Hopedene Maternity Home, Elswick Road

During the 1960s Ryder and Yates produced a series of buildings for healthcare and welfare. Hopedene Maternity Home was their first project for the Salvation Army, built in 1969. It was an extension to a large Victorian house and replaced an earlier labour ward with a new wing for six mothers. In plan their building was simple and linear, but it was a complex structure which had to accommodate changes in ground level and was designed so an additional floor could be added above. The steep slope of the site was emphasised by the use of light brick on the ground floor and dark brick on the first floor, making the lower floor more dominant. The wards overlooked a large garden. The east elevation had minimal slit windows to provide privacy and quiet for the new mothers. The building was never extended as planned. The Salvation Army handed it over to the local authority social services department. It was demolished in the 1990s.