Following transfer of services to Maidstone Hospital, Oakwood closed in 1994 and was then developed as a residential estate known as St Andrew's Park.

The asylum was intended to take in patients from across the entire county of Kent, which then stretched as far west as Greenwich.

[3] As the asylum expanded, additions and extensions were made to this building until it had reached maximum potential capacity.

In 1850 an additional building, known as The Queen's House, was built on newly acquired land at the site.

At 10:00, the tower collapsed, killing three firemen, two nursing staff, the hospital printer and a patient and injuring a number of people.