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Former hospital founded in 1852 as Baldovan Institution, by Sir John and Lady Jane Ogilvie in 1852, to provide a hospital and residential accommodation for female orphans place of education for imbecile children, constituting the first serious attempt of its kind in Scotland. In 1853 the Ogilvies provided a new building for the hospital, designed by Coe and Godwin (of London) in the English domestic Tudor style, in the grounds of Baldovan House (though this part of the institute was demolished in the 1960s). The foundation stone was laid on the 7th July, 1853 and the orphanage opened on 30 November 1854, the asylum on 6 January 1855 with 30 resident children. It was renamed the Baldovan Asylum in 1856, in 1867 the orphanage was moved to another site. By 1879 70 children were accommodated at the Asylum and expansion was required. A new site was chosen across the road to the north east within the Baldovan Estate. The building is attributed to the architect John Turnbull MacLaren of MacLaren, Soutar and Salmond the foundation stone was laid on 13 June 1900 and part of the new building in use by October 1901. Plans were prepared in 1902 for an additional pavilion and covered play court and by 1904 the Main Building wards were completed and occupied by 160 children. An early 20th century plan shows the main block, occupied by Administration, with three Pavilions, large kitchen and recreation hall linked by covered passages. To the north were the detached laundry and school buildings and to the west a pair of cottages. By the end of the First World War the register of pupils stood at around 260-70, with children from all parts of Scotland. The original building, west of the current site, continued in use. The gardens to the south of the administration block and landscape were designed by the Ogilvys' son Reginald. In 1925 the Trustees formed an incorporation with the counties of Aberdeen, Angus, Kincardine and Perth to provide for the care of children from all 4 counties. A nurses' home and Boys Pavilion were completed in 1932, both institutional in appearance in contrast to the deliberately domestic nature of the main administration block and its pavilions. After 1947 the Asylum was absorbed by the new NHS (by which time it accommodated adults as well as children) and further pavilions were added - as depicted on the 1953 OS map. Two wards were added in 1959 and the name changed to Strathmartine Hospital. Further expansions of the building and site took place in the early 1960s: a new kitchen block was added, the boiler house plant renewed, the administration block modernised. Three 50 bed wards built between 1960 and 1962 and work begin on a major landscaping scheme. There was continued expansion into the 1970s but during the later 20th century some buildings were demolished, including the former school building and kitchen block. The hospital closed in 2003, and the recreation hall and laundry block have since been damaged by fire. The John Turnbull MacLaren buildings are Listed Category B, comprising the 11-bay administration block with three 2-storey, 2-bay, piend-roofed wards built of stugged squared and snecked rubble with ashlar dressings. The principal southwest elevation of the Administration building is symmetrical with pavilion-roofed centre bays with dwarf walls flanking stone steps leading to a 3-bay porch. The pilastered and keystoned round-headed doorpiece has a 2-leaf panelled timber door and sunburst-astragalled fanlight, and is flanked by transomed tripartites and single transomed windows to the outer returns. The first floor has transomed bipartite windows to each bay, with a central bay above with bipartite window breaking the eaves into a piended dormerhead. The outer bays have flat-roofed dormers (replacement windows), also breaking the eaves. The flanking 2-storey bays are slightly set back, each with a transomed bipartite window to the centre flanked by single windows at each floor (only those to ground transomed), that to first floor breaking eaves into piended dormerhead. The projecting single storey outer bays each have a 5-part canted transomed window below a corniced blocking course and a shaped gable with arrowslit in gablehead. The rear elevation largely comprised of variety of later extensions with 4-, 8-, 10-pane and plate glass glazing patterns in timber sash and case windows. There are cast-iron downpipes with decorative rainwater hoppers. The principal southwest elevation of the Wards each have advanced piended bay to right of centre with swept roof to 5-part canted window at ground, tripartite above and single window to each floor of left return, recessed bay with tripartite window at ground and bipartite at first floor. The southeast and northwest elevations have symmetrically-fenestrated elevations with variety of elements including full-height, polygonal-roofed canted stair tower to outer ward at the southeast. Strathmartine Hospital is now in a generally poor condition having been subject to vandalism, theft and arson. Condition and building surveys have been carried out in advance of proposed redevelopment of the site.
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Historic Environment Records (HER) 
Angus
HER -
NO33SE0135 - STRATHMARTINE HOSPITAL