Clayton Hospital, Wakefield, West Yorkshire. Historic Building Recording (OASIS ID: archaeol5-318560)

In February 2018, Archaeological Research Services Ltd was commissioned by Wakefield Grammar School Foundation to undertake a historic building recording of the site of Clayton Hospital, Wakefield. The requirement for the historic building recording was to fulfil a condition of planning permission approved by Wakefield Metropolitan District Council which sets out a scheme for the re-purpose and part demolition of the Clayton Hospital buildings, which are a non-designated heritage asset subject to significant deterioration from repeated theft, vandalism and arson. The historic building recording of Clayton Hospital has produced a substantial descriptive and photographic record from which a significant resource is now available for historical and architectural analysis. The study of the building's spatial development over its hundred and thirty year operational lifespan also illustrates great scientific, technological and social change. The Level 2 recording (Historic England 2016) mitigates the potential loss of historic fabric from re-development, providing a high level of preservation through record and informing future conservation programmes, these required in the sympathetic repair and protection of the historic administration range complete with its significant ornamented tower designed by Thomas Bakewell (1839-1925).