Early history As Newcastle upon Tyne did not have a hospital of its own for mentally ill patients, a new asylum was proposed in
Coxlodge, where a farmstead known as Dodd's Farm was purchased. In 1864 initial plans were drawn up, and William Lambie Moffatt was appointed architect. The facility opened as Newcastle upon Tyne Borough Lunatic Asylum in July 1869 and became the Newcastle upon Tyne City Lunatic Asylum in 1882. Some of the first patients were transferred from
Bensham Asylum as Durham County Magistrates had refused to renew the contract of that facility. In 1884 permission was granted to extend the hospital, and the East and West Pavilions were completed in 1887. These allowed an additional 80 patients to be admitted. The asylum steadily grew, with more buildings erected. During the
First World War the patients were evacuated and the hospital became Northumberland No. 1 War Hospital for wounded soldiers, who were brought there by train. The facility reverted to an asylum in 1921. In 1948 the
National Health Service took over the hospital and changed the name to St Nicholas Hospital. The site of the former Collingwood Clinic was sold in the 1990s and is now used by
Virgin Money. Part of the original asylum was sold in the late 1990s and converted into housing, now known as Lanesborough Court. The area used by the church is now occupied by the 1994-built Ashgrove Nursing Home. at a cost of £22 million started in November 2004 and was completed in April 2006. The new clinic is bordered by residential properties and a
Northumberland Wildlife Trust wildlife centre and office. In 2009 the Greentrees unit and the Lennox Ward were renovated at a cost of circa £8 million. The renovation of these Victorian hospital buildings was one of eight projects short-listed from 20 entries for the Best Design in the Community Benefit category of the
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors North-East Renaissance Awards. == Jubilee Theatre ==