O1kric

Thanks jj55, I'm surprised there aren't more photos of the hospital in its heyday - there doesn't seem to be much on the Internet; maybe there's a photo of the maternity wards somewhere?

Thanks and that's ironic Lilolil, I walked down that ground floor corridor after my appointment - went right down to where the surviving hospital ends. Beyond that wall is now a wasteland, and outside you can see boarded up windows. There was indeed an upstairs, with a staircase leading to it, I didn't investigate further though, it looked 'off limits'.

Thanks. Oh dear, it sounds like the ward was knocked down :( Does anyone know where it was in relation to the parts of the hospital which are still standing please? The only bit I really know well (ish) is the main entrance, because I had to check in there recently. O1

Thanks. As stated, the custom of Hallowe'en is actually Celtic Samhain; since all of Britain was originally Celtic it is extremely likely that Samhain (variousl spellings) was practised all over Britain and indeed Ireland, mindful also of Wales and Cornwall - so to call it a Scottish or Irish export seems a little awkward to me. The practise of Hallowe'en was dying out in England until the US Trick or Treat custom - which is a cultural mutation - caught on here several decades ago. The spooky nature of May Eve was once universally regarded in this context, a custom which seems to have fallen out of favour on both sides of the Atlantic I notice. Mind you, if the supermarkets get wind of it they will no doubt start selling fancy May Eve kits to boost their sales figures. O1

Many thanks to all, I wonder if there is a plan of the hospital when it still had the maternity wards - it looks like those wards would still be there if they were in the main building? O1

Trick or Treat is a US import. We exported Hallowe'en and it came back as 'trick or treat'. In some parts of the UK Hallowe'en (which means the evening of the saints - followed by All Souls Day, Nov 1st) was called Mischief Night when neighbours played pranks on one another, that's where the 'trick' element came from. Hallowe'en is the Christian name for pagan Celtic 'Samhain' which marked the end of summer and the beginning of the Celtic new year - parallel is Diwali, the Hindu new year which occurs at around this time as well. O1

Hello, I was born at East Dulwich in the late 1950s - Is there any way I can find out exactly *where* in this hospital please? I recently had to go back there for some treatment, I noticed that some of the wards had been demolished, so wondered if the building where I was born still survived or not? Thanks, O1