400 inmates. The property was divided into various buildings with the “H” shaped structure containing 83 rooms with an additional infirmary and a so called “house of correction”. During 1766 a further “pest house” for up to 20 people was erected; this structure was build purely to hold those afflicted with small pox or similar infectious diseases. You can find out more about the history and view pictures of how the structures looked at geograph and on the British Listed Buildings website. There’s also a curiously interesting video of the exploration of the abandoned buildings below;
Redevelopment
The redevelopment proposals for Hales Hospital (which is located on Yarmouth Road) were initially approved back in 1997, and further renewed during 2006. Further planning extensions were granted in 2011, but required a quick start of within 2 years. Hence why BDC Scaffolding was quick on the job. The building is on the listed buildings at risk register.
If you have a similar large scale project, or any scale for that matter, give BDC Scaffolding a call and we’ll be more than happy to help.
