In 1877 the hospital was extended by architects William Wilkinson and Henry Wilkinson Moore, doubling its size, and creating this new front entrance. This is when the original front of the building (created in the 1820s) became the back, involving the creation of a new driveway. The date of the completed extension can be seen on a plaque over the front door, beneath the clocktower.
A new entrance hall was created, a large first-floor recreation room and additional wings for women (to the northwest, to the right of the hall) and for men (to the southeast, to the left). The kitchen was extended and additional kitchen ranges installed to cope with the increased number of mouths to be fed.
The number of patients who could be accommodated at the Warneford gradually increased from 40 in 1826 to 100 by 1934, with extensions to the hospital built in 1852, 1877 and 1890, which each added an extra c.20 beds.
Image: Photograph of the front of the WH from early 1900s + photo of the kitchen from 1938 and/or the Recreation Room
