Gary Stone looks at the history of gothic Wanstead Hospital

The most striking features are the tower and spire and the porch with marble columns. The great hall was added in 1866.

The original relief carvings with a maritime theme by Thomas Earp (1828-1893), an eminent Victorian sculptor and stonemason, can be seen throughout the buildings.

It was opened by Prince Albert in 1861 to care for orphaned children of merchant seamen.

It has a rich history spanning from a charitable institution to a convent and finally to a hospital before its closure in 1986.

In 1921 the orphans moved to Bearwood House in Wokingham, Berkshire, and the asylum building was bought by the Convent of the Good Shepherd as a refuge for women and girls. 

The former Wanstead Hospital has been converted to apartments (Image: Gary Stone) In 1937 Essex County Council bought the building and converted it into a hospital, eventually becoming part of the NHS in 1948 as a general hospital.

It had suffered considerable damage during the war and a proposal was made to develop a larger hospital on the seven-acre site. However, these plans never came to fruition. The war damage was repaired and by 1961 the hospital had 195 beds.

The maternity service was withdrawn in 1975 and the hospital closed in 1986, with services transferred to Whipps Cross Hospital.

The main building has since been redeveloped into apartments and the former chapel lay empty until it was purchased by the Buckhurst Hill Reform Synagogue in 1995 and now houses the Sukkat Shalom Reform Synagogue.

In 1996 the Grade II* listed Venetian Gothic buildings were converted into apartments.  The Hospital campus is now 'Clock Court' named after the hospital's clock tower, which is a well-known local landmark. 

• Gary Stone is a local historian.