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St Peter's Hospital/Castlepollard Mother and Baby Home
The Castlepollard Mother & Baby Home (also known as the Sacred Heart Home or Manor House) that operated between 1935 and 1971 in the village of Castlepollard, County Westmeath, Ireland, was a maternity home for unmarried mothers and their children. The Home was run by the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a religious order of Catholic nuns. 4,972 unmarried pregnant women were sent to the Home to give birth and work. 4,559 children are known to have been born in the home, often with little medical assistance. High infant mortality, forced adoptions and abuse have been recorded at the Home. Castlepollard was just one of 18 homes investigated by the Irish government following the discovery of the remains of hundreds of babies at the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, County Galway and Bessborough in County Cork. The report detailed over three decades of abuse and negligence resulting in the deaths of hundreds of children. Others children were adopted to families in Ireland and the US, often in exchange for money, after mother's were forced to sign over their children to the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts. After the 1970s, the building was known as St Peter's Hospital, a private complex that treated medically disabled children until closure. We think the site shut in stages around 2013.
The history of the site and the case of the horrors of Mother and Baby Homes across Ireland is truly fascinating. If you want to read more, we go into more detail in the video, or alternatively, there's a lot more here.
Throwback to our 2021 Summer trip to Ireland. There are a couple places left now, like this one, that have just sat on the hard drive ever since. After seeing it didn't have a report, I figured that I'd stick it up. We camped in the thick woodland surrounding the property, until early in the morning, when myself and Theo tumbled out of our hammocks, and skulked off to the structure before the sun had fully risen. We first looked at the property's church, a familiar act in Ireland at every site, which turned out a nice treat. The main block, however, went a little differently. The ground floors are totally alarmed and many rooms are locked with some medical equipment still inside. After triggering one of them early on, we camped out in the chapel until the others had woke up, and traversed to the main building together. It seems that in one of the smaller buildings at the front of the site, perhaps an old mortuary, there was a bit of activity in the likes of a small pharmacy. Besides from the sensors, everything went swimmingly and we had enough time to check every room on the ground floor, despite the wailing alarm, before exiting and walking out the front gate. I would throw in some photographs of the ground floor and the equipment, but I didn't take any photos, and Theo's imgbb is locked, so I can't nab some from him. Here's what I got anyway.
Chapel. Probably the most untouched one I've ever seen. Dust and webs coated every inch of it.
Small hall adjoined.
Body tray underneath stairs.
Balcony with organ.
Some of the backrooms, absolutely crammed with religious memorabilia.
Now, the main block, from top to bottom because of the sighted sensors sprawled in every corner on the ground. It was a miracle we made it to the staircase in the first place.
Music room.
Staircases were pretty awesome, with safety netting from the premises' use as a hospital.
The wacky, child-friendly colour scheme was the most interesting aspect in most rooms.
That's all I captured. Maybe Theo can add some ground floor pictures, not to die for anyway. Here is the link to our documentary styled video we made at this site, take a look if you'd like:
Thanks for reading
The Castlepollard Mother & Baby Home (also known as the Sacred Heart Home or Manor House) that operated between 1935 and 1971 in the village of Castlepollard, County Westmeath, Ireland, was a maternity home for unmarried mothers and their children. The Home was run by the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a religious order of Catholic nuns. 4,972 unmarried pregnant women were sent to the Home to give birth and work. 4,559 children are known to have been born in the home, often with little medical assistance. High infant mortality, forced adoptions and abuse have been recorded at the Home. Castlepollard was just one of 18 homes investigated by the Irish government following the discovery of the remains of hundreds of babies at the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, County Galway and Bessborough in County Cork. The report detailed over three decades of abuse and negligence resulting in the deaths of hundreds of children. Others children were adopted to families in Ireland and the US, often in exchange for money, after mother's were forced to sign over their children to the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts. After the 1970s, the building was known as St Peter's Hospital, a private complex that treated medically disabled children until closure. We think the site shut in stages around 2013.
The history of the site and the case of the horrors of Mother and Baby Homes across Ireland is truly fascinating. If you want to read more, we go into more detail in the video, or alternatively, there's a lot more here.
Throwback to our 2021 Summer trip to Ireland. There are a couple places left now, like this one, that have just sat on the hard drive ever since. After seeing it didn't have a report, I figured that I'd stick it up. We camped in the thick woodland surrounding the property, until early in the morning, when myself and Theo tumbled out of our hammocks, and skulked off to the structure before the sun had fully risen. We first looked at the property's church, a familiar act in Ireland at every site, which turned out a nice treat. The main block, however, went a little differently. The ground floors are totally alarmed and many rooms are locked with some medical equipment still inside. After triggering one of them early on, we camped out in the chapel until the others had woke up, and traversed to the main building together. It seems that in one of the smaller buildings at the front of the site, perhaps an old mortuary, there was a bit of activity in the likes of a small pharmacy. Besides from the sensors, everything went swimmingly and we had enough time to check every room on the ground floor, despite the wailing alarm, before exiting and walking out the front gate. I would throw in some photographs of the ground floor and the equipment, but I didn't take any photos, and Theo's imgbb is locked, so I can't nab some from him. Here's what I got anyway.
Chapel. Probably the most untouched one I've ever seen. Dust and webs coated every inch of it.
Small hall adjoined.
Body tray underneath stairs.
Balcony with organ.
Some of the backrooms, absolutely crammed with religious memorabilia.
Now, the main block, from top to bottom because of the sighted sensors sprawled in every corner on the ground. It was a miracle we made it to the staircase in the first place.
Music room.
Staircases were pretty awesome, with safety netting from the premises' use as a hospital.
The wacky, child-friendly colour scheme was the most interesting aspect in most rooms.
That's all I captured. Maybe Theo can add some ground floor pictures, not to die for anyway. Here is the link to our documentary styled video we made at this site, take a look if you'd like:
Thanks for reading
