Tooting Bec Asylum (later Tooting Bec Hospital) was situated on Tooting Bec Road from 1903 until it was demolished in 1995. It is now the site of the Heritage Park housing estate.

In 2015 Liz Sayce, OBE wrote about the history of the hospital, commenting that there was nothing to remember the thousands of people who had lived and worked on the site.

Since then Liz and Philip Bradley, chair of the Tooting History Group, have given several local history talks about the hospital. On all these occasions members of the audience have provided information and anecdotes about their own experience of the hospital.

In 2025 the site of the hospital was successfully nominated for a Wandsworth Green Plaque, a scheme aiming “to highlight people, places, and events which have made a difference to the borough of Wandsworth and shaped its history”.

Cllr Graeme Henderson, Philip Bradley and Liz Sayce at the unveiling. Photograph © Sue Cutler.

The illustrated Tooting Bec Asylum Remembered, published by the Tooting History Group, was written by Karen Ellis-Rees and Annie Caulfield.

Much of the information comes from material held by the London Archives, the National Archives and Wandsworth Heritage Service. Wherever possible the emphasis has been on the experiences of patients and staff, drawing in some cases on personal reminiscences and oral history recordings, and in others on archival records and genealogical research.

The book costs £5 and is available at Tooting History Group meetings. It can also be bought from the Tooting History Group website for £7.50, post and packing included, by clicking here.

From left to right: Karen, Liz, Philip and Annie. Photograph © Sue Cutler.