The prop is a piece of curtainrail, with the curtain hangers bunched at one end, with a bit of burnt curtain material still attached.
Written on the wall in red is just a bunch of ppls names/initials.
Believe it or not, at the time there was some currency to the notion that rose pink (which this is not) had a calming effect on disturbed people. The salmon pink seen here was just one of many colours used during this time, usually at the whim of whoever was in charge of that particular area.
Ordinary drugs (paracetamol, acetaminophen, and lotions) were kept locked in a cupboard below this one. Medicines that were prescribed by a doc (like chlorpromazine) were known as Scheduled Poisons and were kept in this cupboard, but the Controlled Drugs sign in the pic denotes that there is another locked cupboard within this one, where drugs subject to the Misue of Drugs Act were kept (eg morphine). controlled drugs had to measured/counted and signed for by two nurses, one of whom (the giver) must be a Registered Nurse, the other signed as a witness to the giving.
these are the rear stairs from the ward dormitories, usually used only as a fire escape. They simply lead down to the ground floor and are mirrored on the other side of the building. This is the west side.
I heard the organ play a couple of times, smetimes a patient played, other times a visiting participant in the service would play. I can't recall that the chaplain played. anyway, it had a nice sound to it, especially when it echoed through the chapel.
the painting was not done after closure, it was there when I worked there in the late 70's. I think it was done during the 60's, which fits with someone else's cubist theory. It may have been done by a patient, certainly in the 60's LSD was used at the hospital though don't think this is relevant to the artist here!
Written on the wall in red is just a bunch of ppls names/initials.
Believe it or not, at the time there was some currency to the notion that rose pink (which this is not) had a calming effect on disturbed people. The salmon pink seen here was just one of many colours used during this time, usually at the whim of whoever was in charge of that particular area.