Statement of Special Interest
The Scientific Block, dating from 1929, was designed by the prominent Edinburgh practice, Auldjo Jamieson and Arnott and is an unusual example of a purpose-built technical building and an important component of the hospital site. The building which combines neo-Georgian and modernist details is an early example of this style which became more prevalent in the later 1930s in the hands of architects such as Thomas Tait and Reginald Fairlie. It is one of only two examples of this particular style among the other buildings on the site by this practice which are generally a more restrained neo-Georgian design. It is largely unaltered. It is a significant component of the Astley Ainslie which is an unusual hospital site for its suburban garden character which has largely been retained with a number of buildings that have been little or moderately altered.
The inclusion of a Scientific Block on the Astley Ainslie site was unusual and is a rare building type for this date. Some laboratories were added to general hospitals from the early 20th century onwards but hospital blocks dedicated to experimental methods of treatment were rare.
The Astley Ainslie Institution was constituted in 1921 when the Board of Governors purchased about 31 acres of ground of the Canaan estate through an endowment by David Ainslie, who had acquired considerable wealth as a farmer and sheep breeder. The hospital was to be for convalescents from the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. As pressure on beds steadily grew during the 19th century, convalescent hospitals were a way of moving recovering patients out and freeing up beds for more acute cases. Typically these were situated on the outskirts of cities and towns where patients could benefit from fresh, clean air. This emphasis on light and clean air was inspired by the example of Continental sanatoria.
In the area initially purchased through the Ainslie bequest there were three villas with their large gardens: Canaan Park, Canaan House and Millbank. The first hospital unit, opened in 1923 as an experimental unit for female patients was Canaan Park, a Victorian villa which had been adapted and extended for hospital use as the facility expanded. New pavilions were added to the site from 1929 as were other related buildings such as the 'Scientific Department' for specialised treatment, the nurses' home and the school as well as accommodation for the superintendent and other staff.
During the Second World War the Astley Ainslie was closed to convalescent patients and became a military hospital. A series of wooden huts were constructed on the site in 1940. The military hospital status continued until 1 October 1945 when the hospital returned to its former function. That same year another villa, St Roque with its large grounds, was added to the site and Morelands to the east of the site was added two years later. New units added since then include a children's unit (1965), a disabled centre (1979) and two day hospitals (1971 and 1983).
In the second half of the 19th century and in the early 20th century hospitals which specialised in particular conditions grew in number. The Astley Ainslie was unusual in that it was not a subscription or voluntary hospital but simply ran on its initial endowment. In Scotland in 1870, there were just seven convalescent homes, mainly in the West, with an annual admission rate of 4000 patients. By the 1930s this had risen to over sixty convalescent homes that cared for more than 34,000 people annually. In 1948 the hospital and its grounds were vested in the Secretary of State for Scotland of the new National Health Service. Its endowment funds were handed over to a Board of Management.
Most major towns had convalescent hospitals in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Of the handful that were purpose-built as general convalescent homes in Edinburgh, (the Astley Ainslie, Corstorphine and one in Gilmerton), only the Astley Ainslie continues to provide rehabilitation for patients as well as providing care for older people. Corstorphine has been diverted to other use and Gilmerton is no longer a hospital building. The site is unusual in that the original layout and area of the site have been largely retained and new buildings have been inserted discretely into the landscaped grounds.
The original purpose of the Scientific Block was to foster a scientific study of the nature of convalescence so treatment could be constantly advancing. The Royal Infirmary's existing 'Convalescent House' at Corstorphine provided the needs of patients requiring a short convalescence while the Astley Ainslie was to provide for more prolonged convalescent care. The doctors in the latter were therefore in a good position to record and analyse the nature of convalescence. In its early days this block housed the 'Electrical Department', the Massage Department, the Artificial Sunlight Lamp, the equipment for diathermy treatment and later the X-Ray department. The emphasis changed over the years and new forms of treatment such as hydrotherapy requiring a large pool were evolved but these have been fitted comfortably within the original building while allowing for the retention of the main areas as built. In 1929 Alexander Miles the representative of the Royal College of Surgeons on the Astley Ainslie Board wrote that it was their intention 'to include scientific investigation of the processes involved in the gradual restoration to health after illness'. Convalescence had not to date been studied with the same scientific approach as other illnesses and the Scientific Block was to play a key role in this. A laboratory was introduced in 1931.
The practice Auldjo Jamieson and Arnott designed various buildings on the Astley Ainslie site from the mid-1920s onwards, taking on the role of architects to the Institution after one phase of alteration work to Canaan Park in 1922 by the architect John Jerdan. E A O Auldjo Jamieson (1880-1937) was Sydney Mitchell's assistant and inherited his practice on Mitchell's retirement in 1910 (and with it a number of hospital clients). In that same year he formed a partnership with J A Arnott (1871-1950) in about which mainly undertook restoration work and additions to existing buildings along with a small number of commissions for new buildings. The Astley Ainslie complex of buildings is one of Auldjo Jamieson and Arnott's largest and longest running commissions. They worked for the hospital from the mid-1920s until the Second World War, the practice by then run by Arnott and Jamieson's son.
Auldjo Jamieson and Arnott were traditionalists by inclination. The practice frequently employed a neo-Georgian style, a style which was commonly favoured for hospital buildings in the inter-war period. Good examples can be found at Mearnskirk Hospital, Renfrewshire designed by the architect J A T Houston and at the Convalescent Home in Gullane designed by Auldjo Jamieson before his partnership with James Alexander Arnott. The style could be adapted well to relatively sophisticated designs such as the sentry pavilions at the north entrance to the site or to simpler buildings using less expensive materials such the ward blocks at the Astley Ainslie.
Listed building record and statutory address updated in 2014. Previously listed as 143 Grange Road, Astley Ainslie Hospital Scientific Block.