| Whitecroft Hospital | |
|---|---|
 Whitecroft Hospital | |
  Shown on the Isle of Wight | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Gatcombe, Isle of Wight, England |
| Coordinates | 50°40′20″N 1°18′08″W / 50.6723°N 1.3023°W |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | National Health Service |
| Type | Psychiatric |
| History | |
| Opened | 3 July 1896 |
| Closed | 1992 |
Whitecroft Hospital was a mental health facility near to Gatcombe on the Isle of Wight, England. The clock tower is a Grade II listed building.[1]
The hospital, which was designed by Benjamin Jacobs using a compact arrow layout, opened as the Isle of Wight County Asylum in July 1896.[2] It became the Isle of Wight Mental Hospital in the 1920s and joined the National Health Service as Whitecroft Hospital in 1948.[3] After the introduction of Care in the Community in the early 1980s, the hospital went into a period of decline and closed in 1992.[2] The site was subsequently redeveloped for residential use as "Gatcombe Manor".[4][5]
Whitecroft Hospital, like many other locations on the Isle of Wight,[6] is said to be haunted by a number ghosts. This includes former doctors and nurses who are said to wander around the property as if the hospital is still open for business.[7] The former hospital is considered one of the most haunted hospitals in the country.[8]