Middleton Hospital
July 2025
-
The Middleton Tuberculosis Sanatorium Hospital, or Middleton Hospital for short, was a former Tuberculosis (TB) hospital located in North Yorkshire, buried in the hills above Ilkley. Opened in 1920 to treat TB patients, the original site spanned 57 acres and sported 20 buildings. During its lifetime, it served as a TB Sanatorium, but also as a Military Hospital and a Geriatric Hospital. The site closed in 1990, with the majority of buildings being demolished in 1991.
Today, hidden by the thick undergrowth, only the site roads and four buildings stand as a reminder of what once existed.
The first building, and the most prominent, is the Social Club building. I’ve seen it being mentioned a couple times that this was for the patients, but I believe it was for the Staff only instead, given a sign that used to sit above the main door.
The second one is a lonely Sub Station. This building is in a right state, filled with holes and surrounded by rubble.
The third is the Lodge, a white-washed cottage sitting in the trees next to the site entrance. I’m unsure as to who would have used it.
The last building, hidden at the rear of the site, is reportedly either an Admin block, or a Mortuary. I initially thought this was the lodge, but that is incorrect. What distracts me from it being a Mortuary is the existence of at least two Bathtubs inside, which I can’t imagine why a Mortuary would have such things, but I could easily be wrong about it not being such. Regardless, the building is in one of the worst states. Most of the roof has collapsed and it’s completely overgrown.
There is technically a 5th building, a rusty, half crushed portakabin next to the Social Club, but it’s clear it’s not original and was added to the site later on, though I have no idea when.
I’d actually been to this site before in early 2023 and I knew that I’d want to come back at some point and make a proper photo shoot. I consider this trip to be a favourite of mine now, mainly because of the history around it.
