A historic Angus hospital, which was the largest asylum in Scotland, has effectively been left to rot, critics have claimed.
Montrosians have expressed sadness at the state of the former Sunnyside Hospital, which remains on the Buildings at Risk Register. Sunnyside was open for 230 years and was the oldest psychiatric hospital in Scotland.
The theft-hit building is boarded up and riddled with asbestos after closing in 2011 and local people took to social networking sites to bemoan its demise.
Gary Simpson uploaded photographs of the stricken site to the Montrose Memories Facebook page, which was inundated with responses.
Alice Gillies said: “I’ve not been up there for years but it’s a real shame to see it like that.”
Avril Paton said: “Sad pictures indeed of what were once such beautiful buildings and grounds.”
Marjory Lamb said: “My father-in-law was a charge nurse here many years ago. Again, another lovely building left to rot.”
Freda Hayward said: “What a waste. They pull down all the best buildings or leave them to rot.”
Vera Pearton added: “Shame to see it all boarded up like that.”
An NHS Tayside spokesman said they were working with the Scottish Futures Trust to prepare the building for sale.
The original Montrose Asylum, which was the first in Scotland, was established by local woman Susan Carnegie, funded by public subscription and opened in 1781.
Expanding patient numbers led to the purchase of a new site at Hillside, which was designed by the architect William Lambie Moffatt, and the hospital buildings opened in 1857.
The site was further developed, with Carnegie Clinic and the hospital block, as well as a number of villas to house patients, added over the years.
Notable patients include the father of Arthur Conan Doyle, who was a talented artist, and Adam Christie, who sculpted the Hillside Robert Burns plaque.
In 1948, the National Health Service 1946 (Scotland) Act brought the hospital under control of the Eastern Regional Hospital Board. Its name was changed from the Royal Asylum of Montrose to the Royal Mental Hospital of Montrose.
In 1962, it became Sunnyside Royal Hospital and came under the jurisdiction of new management. During the 1950s and 1960s the introduction of new drugs lessened the need for prolonged admission of patients.
In addition, the Mental Health (Scotland) Act of 1960 also significantly altered legislation in respect of mental illness and reduced the grounds on which someone could be detained in a mental hospital.
From the 1970s, advances in psychiatric care and greater community resources, including supported accommodation and the set up of three community mental health teams in the 1990s, led to reduced patient numbers and the closure of some of the buildings on the Sunnyside site.
The new development at Stracathro replaced the existing facilities at Sunnyside. The site was nominated for inclusion on the Register of Buildings at Risk by a member of the public in June 2009.
An external inspection of the site last October found there was no significant change from the previous visit. Since the building closed, it has been struck by thieves, with copper piping from the attic space and top floor being taken.
Some lead was also stolen from roofs, while a one tonne copper water tank was also taken. Just last week, £800 of lead sheets were taken from the roof of the hospital.
The NHS Tayside spokesman said: “NHS Tayside has been working closely with Scottish Futures Trust, which has appointed a master planner to prepare Sunnyside for sale, taking into account the management of the listed buildings on the site.”