Anyone visit derelict buildings? e.g. Severalls insane asylum?

**evilsatan** · 21st February 2007

Well I have just found a whole range of sites where budding photographers visit all kinds of derelict and interesting places that have been abandoned. Some of the photos are stunning and really appeal to me.

Just wondering if there are any forum members of such sites on here? Or if anyone here visits these places?

Planning on visiting Severalls insane asylum soon as it is being knocked down and rebuilt on which I think is a shame as I am a big fan of such urban/gothic places (appeals to my love of anything Res evil/silent hill-like.

Examples here:
http://www.opacity.us/gallery114_the...of_the_end.htm
http://www.abandonedpast.co.uk/index...605&pid=115748
http://www.abandoned-britain.com/PP/.../tempproj1.htm

Cheers

**Over Carl** · 21st February 2007

Haven't done, but if I was anywhere near the old rover factory, I definitely would. Only one I ever did was find the entrance to an air raid shelter when we were kids. Couldn't go far as there was a locked gate.

**Toffeeman** · 21st February 2007

I have never visited any of the places myself - some of them give me the creeps! But I came across a few of these sites a while ago. Some of the photos people get from these places are stunning

http://www.guerillaphotography.fotopic.net
http://www.level-two.co.uk
http://www.28dayslater.co.uk

**TwoPlAnKs** · 21st February 2007

there's an abandoned orphanage near here, its properly abandoned too with stuff still lieng about

it's called "Proctor's Home for Orphaned Children" or something and was started in the victorian times so its pretty creepy. its odd though because it was taken over by the local authority in recent times before it was closed down (probably only holds about 15 kids and its in the middle of nowhere, hardly economical) and if you were to break into the shed outside it you would see loads of old toys and bikes and things, or so some people who would break into such a shed have told me. (just for the record, it was already broken into when we found it :o)

unfortunately the actual orphanage itself is boarded up much better, and it apparently has a pretty good alarm system on it that would get the police round pronto, so we never bothered poking about any further

even just the abandoned toys were pretty creepy, i mean it was still running in the 80s and possibly early 90s so the rooms are modernized and it would just be a boring empty building without toys in it. i suppose the kids would have taken their favorites with them when they were moved and they'd have had nothing better to do with the others than leave them

one of my mates was going to write to the council and see about getting it opened up to film inside it cos he does that sort of thing at college and i'd be pretty happy to help him hold a microphone or something to see inside for real but i cant see it happening.

**evilsatan** · 22nd February 2007

I signed up to that 28dayslater just before I posted here as someone wants to tour severalls on there so can maybe meet with the bloke who will tour them lol.

Sounds good twoplanks, this is something that would always have interested me just I never thought about it before! Quite excited about tomorrow really, just gotta watch out not to get busted by their security or its a trip home in a police car so I hear... beats a taxi though

**Roach-Rampino** · 22nd February 2007

My great-aunt was a patient in Cane Hill years ago when she suffered a major breakdown. She said it was an awful place to be. It's now totally derelict and I am always fascinated when I drive by there and see the curtains blowing through the broken windows of this creepy colossal building set up high on the hill as you come out of Coulsdon (Surrey).

Here's a few from there:

Spoiler:

More and of other asylums... http://www.countyasylums.com/mentala...canehill02.htm

I don't think it's open to the public although Derren Brown did do one of his experiments up there. Personally I find a strange allure to these sinister and dilapidated institutions, I'm not really sure why?

Anyone got a theory on why these places are a source of morbid interest?

**flipper321** · 22nd February 2007

Originally Posted by evilsatan

Planning on visiting Severalls insane asylum soon as it is being knocked down and rebuilt on which I think is a shame as I am a big fan of such urban/gothic places (appeals to my love of anything Res evil/silent hill-like.

Cheers

There was a thread a little while ago about this.

http://www.digital-forums.com/showth...ight=severalls

I live next to Severalls, let me know if you need any info.

It is being knocked down (although I think some buildings will be converted to flats where possible;
http://www.colchester-regen.co.uk/In...65&sec_id=1044) to build new housing, the North side of Colchester has gone through rapid expansion recently. The new Colchester United Stadium will also be built close by.

http://www.colchester-regen.co.uk/In...61&sec_id=1040

**evilsatan** · 22nd February 2007

Cheers for that boys, PM sent Flipper

@ Roach: I reckon its the association with death maybe? That interests everyone because it is the unknown and the inevitable, not a nice mix... However this may not be the case, I am interested in modern architecture too but these places give me something else! I like to scare myself too.

**Roach-Rampino** · 22nd February 2007

Originally Posted by evilsatan

@ Roach: I reckon its the association with death maybe? That interests everyone because it is the unknown and the inevitable, not a nice mix... However this may not be the case, I am interested in modern architecture too but these places give me something else! I like to scare myself too.

