IT might soon be the site of more than 700 homes but the former Severalls Hospital still hold many memories for Colchester.

These vintage photographs include images found on slides which include hundreds of pictures of staff and patients at a fete.

Among the archive images are pictures of Coronation Street legend Violet Carson who portrayed battle-axe Ena Sharples in the long-running soap appearing at a fete during the 1960s.

Severalls Hospital closed in 1997, despite a campaign to try to keep it open, following changes to how psychiatric care was implemented.

Staff recalled it was very much part of the community with a huge amount of involvement from patients’ families and the wider community.

Patients were able to benefit from the large grounds and there was a line of apple trees the staff would pick apples from to be made into pies and crumbles for the patients.

Bloor Homes, Taylor Wimpey and Bellway will jointly develop the 104-acre site under the umbrella of the Severalls Consortium with the final homes set to be completed in 2021.

The psychiatric hospital, the remains of which had fallen into major disrepair in recent years was built in 1910 to the design of architect Frank Whitmore and officially opened in May 1913.