Denbigh Asylum: The North Wales Hospital

The North Wales Hospital at Denbigh is one of Britain’s largest surviving Victorian asylums, its Gothic architecture dominating the Welsh landscape. Though closed since 1995, the main building remains standing, too expensive to demolish and too haunted to redevelop. The spirits of over a century of patients walk its empty corridors.

The History

Victorian Asylum

Opened in 1848, the North Wales Hospital was designed by Thomas Fulljames in an imposing Gothic style. It served as the principal psychiatric facility for North Wales.

Welsh Patients

The hospital treated Welsh-speaking patients, many of whom were committed for reasons we would now consider invalid:

• Unmarried mothers
• Those with depression
• Epileptics
• The “morally deficient”
• Those who simply didn’t fit

Peak Capacity

At its largest:

• Over 1,500 patients
• Hundreds of staff
• Own farm and workshops
• Self-contained community
• Complete isolation

Closure and Aftermath

The hospital closed in 1995. Unlike some asylums, the main building survived:

• Listed building status protected it
• Too expensive to demolish
• Redevelopment plans failed repeatedly
• It stands empty and decaying

The Hauntings

The Main Corridor

The central spine of the hospital:

• Footsteps echo endlessly
• Figures walk toward observers
• The sound of keys jangling
• Cold drafts from nowhere
• Staff still patrolling

The Female Wards

Women patients remain:

• Crying and distress
• Figures in nightdresses
• Mothers searching for children
• The tragedy of wrongful commitment
• Overwhelming sadness

The Tower

The central clock tower:

• Figures at windows
• Strange lights
• The sense of observation
• Someone watching from above
• The clock occasionally strikes despite being broken

The Mortuary

At the rear of the building:

• Intense cold
• The smell of chemicals
• Figures on tables
• Movement of equipment
• One of the most active areas

Welsh Voices

The ghosts speak Welsh:

• EVP recordings capture the language
• Prayers and songs
• Pleas for help
• The cultural identity preserved
• They died as they lived

Documented Evidence

Denbigh has been extensively investigated:

• Full-body apparitions photographed
• EVP in Welsh and English
• Temperature anomalies mapped
• Shadow figures on video
• One of Wales’ most documented sites

The Site Today

The main building still stands:

• Fire damage has affected some areas
• Security tries to prevent access
• The building continues to decay
• Ghosts continue to be seen
• The future remains uncertain

---

The North Wales Hospital at Denbigh stands as a monument to a dark era of mental health treatment. Its Gothic towers still rise over the Welsh countryside; its ghosts still speak Welsh in the empty corridors. The living have abandoned Denbigh; the dead remain.