4,081 Comments for Norwich State Hospital

Looking at the construction of these units, i feel you can rule out any type of oven or cremation device, as they appear to be constructed of galvanized sheet metal. There appears to be some ductwork above the lower right unit.
looking closely at there construction i would say they are part of the buildings fresh air circulation system. The material on the floor is from the building deteriorating, ( as seen in other photos of this building ) and the size and shape would make them impractical for raising livestock.

I forgot to mention that when these buildings get real old the ceilings disintegrate and "rain down junk" all over the place. Motts, correct me if I am wrong, but I believe what you are seeing on the floor is the ceiling. :-)

OK, I called a staff person I used to work with where I saw devices like this, and she said that back 20 to 30 years ago, the place we worked at (another state than where I am now) didn't have a real mattress sterilizer, so they used to scrub any mattresses that had to be re-used with heavy duty disinfectant and then they had to dry out, so they used a device like this to do it. It was just some metal shelving they used after they rinsed down the mattresses, cleaned them with bleach plus something else that was quite harsh to the skin, rinsed them with water to get rid of whatever it was, and then put them in a thing like this to let them air dry.

=8-o

The stuff you find out 20 years later. I am still laughing. 8`-)

I did ask the older gentleman at work who has lived there for many years about this being something for birds and he said it definitely wasn't. And to repeat what he said, he was appalled that anyone would think they cremated people in these. Guess people who live in institutions have a slightly more civilized idea about how things are handled than much of the public does. ;-)

a thought..many large "hospitals" had an on site farm..can,t see from the crud on the floor but they may have wheels food could be placed in them and sent out to the serving areas.after all this is a big place and with 3 meals a day you would need something large to move food and or trays drinking cups silverware to differnt places ...what the hell is this thing anyways!!!!!!

they look too small to put a mattress in to.they would clean the matterss in the laundery..and with no pipes or heating eliments,any that we can see in the photo.no dials or controls,they are open to the air so what ever was inside was not afected by being in the open air.they wouldn't keep animals in the kitchen area,chickens would be in a outside coop. eggs and such would more likely come from local farmers in the early years.i don,t think the head cook would let them have dead bodies to be in his kitchen lol..this just might be for dishes.

Thanks, Live and Ed....'tis good to know i've got a support group of fellow junkies

**Quick Responses**
Pidgeon raising would have been a form of therapy if thats what was used....
Cremation ovens/crematoriums were and are usually kept in basements for sanitary and aesthetic reasons
and I am betting it was a form of Bird cage/chicken coop. *shrug*

OOOOHHH now why cant I have something like that in my living room???

Leigh, admitting to being a Mottsahol is the first step!!! ;-)

You're welcome, Bri!

I wish there was a Latin translator like Lycos's Babel Fish but I haven't found one yet.

This IS a very grand fireplace (something I'm sure few patients got to see)....I hope it's preserved whenever they renovate or restore this place.

Hey, Motts....any plans to return to "Gravesend" or The Pines?

Mr Motts as a newcomer to this site can I ask the question have you ever captured anything on a photograph that you did not notice when taking it? Specificaly anything that could be seen as ghostly or the like? Thanks and good skills with the camera!

Leigh, I too am addicted to Mottsahol, i'm particularly fond of the strawberry flavour

oh god, i'm a mottsaholic!

Cyrus:

Can't 'member where I found this, but the whole thing is on the net somewheres:

"By the end of 1950 the average daily census had climbed to 2,799. Between 1950 and 1962 many new buildings were added to the already complex hospital. However, during this period whenever a new patient building was constructed, an old building was closed. After the Lodge Building was completed in 1956, patients from Butler, Cutter and Dix were transferred and these obsolete buildings were no longer used for patients."

Thank you Lynne, I really enjoy reading about all your experiences. You are one of the reasons I love coming here. I bet I could listen to you talk about your job for hours!