Thoughts - asylums and abandoned buildings
http://www.mechanised.org.uk/
This is an amazing website. I first found it through an urban exploration site, as I was interested in old asylums which people had visited. The style is fascinating. Although a lot of time (when talking about asylums) the pictures show the horrendous history of the treatment of mental illness in this country, the text accompanying them is so calm, so measured, it really makes you think about how the place has been used over the years. There are other places which he (I think its a he) has visited as well, including a fascinating family home which appears to have just been left in a hurry, with everything (family photos, family mementos etc) all left there.
I love looking at old buildings, and ones such as asylums have so much history in them, it really makes you think. And especially abandoned buildings - to see what has been left and what has been taken is just so interesting - shows what they thought was most important. In some asylums years and years of paper records have been left - in others there are still patient's belongings in cupboards. It makes me wonder what happened to those people, are they ok, how did their life go after they left what was (despite bad treatment which was often given by staff) the safety and security of the hospitals to go to "care in the community" - which is often not what happens.
In one of the asylums there is a pool table and a grand piano, which in most people's accounts appear to be sinking through the floor. Someone made the good point that when the piano *does* go through the floor, the racket it makes will scare the wits out of anyone who is near!
There is an old hospital / asylum near to where I live - Leavesden Hospital - but most of it has gone now, and only the chapel, recreation hall and reception block remain, having been made into housing. I wonder if the people living there know what their flats were previously used for, and what they think of it if they do! This site has some interesting information on it, and some pictures of what it looked like then and now: http://www.workhouses.org.uk/index.html?MAB-Leavesden/MAB-Leavesden.shtml. One of my friend's dad's worked at Shenley Hospital, so I wish I'd asked him more about his experiences there! Unfortunately theres not really any chance now as I don't know that friend as well as I did before, which is a shame.
I wish I could have gone into some of the abandoned asylums - especially Cane Hill, as I think that was generally thought of to be one of the best preserved. I'm not sure if I would be good at urban exploration though - I think I'd be too worried about getting caught!
This is an amazing website. I first found it through an urban exploration site, as I was interested in old asylums which people had visited. The style is fascinating. Although a lot of time (when talking about asylums) the pictures show the horrendous history of the treatment of mental illness in this country, the text accompanying them is so calm, so measured, it really makes you think about how the place has been used over the years. There are other places which he (I think its a he) has visited as well, including a fascinating family home which appears to have just been left in a hurry, with everything (family photos, family mementos etc) all left there.
I love looking at old buildings, and ones such as asylums have so much history in them, it really makes you think. And especially abandoned buildings - to see what has been left and what has been taken is just so interesting - shows what they thought was most important. In some asylums years and years of paper records have been left - in others there are still patient's belongings in cupboards. It makes me wonder what happened to those people, are they ok, how did their life go after they left what was (despite bad treatment which was often given by staff) the safety and security of the hospitals to go to "care in the community" - which is often not what happens.
In one of the asylums there is a pool table and a grand piano, which in most people's accounts appear to be sinking through the floor. Someone made the good point that when the piano *does* go through the floor, the racket it makes will scare the wits out of anyone who is near!
There is an old hospital / asylum near to where I live - Leavesden Hospital - but most of it has gone now, and only the chapel, recreation hall and reception block remain, having been made into housing. I wonder if the people living there know what their flats were previously used for, and what they think of it if they do! This site has some interesting information on it, and some pictures of what it looked like then and now: http://www.workhouses.org.uk/index.html?MAB-Leavesden/MAB-Leavesden.shtml. One of my friend's dad's worked at Shenley Hospital, so I wish I'd asked him more about his experiences there! Unfortunately theres not really any chance now as I don't know that friend as well as I did before, which is a shame.
I wish I could have gone into some of the abandoned asylums - especially Cane Hill, as I think that was generally thought of to be one of the best preserved. I'm not sure if I would be good at urban exploration though - I think I'd be too worried about getting caught!