HISTORY OF THE CAMPUS
The Crichton University Campus
has a rich history which began upon the death of Dr James Crichton
in 1823. Dr Crichton left a sizeable fortune to be used for
charitable purposes, and had one particular wish - that main portion
of the money be used to found a college of university status in
Dumfries.
Despite the efforts of his widow, Mrs
Elizabeth Crichton, to fulfil his wishes. This dream was
not realised until relatively recently. Due to various setbacks
which were out of her control, Mrs Crichton had to put ideas for
a college on hold and concentrate on a second proposal - the concept
of the Crichton Royal Hospital, a 'lunatic
asylum' near Dumfries. No expense was spared as Mrs Crichton strove
toward her goal of building the best in Europe.
Patient treatment began in 1839. By the late
1930's the hospital had grown to an estate of some 40 hectares of
parkland The grounds have been open to the public since 1940.
As requirement for psychiatric hospitals
diminished in the 1980s, a new beginning was heralded for
the Crichton estate and today we see it divided into 3 different
usage 'zones':
Academic - Crichton University Campus
Business - Crichton Business Park
Community/Cultural/Recreational -
The Public Asset
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