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The Saughton House Mystery


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Saughton House. A large government office in Broomhouse, west Edinburgh. It takes the form of several institutional 2-story blocks called 'spurs' joined by a long corridor, that are suggestive of hospital wards. No wonder, because that is what Saughton House was built as, a hospital for the use of the navy during the second world war.
 
Or was it?
 
Reading this article makes me doubt everything I ever knew about Saughton House. Was it originally a hospital? Was it a navy hospital? Was it always a government office from the start? How come no-one actually knows? Maybe it just appeared out of nowhere one day and we have just invented stories to retro-fit the facts to stop our brains exploding?
 
http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/0_buildings_s/0_buildings_-_saughton_house.htm

 

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On 16 September 2016 at 8:30 PM, flumax said:

Hospital. Source :from speaking with estates division and SG health and safety folk responsible for site.

The hospital explanation sounds plausible.  There used to be buildings in a similar 'spur' style in Blackpool and Newcastle, which were intended to be hospitals to treat injured servicemen prior to the anticipated invasion of Japan in WW2.

Of course, the invasion never happened but the post-war Welfare state did, so the government used the buildings as offices instead.

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https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Sighthill+Plumbase/@55.9244689,-3.2940748,270m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x4887c428780911db:0xf758fd54e92c1eb3!8m2!3d55.9253767!4d-3.2940427?hl=en

Says in your link it was built during the war (or in late the 40's) as a hospital for returning soldiers, originally a prefab, used for that purpose until the late 50's. 

Edited by thplinth
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