Oh totally agree as these buildings are magnificent structures athough some are a bit grotesque.

**baronvon** · 22nd February 2007

Originally Posted by Roach-Rampino

Anyone got a theory on why these places are a source of morbid interest?

as evil said its about death, the dark side of the human mind and the unknown.

you see someone odd in the street you stare.

Also probably most of us growing up watched films where these type of establishments were assoiciated with supernatural phenominum (spell)

THE BARON

**evilsatan** · 22nd February 2007

Well I hope to be posting some pictures of it if I manage it so watch this space. Also checking out Hellsingly in east sussex at some point and this place in harwich which was used to defend against invading nazis.

**TwoPlAnKs** · 23rd February 2007

Originally Posted by Toffeeman

http://www.28dayslater.co.uk

just been browsing that site and was shocked to see haddo house on it, which is near here

intrigued, i put aberdeenshire and aberdeen in the search box and it found some interesting things near by. i'd strongly recommend you do a forum search for your town and shire and such to see if you recognize any of the buildings. very interesting stuff. i'm gonna maybe even go to some which are totally away from the world and not secured, this is fascinating me now

that forum has some great threads too, and some of the pictures are great as well. a lot of it didnt mean much to me but older members will probably enjoy seeing some ancient fanta cans and other product packaging that is long since gone for example. one of my favourites was the one in the general section about what strange things you've found. it included a stuffed 8 legged lamb(a real one) and a pair of plastic legs. somebody found a dictaphone somewhere with loads of strange things recorded on it too, but the link to the mp3 was fucked. some places still have electricity on too, there was a picture from an abandoned distillery that showed a PC booting up windows 95

most of the security guard encounters on there seem fine too, because they just say they are taking photos and demonstrate that they have no tools or stolen items on their person and that they didnt break in. apparently its only a civil crime trespassing in england+wales and its not a crime at all in scotland, so if you get caught you can normally get off with it too.

everyone will know those drop ceilings, the ones that consist of panels on a metal frame. if you're at work you're probably sitting under one right now. well looking inside them normally reveals the ceiling hanging on wires from some beams or a crappy roof of some kind, but one picture of an old cinema showed the inside of the drop ceiling, which was hanging in the exactly the same way about 10 feet below a beautiful ornate ceiling like the cinemas of the past. i still don't understand why anybody would cover up something like that

it has nothing about proctors though. i was really hoping to be able to show people i know photos from inside it after we speculated for so long. if i was a less honorable person i'd go up there some night and bash in one of the panels with something and leg it, then see what happens from a safe distance. i bet the alarm stories are shit and its full of old creepy dolls and music boxes and stuff. i hate the idea of breaking other peoples things though and even if its not alarmed its definitely very well boarded up so its a nogo without permission

**evilsatan** · 23rd February 2007

Well that site is very good but after signing up I became permanently banned before I could even post! Still waiting for a reply from admin as to why this has happened :@

**evilsatan** · 23rd February 2007

As an update, went today, was there for nearly 5 hours! Left when it had got pretty much pitch black. Was awesome! loved every minute of it, found ways into all the areas I wanted to visit, only missed the chapel as there was no way in

Needless to say will be visitng it several more times before its gone!

EDIT: Some pictures to follow...

**evilsatan** · 25th February 2007

As promised here is one of the pics I got, got 113 in total so if anyone wants to see more then let me know.

This is a picture of the main building:

**apllrd** · 25th February 2007

creepy as fcuk, kinda like amityville and the haunting rolled into one.

**evilsatan** · 25th February 2007

Lol after getting through that fence we walked around the inside of the buildings (its like a small town in there!) for almost 5 hours. I will tell you what, when dusk hits and it pisses it down then darkness follows it is pretty fookin creepy in there! Before then its just eerie.

**c0axial** · 26th February 2007

Next we'll be talking about the Underground Telephone Exchange (Guardian) in Manchester, with access points in ardwick and behind the old odeon cinema on Oxford Street

http://www.cybertrn.demon.co.uk/guardian/

Now thats one place ive allways wanted a legit Visit...

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2.../Guardian1.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2.../Guardian2.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2.../Guardian3.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2.../Guardian4.jpg

**evilsatan** · 26th February 2007

Originally Posted by c0axial

Next we'll be talking about the Underground Telephone Exchange (Guardian) in Manchester, with access points in ardwick and behind the old odeon cinema on Oxford Street

http://www.cybertrn.demon.co.uk/guardian/

Now thats one place ive allways wanted a legit Visit...

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2.../Guardian1.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2.../Guardian2.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2.../Guardian3.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2.../Guardian4.jpg

Bit of a distance for me

but would love to see some pics if anyone has got any!