I never thought I would find myself stood inside one of G.T. Hine's famously brown-tiled asylums ever again.

I had heard on the grapevine that there were a couple of buildings on the edge of the site forgotten - or not factored into - the development plans which started with the demolition of the main complex of buildings in 2009 through 2010. This Asylum was my first ever explore back in June 2009, and the journey to the small village sharing the same name as the institution began to bring back a million memories from that beautiful sunny Friday afternoon when I found myself stood on The Drive with a mate and his then girlfriend, and her mate. I can remember almost everything about that day, etched permanently into my memory are those first steps inside what was then one of the most well-known and well-loved (as well as massively trashed) asylums in the country - what it felt like climbing through that first window, what the room looked like, what it smelled like - it was one of those pivotal life moments which has stayed with me forever. On that day, we only had a precious few hours inside to explore, and got around maybe half of it before we had to depart. I would return in November 2009, not long after the demolition had started, and manage to explore the entire asylum accompanied by the sound of demolition equipment tearing into Park House located further down The Drive, carried to the asylum by a fierce wind which was howling down the corridors.

So naturally I was almost jumping out of my seat when I saw there were a few bits left to have a nose at. With us being down south for the day I practically demanded we go and have a look, and so, six and a bit years later I found myself once again on The Drive, with an array of horrible identikit box houses where the asylum once was.

There are four buildings left on the outskirts - two large ones plus a smaller stable block type building and the chapel (both of which are sealed). One of the larger ones and the stable block-ish building closed in 1994 with the rest of the hospital, the other large one became some kind of training/administration centre after the 1994 closure and was vacated in 2010. The chapel closed with the main site in 1994, it was used for storage and is full of filing cabinets and desks and other crap.

The long-derelict building is a pig to photograph as it is nearly pitch black inside, but it's vintage 1994 closure and one of my favourite things I have done this year.

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18. And finally, it just wouldn't be the same place if it didn't have a room that looked like this.



Nowadays, other than the four empty buildings and a couple of buildings that were converted after the 1994 closure on the outskirts, there is absolutely no trace that the asylum ever existed. It was in such bad shape after 15 years of standing isolated, derelict and wide open to the elements and vandals that unfortunately nothing could be saved, not even the water tower which was found to have big cracks running up it and was brought down in 2010. Even the two strips of original ward block they were originally planning on saving and using in the new development have gone now - despite a large computer-rendered image of them displayed prominently on the various large 'new development' signs leading into the new estate.

Thanks for looking

I love when people overlook a place because they thought it was all demolished. Fantastic set bud. Always something interesting from you.

Great set, very nice work!

Pic 11 just speaks to me. It still screams Sanatorium....as well as 13 and 17. That buckled floor is awesome.